Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 556)

This newly spotted massive alien planet is confusing astronomers
Exoplanets

This newly spotted massive alien planet is confusing astronomers

Everything’s bigger in b Centauri—including one of the most enormous planets ever found.

Person opening presents on christmas morning holding a gift with a secret santa label
Tech Hacks

The best Secret Santa platforms, ranked

Presents shall not be cancelled this year.

Astronomers may have found a galaxy that formed without dark matter
Physics

Astronomers may have found a galaxy that formed without dark matter

This lone galaxy seems to defy everything astronomers know about galactic formation.

A person scrolling through Instagram on their phone while wearing a blue sweater.
Tech Hacks

It’s time to purge the worst people in your social media feeds

Your apps need decluttering too.

Electric bike
Vehicles

More people buy e-bikes than electric cars. Here’s how a bill would make them cheaper.

A tax credit tucked into the Democrats' Build Back Better Act could incentivize Americans to buy electric bikes.

A person holding a watch that looks like its hands are moving very fast.
Life Skills

How to slow down time because you’re not getting any younger

It's like you're Doctor Strange, but only in your head.

LCRD spacecraft shooting out red lasers in an artist's rendition
NASA

NASA is testing space lasers to shoot data back to Earth

It's like switching from a dial-up connection to high-speed internet.

A Black woman wearing a yellow hard hat while inserting an orange foam ear plug into her ear.
Life Skills

It’s never too early to start protecting your hearing

You might not care about it now, but you will.

These gliding drones could deliver supplies from Air Force planes to the battlefield
Air Force

These gliding drones could deliver supplies from Air Force planes to the battlefield

The 3-foot-long drones, when released from high-flying planes, are designed to glide for miles.

Wildlife officials are taking radical steps to save Florida’s starving manatees
Ocean

Wildlife officials are taking radical steps to save Florida’s starving manatees

More than 1,000 manatees have died in Florida this year.

English teacher with long blonde hair at a chalkboard with grammar and words
Psychology

Why people trust accents that match their own, even when they shouldn’t

A new study shows that discrimination against foreign accents is deep-seated.

Hydras can regrow their heads. Scientists want to know how they do it.
Animals

Hydras can regrow their heads. Scientists want to know how they do it.

A new analysis reveals genetic underpinnings of how the aquatic animals regrow their heads after decapitation.

a cow with a blue ribbon
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

Inside the cutthroat world of competitive meat judging

Plus other fun facts from The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week.

Solar panel farm to represent carbon markets
Climate Change

Carbon markets from Kyoto to COP26, explained

The new voluntary market will be different from previous endeavors.

planet earth with a rounded black shadow creeping over its southern pole
International Space Station

A total solar eclipse bathed Antarctica in darkness

Lucky observers in Antarctica—and on the International Space Station—caught the show.

tiktok on phone screen
Social Media

A look inside TikTok’s seemingly all-knowing algorithm

A leaked internal document offers clues on what information TikTok uses to curate your video stream.

night sky
Solar System

Here’s how to see Leonard’s Comet, the brightest comet all year

Don’t miss this rock before it gets tossed out of the solar system.

person holding phone in their hands
Tech Hacks

How to block someone on everything

To really cut ties you have to go beyond social media.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a ‘raft of life’ for animals in the open ocean
Biology

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a ‘raft of life’ for animals in the open ocean

Little travelers are plentiful in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but their ecological impacts are still a mystery.

Want to better understand the biodiversity of a forest? Ask the locals.
Environment

Want to better understand the biodiversity of a forest? Ask the locals.

Local communities hold immense knowledge, and have the advantage of time and history.