Sci/Tech

“Dr. Christmas Tree” is a weighty title to bestow on someone.

NASA has lost contact with its MAVEN spacecraft that has been orbiting Mars for more than a decade.

Dr. Universe: Why do we have fingerprints? – Kaylen, 11, North Carolina

Maggots may be the key to more accurately determining when people died, according to Florida researchers, pointing to the genetic makeup of larvae.

The Bennu asteroid, a space rock not too far from Earth that is rich in carbon, continues to be a trove of information for scientists keen to learn about how life may have begun in our solar system.

Dear Dr. Universe: Can humans live in space for a month? – Maya, 11, Seattle

It’s the bird with bloomers.

Three Chinese astronauts were stuck aboard the Tiangong space station this month when their return craft sustained damage. They eventually made it home on the vehicle that brought up their replacements - leaving the next trio of astronauts in the same predicament. They are far from alone: Russian and U.S. spacefarers have also been delayed in space in recent years, for months at a time.

Is art uniquely human?

Dear Dr. Universe: What’s the hardest math equation in the world? – James, 6, Washington state

If you head into your backyard this weekend and set up your telescope, the giant planet Saturn will be there for you to see.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is powerful, but Jeff Bezos’ rocket company wants more. After completing a successful second mission of New Glenn, including a launch from Cape Canaveral and landing and the return of its first-stage booster, Blue Origin announced upgrades coming to the heavy-lift rocket as soon as mission No. 3.

Dear Dr. Universe: Why did they invent paper? – Sofia, 9, Florida

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin space company successfully launched and landed its New Glenn rocket Thursday afternoon, marking a major technical breakthrough for the company as it works to catch up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Researchers in Australia have discovered a native bee species with tiny “devil-like horns.”

Blue Origin’s heavy lift New Glenn became the first commercial rocket to make it to orbit on its first try back in January. Jeff Bezos’ company is looking to repeat the feat while also nailing a return landing of its booster, something that didn’t come to fruition the first go-around.

Dear Dr. Universe: How do cats climb? – Jake, 7, Wisconsin

Plumes of smoke drifted up from a fire steadily taking over a 30-acre prairie at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, north of the Twin Cities. Amid the haze, five black drones zipped around. More than 150 feet below the flying robots, research student Nikil Krishnakumar raised the controller in the air. “It’s all autonomous now,” he said. “I’m not doing anything.” The aerial robotic team’s ...

A super close supermoon will occur this week. The moon will be as close to Earth as it can get in November, fully illuminated for skywatchers, according to the Earth Sky, a science website that provides daily news and information on astronomy and space.