The Best Way to Watch Comet NEOWISE, Wherever You Are

July 20, 2020

The Best Way to Watch Comet NEOWISE, Wherever You Are

View all Scientific American publications.

July 20, 2020

Dear Reader,

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins—with the help of thousands of NASA engineers, scientists and mission controllers on Earth—pulled of a moon landing that remains one of humanity's most incredible achievements.

But what if the moon landing had gone wrong?

A new deepfake video by a team at MIT explores this alternative past. And in a short documentary film featured below, Scientific American video editor Jeff Delviscio worked with MIT to demonstrate how AI-generated synthetic media might affect our shared history and future experiences.

Also featured in today's roundup: observing tips for Comet NEOWISE, racial disparities in complications associated with surgery, and shaped nanoparticles that soak up toxins like red blood cells.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement
@sunyaaa

Space

The Best Way to Watch Comet NEOWISE, Wherever You Are

Astronomer Jackie Faherty shares her tips for an ideal viewing experience

By Karen Kwon

Computing

A Nixon Deepfake, a 'Moon Disaster' Speech and an Information Ecosystem at Risk

A new video re-creates a history that never happened, showing the power of AI-generated media

By Jeffery DelViscio

Policy & Ethics

Deepfakes and the New AI-Generated Fake Media Creation-Detection Arms Race

Manipulated videos are getting more sophisticated all the time—but so are the techniques that can identify them

By Siwei Lyu

Space

Arab World's First Mars Probe Takes to the Skies

Celebration is tinged with relief as $200-million orbiter embarks on 7-month odyssey to the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Gibney,Nature magazine

Public Health

After Surgery, Black Children Are More Likely to Die Than White Children

A study of nearly 200 U.S. medical centers found that even apparently healthy kids suffer racial disparities in complications associated with surgery

By Jim Daley

Medical & Biotech

Specially Shaped Artificial Particles Detoxify Blood

Camouflaged nanoparticles can soak up toxins like red bloods cells do

By Harini Barath

Weather

Drop in Global Travel May Have Hurt Weather Forecasts

Commercial planes and ships usually gather valuable data to feed into weather models

By Chelsea Harvey,E&E News

Behavior & Society

Overcoming Psychological Biases Is the Best Treatment against COVID-19 Yet

In responding to the pandemic, society may be hampered by cognitive and political beliefs that distort judgments and lead to irrational decisions

By Lydia Denworth

Public Health

Civil War Vaccine May Have Lessons for COVID-19

Vaccination used against smallpox during the Civil War reveals the identity of the distantly related virus used to keep troops disease free.

By Susanne Bard | 03:10

FROM THE STORE

Mind Over Mood: Understanding Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common conditions affecting mental health and overall quality of life, but there are tools for managing them. In this eBook, we'll explore how depression shows up in the brain, different manifestations of depression and anxiety, various talk therapies, technological innovations, lifestyle interventions and more.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

One Small Step Back in Time: Relive the Wonder of Apollo 11

Half a century after the moon shot, we remember how we achieved the impossible—and why we need to do it again

By Clara Moskowitz | June 2019

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Comets were often markers--omens--before we understood what they were. That's how people saw them--the bearers of good things, the bearers of bad things. I find it fascinating that in this year 2020 we have a marker in the sky. And it's a reminder that we should look up more."

Jackie Faherty, astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City

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