Even if Titan were much closer to Earth, creating a permanent settlement there would still be one of humanity’s greatest engineering challenges. But among all the...
2020 has been one of the worst years in human history. It’s been strange, confusing, and often terrifying. But what if when the clock strikes midnight on December...
MSN New, Humanity
Humanity Reached Type VI Civilization, and Nothing in the Universe Would Be Out of Reach
For all the technology humanity has developed, our civilization is still remarkably primitive when viewed against the scale of the universe. The Kardashev Scale offers...
No country owns the Moon. Existing agreements treat outer space as shared ground, meant to be used peacefully by everyone. That sounds settled until you imagine what...
Watch your head. Some seriously big asteroids are crashing into Earth. What kinds of shapes and sizes do they have? Which ones would have the deadliest impact? And which...
THE BEGINNING – 4.5 BILLION YEARS AGO On Mars, this stage is called the Pre Noachian era. Mars had just formed from dust and gas inside the early solar disk, the...
Intense rainfall. Winds of 120 km/h (75mph) or higher. Storm surge. These are the signs of a hurricane. During its reign of terror, a hurricane can release as much...
Today on What If, we’re going to build the highest bridge on planet Earth. Welcome to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the “Roof of the World.”It’s home to the world’s...
On June 23, 2018, twelve boys from a youth soccer team known as the Wild Boars and their assistant coach entered Thailand’s Tham Luang cave system after soccer practice...
For more than half a century, rockets have been humanity’s ticket to space. They carried astronauts to the Moon, launched probes to the outer planets, and continue...
Long before humans built cities, paved roads, and established civilization, planet Earth was ruled by creatures straight out of a nightmare. From depths of prehistoric...
Our Solar System has eight planets, a few dwarf planets and more than 200 moons. But wait. Are you seeing double? Or did every planet suddenly get a twin? Where would...
Scientists have discovered many planets similar to Earth beyond our solar system. These exoplanets can be up to 10 times larger than Earth, which might be ideal for our...
Wouldn’t it be cool to see things through any wall and any door? How about seeing through your own skin? Or your dog? No, no, no, and no. Of all superhero powers...
You are hiking through a beautiful winter landscape when the weather suddenly changes. A snowstorm moves in, visibility disappears, and you realize you are no longer...
For billions of years, the Sun’s gravitational has kept Earth’s orbit on a steady and reliable path. But this rogue star has other plans for our planet. This...
Time travel has long been a favorite idea in science fiction. Stories about changing the past or visiting the future have captured imaginations for generations. While...
Imagine looking up at the moon and seeing space dust floating around it. Maybe broken-off parts of the moon are raining down on Earth. You’d wonder what happened;...
Sun poisoning is like an allergic reaction to over-exposure to UV rays and radiation from the Sun. It can result in blisters, a rash on the sunburned skin, dehydration...
Let’s be honest, we are pushing our planet to a climate change catastrophe. But there could be a solution. 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water...
