Murmuration of starlings mesmerize crowds in small Marin County strip mall

Technically, the term murmuration refers to the bizarre-looking feat when hundreds, sometimes thousands, of starlings fly in swooping, intricately coordinated patterns through the sky. As for what it looks like? A massive swarm of shape-shifting black birds flying in unison among the clouds. 

Astronauts ring in New Year with zero-gravity 'ball drop' in space

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station had their own New Year’s Eve celebration, complete with a zero-gravity "ball drop" to ring in 2021.

Oakland teen and founder of science education company gets accepted to dream school Stanford

Ahmed Muhammed got into Stanford with an impressive 4.7 GPA and an SAT score of 1540, receiving a perfect 800 in the Math section and a 740 in the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section. He had taken the college entrance exams his sophomore year and also received high scores in the SAT's subject tests receiving an 800 in math and a 790 in chemistry. 

What are President-elect Biden's plans for NASA?

NASA has big plans to send humans back to the moon and then to Mars. But President-elect Joe Biden could make big changes to the space program. He says he wants to boost NASA budget and review its priorities.

Loneliness can strengthen parts of brain tied to imagination and reminiscing, study finds

Researchers behind a large study have found that loneliness might actually help strengthen parts of the brain tied to imagination, reminiscing and future planning — helping those cope with isolation.

World's space achievements a bright spot in otherwise stressful 2020

Astronauts blasted into orbit from the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade, three countries sent spacecraft hurtling toward Mars, and robotic explorers grabbed rocks from the moon and gravel from an asteroid for return to Earth.

Florida golfer snatches ball stuck on alligator's tail

Here's a problem only golfers in Florida would face: how to retrieve a ball stuck on a gator's tail on the golf course.

Jupiter and Saturn will appear to touch in closest conjunction since 1623

The aligning orbits of two gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn happens every few decades, but this great conjunction will be the closest the two planets have been in centuries.

Rocket motor fails to ignite on Virgin Galactic test flight

A Virgin Galactic test flight Saturday ended prematurely as the spacecraft's rocket motor failed to ignite and it then glided down safely to its landing site in southern New Mexico.

Surfer dies after shark attack in Maui, official says

A man who was bitten by a shark in the water off Maui has died from injuries he suffered in the attack, a hospital official said.

SpaceX scrubs Falcon 9 rocket launch, targets no earlier than Sunday

SpaceX had plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Coast on Friday, but just moments before launch stopped the clock, ultimately deciding to try again over the weekend.

Window opens for Virgin Galactic’s first rocket-powered test flight from spaceport

The window opens Friday for Virgin Galactic’s first rocket-powered test flight from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico as the company prepares for commercial flights next year.