Perhaps the greatest question driving science—and human thought in general—is the mystery of origins. This question has manifested itself in myriad shapes and sizes: our fascination with the Big Bang, the birth of our Earth, the evolution of our own species, and even our own individual genealogies. Especially as many have turned away from religion—the […]
Georgia Michelman
Georgia Michelman is a reluctant recent Yale College graduate with backgrounds in physics, astronomy, and history. She is always searching for intersections between the worlds of science and the humanities. She is also an avid chatter with contrarian tendencies, which are classic Gemini traits (though she also recognizes that astrology has no basis in scientific fact).
Posted inNews, Space
NASA’s DART shows the explosive power of astronomical collaboration
On September 26th, the clickbait-able happened: NASA smashed a spacecraft going 14,000 mph into an asteroid larger than the Washington Monument. This was intentional, the years-long result of careful planning, engineering, and worldwide collaboration that constituted the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. What was surprising to scientists was just how spectacular DART’s impact with its target […]
Posted inScience, Space
When it comes to asteroid danger, gravity’s not so attractive
Sorry, astrology haters. The rumors are true: humans are being pulled at by the gravity of all planets at all times. There is not a drop of evidence for these minuscule gravitational tugs as tools of personality formation nor as predictors of luck. Still, we are not the free-floaters we imagine ourselves to be, but […]
Posted inBiology, News, Science
Life on Mars? Perseverance rover finds organic matter
Humans have been captivated by fictional images of Martian life since the 19th century. In 1877, Giovanni Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer, observed canali–channels, then mistranslated as canals–on the planet, unintentionally sparking a movement of Martian conspiracists enchanted by the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Since then, we’ve been inching closer and closer to finding the real […]
Posted inHealthcare
Antibodies effective against a variety of COVID variants
COVID anxiety levels are dwindling among Americans. Even the very liberal have finally begun to take a breather. As more Americans eschew their N95 and cut large gathering limitations, the more COVID-conscious of us needn’t fret. Optimistic news on new treatment efficacy is also on the rise. Perhaps one of the most exciting and underreported […]
Posted inScience, Space
A dry run to save the planet: NASA DART probe closing in on asteroid impact
NASA’s DART spacecraft will crash into an asteroid on September 26, the first real-life test of planetary defense techniques.
Posted inScience
Entropy, time, and the arrow of adolescence
In the months since graduating college, nostalgia has become a major ruling force in my life. And so I have turned to the campus novel. Of the many I’ve consumed, Elif Batuman’s The Idiot and Either/Or have especially lingered in my mind. Batuman’s exploration of this strange, mixed-up period of adolescence rang painfully true to […]
Posted inHealthcare, News
Monkeypox hysteria spreads through social media
Monkeypox cases increased notably over the past week, culminating in the White House declaring a public health emergency on Thursday. Panic and anger have mounted along with it, given limited vaccine availability and continued concerns of homophobic stigma. There are stark differences between the rise of monkeypox and that of COVID-19. Monkeypox is far less […]
Posted inScience, Space
How much should we worry about asteroids?
I was first introduced to astronomy research through the study of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), when I attended the Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics as a high schooler. I liked to think of it as a kind of astrophysical babysitting project: we kept an eye on our assigned baby asteroid every night, watched its movements, and, […]
Posted inHealthcare, News
As monkeypox infections spread, social stigma concerns increase
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization encouraged men engaging in same-sex intercourse to limit their number of partners, in order to curb the monkeypox outbreak. Monkeypox is not spread solely through sexual intercourse; it can be spread through close physical contact in any capacity. Nonetheless, at least 95% of those infected have been men who […]