Science in the News

April

2013

For Carl: Three New Worlds in the Cosmos

It seems like just yesterday. In 1980, astronomer Carl Sagan presented Cosmos, his PBS series about the joy and beauty of scientific discovery. More than anything else (yes, I have to admit, even more than my childhood visits to COSI), Cosmos awakened in me a love and a passion for science that has never dimmed.

In one of my favorite scenes, Sagan visits his old sixth grade classroom in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. Sagan talks to the students there (who, coincidentally, were just my age at the time) about what a special time this was, the first time that humans had begun to explore the universe. In particular, Sagan talks about the beginning of our search for planets beyond the solar system.

Author: Steve Whitt | Continue Reading

April

2013

Exoskeletons - No longer a device of fiction

When I hear the world "Exoskeleton" I immediately think of some high powered, super stealthy, robot out of a movie, but during my daily readings, I stumbled across an exciting article highlighting yet another innovative and interesting medical advancement. CNN sat down with Ekso Bionics to learn more about the "Ekso".

Author: Ashley Russell | Continue Reading

March

2013

What is Thundersnow?

Earlier this week we had a snow forecast that could really have affected our operations here at COSI. I was watching the weather forecasts really closely to determine how much of the possible 10 inches of snow we could get here in Columbus and one of the forecasters mentioned the possibility of thundersnow. This is a term I've heard of before, even experienced but I really don't know a lot about it. So I turned to our resident science guy extraordinaire, Steve Whitt and asked him what in the world is thundersnow? How does it form and what is it?

Author: Jaclyn Reynolds | Continue Reading

March

2013

Touch the Big Bang

So much of modern science, (the search for the Higgs boson, the attempts to make nuclear fusion a reality, and even the latest dinosaur discovery) are too far away, too hot, too cold, too large or too small to get our hands on. But here's some modern science you can actually reach out and touch.

The Cosmic Microwave Background - as seen by Planck. Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

Author: Steve Whitt | Continue Reading

March

2013

The REAL First Day of Spring

Spring is on the way. Really! Despite the chilly weather and occasional snow dump, the second half of March invariably brings on scientific-sounding descriptions of something called the vernal equinox, the day when daytime and nighttime are finally equal. It marks the time when daylight starts lasting longer, nights get shorter, and (eventually) warm weather returns to our fair land.

What is rarely discussed, though, is why. Why should the Earth's axis tilt in such a way to create varying seasons? Why are seasons so predictable, year after year after year? Do other planets have similar cycles? Will our pattern ever change?