Mindy Weisberger
Latest articles by Mindy Weisberger
![Archaeologist and author Sarah Parcak digs deep in her new book "Archaeology From Space."](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/f68F7QfCYpQFXVx6NYEkzV-320-80.jpg)
Space Archaeology Is a Thing. And It Involves Lasers and Spy Satellites
By Mindy Weisberger published
High-orbiting satellites offer clues about what lies buried underground.
![An artist's illustration of a potentially habitable exomoon orbiting a giant planet in a distant solar system.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2KPxiG7wtrX2M6WStJ6pUf-320-80.jpg)
Meet the Ploonets! Runaway Moons with Delusions of Planethood Get Astronomy's Cutest Name Ever
By Mindy Weisberger published
Moons orbiting distant worlds have a new nickname, and it's even cuter than "moonmoon."
![Author and scientist Sarah Parcak shares a view of archaeology that originates thousands of miles above Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LbfrKywCzB6wYJp23iHfN6-320-80.jpg)
Book Excerpt: 'Archaeology From Space'
By Mindy Weisberger published
'Space archaeology' is transforming how experts study ancient civilizations.
![Watch the Live Science Facebook Live interview at 11:30 a.m. EDT today (July 12) and enter to win one of three free copies of "Archaeology From Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past."](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Uy7rFUvxU6rm8shQiSP4bG-320-80.jpg)
Indiana Jones Meets 'Star Wars' in 'Archaeology From Space.' Enter to Win a Copy!
By Mindy Weisberger published
What's it like to uncover the mysteries of ancient civilizations...from space?
![Photographic negatives can be used to create 3D printing plates for plausible forgeries of rare books.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XtdVaLXgPrYSrdZzaExhBJ-320-80.jpg)
One-of-a-Kind Copy of Galileo's Book That Upended the Earth-Centric View of the Universe Was a Fraud.
By Mindy Weisberger published
They thought it was too good to be true ... and it was.
![The majestic, bird-shaped aurora spreads its wings over a destroyed military hydroelectric station, located two hours away from Murmansk, Russia.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/e8C853gcCmshVTuaRfPvPo-320-80.jpg)
'Phoenix' Aurora Spreads Its 'Wings' Over Abandoned Military Power Station in Russia
By Mindy Weisberger published
More than 4,000 photographers shot for the moon (and beyond) for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition in the U.K.
![Artist's impression of the merging galaxies, together forming the object B14-65666, located 13 billion light-years away.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wdbojQCpcNMtUVu28au9Q5-320-80.jpg)
Oldest Known Galactic Get-Together Occurred Shortly After Big Bang
By Mindy Weisberger published
Signals written in elements from the early universe have revealed the oldest known merger between two galaxies, taking place less than a billion years after the Big Bang.
![In a letter that Albert Einstein wrote in 1945, the famous physicist sketched two diagrams demonstrating a novel approach to the thought experiment called the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3ywFb33NDwpJGCN2vrcxYE-320-80.jpg)
'God Plays Dice with the Universe,' Einstein Writes in Letter About His Qualms with Quantum Theory
By Mindy Weisberger published
Three letters written by Einstein are up for auction, and they offer an intriguing view of his thoughts on quantum physics.
![The top-secret Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, founded in 2007, investigated UFO encounters under the direction of the Pentagon. This footage was captured by a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet in 2004 Nimitz, off the coast of San Diego.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XLWeS9mmEyqkKYPKkHTrjC-320-80.jpg)
Former Head of Pentagon's Secret UFO Program Has Some (Strange) Stories to Tell
By Mindy Weisberger published
The former leader of the U.S. government's top-secret UFO program has stories to tell, and he is sharing some of them for the first time in a new documentary.
![In 2014 and 2015, pilots with the U.S. Navy reported multiple UFO sightings during training maneuvers.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hzwBBaYqMdVPoDEykFqZon-320-80.jpeg)
'Fleet of UFOs' Followed US Aircraft, Navy Pilot Says
By Mindy Weisberger published
Between 2014 and 2015, seasoned pilots in the U.S. Navy experienced a number of harrowing encounters with UFOs during training missions in the U.S.
![Stars that end their lives in massive explosions called supernovas violently spew elements and debris into space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ijbTMAT2SwmtheP8n2tFEM-320-80.jpg)
Exploding Stars May Have Put Humanity on Two Feet
By Mindy Weisberger published
Is there a cosmic origin for human bipedalism?
