science history

  • Holding The World’s Breath At 11,135 Feet

    Holding The World’s Breath At 11,135 Feet

    MAUNA LOA OBSERVATORY, HAWAII”There are just a few moments from my past that, having left an indelible mark on my life, I can now return to in an instant. My first dance at my wedding to “I Only Have Eyes for You.” The phone call I received, as I dressed to go to work, telling…


  • How Ancient Star Maps Gave Rise To Modern Astronomy

    How Ancient Star Maps Gave Rise To Modern Astronomy

    Image: British Library, Public Domain Scientists have incredibly advanced tools to look at the stars today, but in the era before light pollution, star-gazing was much easier and simpler for the average person — just step outside at night. Pretty early on, and in a variety of cultures, people realised that they could chart the…


  • This Babylonian Astronomy Text Changes History

    This Babylonian Astronomy Text Changes History

    More than a thousand years before the first telescopes, Babylonian astronomers tracked the motion of planets across the night sky using simple arithmetic. But a newly translated text reveals that these ancient stargazers also used a far more advanced method, one that foreshadows the development of calculus over a thousand years later.