
Rafi Letzter
Latest articles by Rafi Letzter

Texas and Louisiana face a double whammy of tropical cyclones
By Rafi Letzter published
Marco's rainfall and flooding will make Laura's even more serious.

First ever double hurricane could hit the Gulf of Mexico
By Rafi Letzter published
There's no record of two hurricanes being in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time. Next week, that could change.

Rainbow meteorite discovered in Costa Rica may hold building blocks of life
By Rafi Letzter published
A small, soft smacked into Costa Rica on April 23, 2019. And it carried dust older than our sun, as well as clues regarding how life formed on Earth.

Interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua could still be alien technology, new study hints
By Rafi Letzter published
The idea that interstellar object 'Oumuamua is a hydrogen iceberg has a flaw.

Death Valley tops 130 F, setting possible global heat record
By Rafi Letzter published
The American southwest is cooking.

Astronomers bounced a laser off a spacecraft whirling around the moon
By Rafi Letzter published
Astronomers have bounced lasers of mirrors left by Apollo astronauts on the lunar surface for decades. But this is the first time bouncing one off a lunar orbiter — after a decade of trying.

Entire cities could fit inside the moon's monstrous lava tubes
By Rafi Letzter published
Vast lava tubes pock the surface of the moon and Mars, and could protect explorers from the elements. But first someone needs to explore them.

SpaceX wins Pentagon rocket contract to send spy satellites into orbit
By Rafi Letzter published
SpaceX and United Launch Alliance will share the job of launching the Pentagon's most important military equipment from 2022 to 2026.

Heavy atom spills its guts in decade-long experiment
By Rafi Letzter published
A new experiment on ultra-rare astatine could open the door to cancer treatments and new research into super-heavy atoms.

Thousands of Earthlike 'blanets' might circle the Milky Way's central black hole
By Rafi Letzter published
Tens of thousands of planets like Earth and Neptune might orbit the giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

The first SpaceX astronauts are back on Earth
By Rafi Letzter published
SpaceX's Demo-2 test flight ended in the Gulf of Mexico today, about two months since its launch opened the era of commercial crewed spaceflight.

Sleeping microbes wake up after 100 million years buried under the seafloor
By Rafi Letzter published
The microbes had been dormant below the ocean floor for eons, buried since the time of the dinosaurs. Then a team of scientists in Japan woke the little organisms up.

SpaceX satellites keep wrecking images of comet NEOWISE
By Rafi Letzter published
The comet NEOWISE is visible in the dawn sky right now, but photographers are facing a new challenge when they try to capture it: the SpaceX fleet of Starlink satellites.

Russia just tested anti-satellite space weapon, US claims
By Rafi Letzter published
The U.S. government says Russia tested an anti-satellite space weapon July 15. Russia says it was an inspector satellite. Nothing was destroyed.

Mysterious force destroys monster black hole's ring of plasma
By Rafi Letzter published
Telescopes all over the world watched a bright flash light up space around a distant, supermassive black hole. And then, within hours, it was gone.

Here's why the United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars
By Rafi Letzter published
The United Arab Emirates' probe Hope is on its way to Mars, marking the first planetary science mission led by an Arab country. Here's why.

Steaming river of black sludge floods through Arizona
By Rafi Letzter published
After the Bighorn Fire burned a large area near Pima County, Arizona, a river of dark sludge rushed toward town.

28 'cocooned' black holes found hiding in plain sight
By Rafi Letzter published
New research re-examining old data showed that 28 objects previously described as distant galaxies or dim black holes are in fact bright, shrouded supermassive black holes.

Oldest surviving light reveals the universe's true age
By Rafi Letzter published
One of the most important controversies in physics remains unresolved after a major new study. But at least we have a new precise number for the universe's age.

Origin of 'Mirach's Ghost' perplexes black hole scientists
By Rafi Letzter published
Physicists are step closer to understanding where the largest black holes in the universe came from. But new data reveals even deeper mysteries around their creation.

Pink 'watermelon snow' threatens major Italian glacier
By Rafi Letzter published
The high Presena glacier has turned pink in a major bloom of dangerous, ice-melting algae.

The US formally announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization
By Rafi Letzter published
Trump threatened in May to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO. Now the process has begun.

Dust plume bigger than Texas crashes into the US
By Rafi Letzter published
Air quality could reach dangerous levels across a wide chunk of the continental U.S. and Caribbean this weekend as a rare, giant Saharan dust storm reaches the U.S.

Pentagon should release UFO report, Senate intelligence committee argues
By Rafi Letzter published
The US Senate intelligence committee plans to impose new rules on how the Department of Defense (DOD) shares information about UFOs, and to demand a public report on what the DOD knows so far.
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