The recording begins with the gentle patter of a summer squall. Gradually, a drifting tone—similar to a radio station that is slightly out of tune—rises and briefly overwhelms the softer sounds. These are the unique signals encountered by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft as it plunged through the narrow gap between Saturn and its innermost ring on April 26.
This daring maneuver marked the first of 22 planned dives before Cassini’s final descent into Saturn’s atmosphere in September. Notably, the spacecraft detected far fewer dust particle collisions than scientists expected while passing through the ring plane. Instead, Cassini recorded charged particles oscillating together in unison, offering new insight into Saturn’s magnetic environment.
For decades, science enthusiasts in South Florida—both children and adults—had only a small, outdated museum in which to explore subjects such as distant galaxies, Earth’s ecosystems, and the fundamental principles of light and sound.
That changed with the opening of a massive new science museum in downtown Miami. Visitors can now stand beneath a suspended 500,000-gallon aquarium and observe hammerhead and tiger sharks, mahi-mahi, devil rays, and other marine life through a 60,000-pound oculus lens. The design creates the striking illusion of viewing fish from the bottom of a giant cocktail glass.
This feature is just one of many attractions at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, a $305 million, 250,000-square-foot facility. Despite years of delays, legal challenges, and funding difficulties, the museum now stands as a bold representation of modern scientific exploration and education. Its high-profile opening is particularly significant in a state where large-scale science institutions have been limited.
Mauna Loa, the largest and one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, covers nearly half of the Island of Hawaii. Just 35 miles to the northeast lies Mauna Kea, rising almost 14,000 feet above sea level. Known to Native Hawaiians as Mauna a Wākea, it represents a sacred connection between the Earth and the heavens.
Although these two volcanoes are close together and formed over the same Pacific hot spot, they developed along parallel tracks in the Hawaiian–Emperor chain and have strikingly different chemical compositions. This long-standing geological mystery has intrigued scientists for decades.
“We knew this was connected to something much deeper beneath the surface,” said Tim Jones, “but we couldn’t see what it was.”
