About the SA Blog Network  

The Countdown

The Countdown


What’s happening in space, right now!
The Countdown HomeAboutContact
  • Profile

    The Countdown, a collaboration between Scientific American and YouTube's Spacelab, is a biweekly video show highlighting the best stuff happening in space, astronomy and physics. The companion Countdown blog features links to all of the stories mentioned in the show and more. Science journalist Sophie Bushwick is the show's host.
  • Hypervelocity Stars, and More – The Countdown, Episode 24

    Links for the top five stories: Lumpy Lunar Gravity Curiosity’s Next Journey Tracking Space Warps Smallest Galaxy Ever Found Hypervelocity Stars

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    A Galactic Collision, and More – The Countdown, Episode 23

      Links for the top five stories: Printing Pizza for Astronauts Magnetar Glitch Opportunity Breaks a Record Kepler’s Flywheel Woes A Galactic Collision

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Why Barns Are Red, and More – The Countdown, Episode 22

    Links for the top 5 stories: Why Barns Are Red Light Pollution Gets Crowded An X-Classy ‘Af-flare‘ Moon and Earth Share Common Water Source Ancient Underground Oasis Space Oddity

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Remnants of Supernova Found in Antarctica, and More – The Countdown, Episode 21

    Links for the top 5 stories: Virgin Galactic Powers Up One-Way Ticket to Mars Most Famous Canadian YouTuber (in Space) Saturn Hurricane Antarctica’s Supernova Sand

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    The Countdown, Episode 20 – Star Factory, Five New Exoplanets, Saturn Ring Rain, Planet-Naming Controversy, Missing Mars Lander Found

    5) Star Factory About 880 million years after the Big Bang, a huge galaxy was building new stars at an incredible pace. An international team of astronomers discovered the galaxy HFLS3 with help from 12 observatories all over the world. HFLS3 is a starburst galaxy, which means it turns gas into stars at an extremely [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    The Countdown, Episode 19 – Voyager Hokey Pokey, Mini-Supernovae, Mercury Meteorite?, Planck’s Map, Birth of Massive Stars

    5) Voyager Hokey Pokey What is going on with Voyager 1? Two weeks ago, the American Geophysical Union, or AGU, announced the space probe had finally left our solar system, which is incredibly exciting. Except it’s not exactly true. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 launched in 1977, checked out a couple planets, and [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    The Countdown, Episode 18 – Exoplanet Composition, Neighborhood Dwarfs, Comet Pan-STARRS, Martian Love Boat, the Methuselah Star

    [The text below is a modified transcript of this video.] 5) Exoplanet Composition Scientists have determined the chemical composition of an exoplanet’s atmosphere–129 light years away. The planet is a gas giant five to ten times more massive than Jupiter and it lives in a solar system along with four other gassy planets. Using data [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    The Countdown, Episode 17 – Mercury’s Magma Ocean, Flinging Space Trash, Spectacular Solar Images, Van Allen’s Third Belt, Massive Black Hole Spins Near Light-Speed

    [The text below is a modified transcript of this video.] 5) Mercury’s Magma Ocean Mercury may once have contained a veritable ocean of shifting, glowing molten rock. Scientists think magma flowed over the planet’s surface more than four billion years ago. Since March 2011, NASA’s Messenger probe has been orbiting Mercury to gather information about [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    The Countdown, Episode 16 – Supernova Space Rays, Liquid Lunar Mystery, Red Dwarf Exoplanets, Name Pluto’s Moons, Meteor Attack from Space

    [The text below is a modified transcript of this video.] 5) Supernova Space Rays Here on Earth, we’re under constant attack from space. Charged particles, primarily protons, crash into our atmosphere at close to the speed of light. We call them cosmic rays and we’ve finally found out where they come from. In order to [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    The Countdown, Episode 15 – Sailing on Sunlight, “Goldilocks” Redefined, Supernova Outburst, Columbia‘s Worms, Spring on Mars

    [The text below is a modified transcript of this video.] 5) Sailing on Sunlight NASA plans to launch a giant solar sail in 2014. It’s the largest sail ever created and will cover 1200 square meters; about the area of your average olympic swimming pool. The sail, dubbed Sunjammer after a sci-fi short by Arthur [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Search this blog:


    • Year:
    • Month:
    • Keyword:

    More from Scientific American

    Account Linking

    Welcome, . Do you have an existing ScientificAmerican.com account?

    Yes, please link my existing account with for quick, secure access.



    Forgot Password?

    No, I would like to create a new account with my profile information.

    Create Account
    X