Newton’s “Four Rules of Reasoning” in Philosophy

One of the crowning achievements of the methods and tools of science is their self-correcting systematic approach of interrogating nature and therefore of perpetually morphing one’s knowledge of the natural world in accordance with the ensuing evidence of reality. In this manner, the experimenter suspends and subverts any preconceived notions, personal prejudices, or certain interests, […]

Celestial Worlds Beyond Our Own: The Story of Ceres

The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter offers an excellent platform to survey the origins of our solar system. Therein lies Ceres, a dwarf planet and the target of an ongoing NASA mission. This dramatically cratered and inviting world has piqued the interest of astronomers and astrobiologists alike. In 2007, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft was launched in order to […]

The Establishment of Modern Scientific Discourse

We take for granted the scientific norms and practices which govern many of today’s standard publication procedures in modern scientific journals. But, indeed, the development of modern scientific discourse owes its immense history back to 17th century England. Henry Oldenburg, a 17th century German theologian, saw the need for a means to disseminate scientific knowledge […]

IceCube: Fishing for Cosmic Neutrinos

Naturally-occurring particle accelerators function throughout the universe all the time, perpetually manifesting in energetic outbursts and other events that reveal a universe far more dynamic than our perception would lead us to believe. These natural accelerators are exploded stars, quasars, and black holes that continually send cosmic messengers our way. Buried a few kilometres deep […]

On the Aerial Locomotion of Butterfly Wings

One’s perception of butterfly flight is that it is typically characterized as some undefined haphazard flitter, but quite astoundingly butterflies flutter about from flower to flower and from bush to bush in quite a precisely targeted fashion. The mechanism of aerial locomotion in butterflies is quite intriguing indeed, ranging from steady undulations to rapid, erratic […]

Penguins Can Fly!

Penguins can fly? The title of this article is sure to elicit raised eyebrows and deep furrows of confusion, but it is true — penguins do, in fact, fly. But, they fly underwater. Penguin flippers evolved in order to “fly” underwater, employing similar mechanisms of flight that birds use. Penguin wings are modified as paddles that […]

Track Santa’s Sleigh on Christmas Eve

It seems to me that Facebook has become a breeding ground for factually inaccurate information on almost anything. I have come to learn that with most of these pervasive viral posts, chances are there is probably going to be something which is not quite accurate. That’s why when I came across this photo today about […]

Peering Back into the Cosmos

As our sense-extending technologies continually project the far elusive reaches of the universe into the confines of our cognition, we find ourselves constantly defining the word observable. NASA’s long-awaited Hubble successor, the James Webb Telescope, is finally taking shape as it promises to give us an unprecedented glimpse into the history of our early universe. Just today […]

In Memory of Carl Sagan 1934 – 1996

Today marks a very important day indeed as it would have been Carl Sagan’s 84th birthday. I did not grow up with Carl Sagan and therefore did not experience much of the cosmic influence that he was able to engender concurrently. But, indeed, Sagan’s timeless classic words still continue to reverberate in and ring through […]

The Raging Cosmic Superstorm

Jupiter’s spectacular surface is further embellished by a vast cosmic wonder, a signature feature that wonderfully complements the planet’s majestically colourful layers. The largest known storm in the Solar System, Jupiter’s Giant Red Spot has always been exceedingly fascinating since its discovery in 1655 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini. Located below Jupiter’s southern equatorial belt, it […]

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