Are we doing enough to save Earth from a devastating asteroid strike?
With close encounters due in 2029 and 2032, space scientists are getting to grips with an existential threatIt is a scenario beloved of Hollywood: a huge asteroid, several miles wide, is on a collision course with Earth. Scientists check and recheck their calculations but there is no mistake – civilisation is facing a cataclysmic end unless the space rock can be deflected.It may sound like science... View Source
Starwatch: Spica greets the passing moon
The brightest star in the constellation Virgo, Spica appears as a single object but is in fact a binary starThis week, the bright star Spica greets the passing moon. The chart shows the view looking south-west from London at 22.15 BST on 3 July 2025.At 8.3 days old, and with 60% of its visible surface illuminated, the moon will be just past its first quarter (half moon) phase and into its waxing g... View Source
Unsung observatory worker was UK’s first professional female astronomer, experts say
Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy is trying to find a photo of Annie Walker, who died in 1940, to give her star billingFor more than a century, astronomers assumed she had simply “computed” complex calculations for the Victorian men who had exclusive use of Cambridge Observatory telescopes.But researchers now say that Annie Walker – a Victorian woman who began working at the observatory in 1879,... View Source
Trump delays plan to cut satellite data access crucial to hurricane forecasting
Scientists have warned loss of data access to Noaa and Nasa experts could set hurricane forecasting ‘back decades’The Trump administration on Monday announced a delay of one month to a plan to cut forecasters out of an atmospheric satellite data collection program that is seen as crucial for hurricane forecasting.There has been alarm among scientists about the plan to cut access to the data after... View Source
Lobster bisque and onion soup on ISS menu for French astronaut
Chef with 10 Michelin stars has designed meals for Sophie Adenot’s trip to International Space Station next yearWhen the French astronaut Sophie Adenot travels to the International Space Station (ISS) next year, she will be heading for the stars – not quite in celestial but certainly in gastronomic terms.Adenot will dine on not just freeze-dried space food staples but also French classics such as... View Source
Scientists spot mystery object believed to come from beyond solar system
Astronomer says object could be further evidence that ‘interstellar wanderers’ are common in galaxyIt isn’t a bird, it isn’t a plane and it certainly isn’t Superman – but it does appear to be a visitor from beyond our solar system, according to astronomers who have discovered a new object hurtling through our cosmic neighbourhood.The object, originally called A11pl3Z and now known as 3I/Atlas, was... View Source
Fairphone 6 gets a 10/10 on repairability
The new Fairphone 6 is smaller and more modular than older models in the series, but it’s just as repairable. The phone picked up a perfect score in iFixit’s teardown test, despite no longer offering tool-free battery replacements. It helps that the only tool you do need — throughout the phone — is a T5 Torx screwdriver, and only seven screws sit between you and a battery swap. Fairphone itself ha... View Source
New Galaxy Z Fold 7 leaks may give first real look at Samsung’s slimmer foldable
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 has been given the thinner, sleeker glow-up we expected, if leaked hands-on photos are any indication. The trio of images posted by leaker @Jukanlosreve seemingly show what the next-gen Galaxy foldable will look like in the real world from a few different angles. The new photographs mostly line up with what we’ve seen in previous renders, including the larger, sl... View Source
This is not a tattoo robot
I walked into Blackdot's tattoo studio in Austin's east side on a sweltering May afternoon. After shaking my sweat-soaked hand, founder and CEO Joel Pennington led me up into an office building and opened the door to a small, three-room space. Critics have unflatteringly compared the studio to a sterile hospital room - a comparison not entirely without merit. In a corner room, the machine I had co... View Source
The American system of democracy has crashed
Once upon a time in America, there was a tyrant. And Congress rejected him totally. The tyrant, of course, was King George III, the target of the Declaration of Independence. We take it for granted now, but the Declaration was an enormous political innovation - in it, the country that became the United States of America laid claim to certain "unalienable" rights, rights that took precedence over a... View Source
The best Bluetooth trackers for Apple and Android phones
Bluetooth trackers come in all shapes and sizes. | Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge Editor’s note: Amazon Prime Day kicks off on July 8th; however, if you want to get a head start on your online shopping, we’ve rounded up the best early Prime Day deals you can already get. Some people rarely lose things. Wallets are always exactly where they’re supposed to be, keys never go missing, and rem... View Source
The Ploopy Knob is an open-source control dial for your PC
The Ploopy Knob controller can double as a desktop fidget toy. | Image: Ploopy Ploopy has announced another desktop accessory called the Ploopy Knob that can function like a control dial for adjusting volume, scrolling documents, or scrubbing through media on a computer. The Canadian company isn’t exactly a household name like Logitech, but Ploopy’s open-source peripherals offer a lot of customiza... View Source
Laid-off workers should use AI to manage their emotions, says Xbox exec
The sweeping layoffs announced by Microsoft this week have been especially hard on its gaming studios, but one Xbox executive has a solution to “help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss”: seek advice from AI chatbots. In a now-deleted LinkedIn post captured by Aftermath, Xbox Game Studios’ Matt Turnbull said that he would be “remiss in not trying to offer the best advi... View Source
The best earbuds we’ve tested for 2025
Editor’s note: Amazon Prime Day kicks off on July 8th; however, if you want to get a head start on your online shopping, we’ve rounded up the best early Prime Day deals you can already get. It’s hard to buy a bad pair of wireless earbuds these days, and with constant discounts and deals wherever you look, now is as good of a time as any to splurge on the pair you’ve been eyeing. The mark... View Source
Cyberpunk Edgerunners 2 will be even sadder and bloodier
In May, we learned that the development of a sequel to the Cyberpunk 2077 game is moving forward at CD Projekt Red, and today, at the Anime Expo 2025 event, it officially announced a new season of the anime spinoff for Netflix. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 will have “…an entirely new story, fresh characters, and a raw, realistic take on the most dangerous city of the dark future. The new season will b... View Source
Here are the best Apple Watch deals available right now
The Apple Watch Series 10 isn’t a vast departure from the prior model, but the iterative changes are welcome nonetheless. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Editor’s note: Amazon Prime Day kicks off on July 8th; however, if you want to get a head start on your online shopping, we’ve rounded up the best early Prime Day deals you can already get. In September, Apple launched its... View Source