![The P3 (platform performance prototype) at the University of Cambridge, used to test the design for the Science Data Processor, a new supercomputer that will be the fastest in the world.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JoJXeLm457ZwTKoYkDCrQG-320-80.jpg)
New Supercomputer Will Span Continents, Outrace World's Fastest
By Mindy Weisberger published
Paired processors on two continents will power a new computer "brain."
![In a computer simulation of spiral galaxy formation, a halo structure partially forms from a pileup of many small galaxies. Even after merged galaxies disintegrate, individual stars retain chemical traces from their original galaxies.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GRumg7ywMk7FmRhMUyFnM9-320-80.jpg)
A Star in the Big Dipper Is an Alien Invader
By Mindy Weisberger published
The stellar oddball likely joined the Milky Way during a long-ago galaxy merger.
![Researchers have found a new way to use satellites to monitor the Great Whirl, a massive whirlpool the size of Colorado that forms each year off the coast of East Africa, shown here in a visualization of ocean currents in the Indian Ocean.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EoVHzpEKkUVXnocA6sRK6D-320-80.jpg)
Pirates Made Ocean Vortex 'The Great Whirl' Inaccessible. So Scientists Studied It from Space.
By Mindy Weisberger published
The Great Whirl forms annually and lasts for months.
![These spherical molecules of carbon – known as buckyballs – jiggle, shimmy and shake, as though they were made of jelly.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VyStWAR4t276zkYai5hLNX-320-80.gif)
Hubble Spots Giant 'Buckyballs' Jiggling Like Jell-O in Space
By Mindy Weisberger published
This is the strongest evidence to date of these oddball structures existing in the space between stars.
![An oblique view of the Daedalus Crater on the far side of the moon, as seen from the Apollo 11 spacecraft in lunar orbit.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vxS234BygNDuK7dnojmhUF-320-80.jpg)
The Moon's Surface Is Totally Cracked
By Mindy Weisberger published
Is the moon all it's cracked up to be?
![Circles mark individual fragments of debris, in a fixed image taken on March 27.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mka3aknny4S9YfdGBML9SK-320-80.jpg)
Rocket Stage Launched 10 Years Ago Disintegrates into Trail of Space Junk (Video)
By Mindy Weisberger published
The breakup created a cloud of space debris.
![In this artist's concept, a supermassive black hole is surrounded by a swirling disk of material. The purplish ball of light above the black hole, a feature called the corona, contains highly energetic particles that generate X-ray light.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Hy44PnsrBbhP9xwRs9cCui-320-80.jpg)
Black Holes Are Awesome. Why Are Their Names Usually So Boring?
By Mindy Weisberger published
A black hole was recently the first to be captured in a close-up image, and in another first, it received a name that's a lot more interesting than the ones that usually identify black holes.
![It took eight telescopes and more than 200 astronomers to produce an astonishing, never-before-seen image of a distant black hole.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gFPo3KY2FSerQQ9izkEnf4-320-80.jpg)
Why Is the First-Ever Black Hole Photo an Orange Ring?
By Mindy Weisberger published
Researchers' data showed the black hole at the heart of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87).
![Strange and colorful light configurations after an aurora were part of a NASA rocket test.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SDF4437qxAwLgX5GfzwDPQ-320-80.jpg)
'Alien' Lights in Norway Were a NASA Test, Not an Extraterrestrial Visit
By Mindy Weisberger published
'Alien' lights in Norway were a NASA mission, not an extraterrestrial visit.
![Seriously, people?](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4eBN6J2PCA8iHuUyLRAYog-320-80.jpg)
Flat-Earthers' Cruise Will Sail to Antarctica 'Ice Wall' at the Planet's Edge. Right.
By Mindy Weisberger published
A flat-Earthers conference promises a cruise to Antarctica.
![Are aliens observing us, like we watch captive zoo animals?](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tZmkWkHdedSchPVFBCy8ec-320-80.jpg)
Are Aliens Ignoring Us? Maybe We're Already Their Captives in a 'Galactic Zoo'
By Mindy Weisberger published
Is Earth an exhibit in an alien zoo?
![Materials that shaped a young Earth likely originated in the same protosolar nebula that birthed the sun.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BEZBeBxgfKKDv9uJe5PLZR-320-80.jpg)
Chemically, Earth Is Basically a Less Volatile Version of the Sun
By Mindy Weisberger published
The elemental composition of Earth and sun are unexpectedly similar.