Science & Tech

With the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreading rapidly in Alaska, contact tracing is increasingly difficult. A new feature for Alaska smartphones could help.

The emergence of a less severe variant like omicron is not a sign that SARS-CoV-2 is evolving into a milder virus that is less able to infect the lungs.

The planet and its moon — if it really is a moon — orbit a Sun-like star that’s over 5,000 light years away, according to a report in the journal Nature Astronomy.

An earthquake centered northwest of Sitka shook the ground Friday morning, waking many in Southeast Alaska.

The Alaka Earthquake Center recorded about 20 other earthquakes of magnitude 4 and above in the same sequence by about 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.

SpinLaunch identified Ugadaga Bay as a possible location to build a large centrifuge to launch satellites into low Earth orbit.

Wrangell is ideal because there are people with spotty service, but it’s not such a remote community that the Tribe would struggle to get people and equipment to town.

The James Webb Space Telescope has been in the works for decades, and its gold-plated, 21-foot mirror will see much farther out into space than the venerable Hubble Space Telescope.

Scientists describe the largest specimen as a “pale, thread-like” creature just under a millimeter wide, with “330 segments, a cone-shaped head with enormous antennae, and a beak for feeding.”

The volcano hasn’t been active at least since the time Russian explorers started keeping records in 1760. Researchers say it has likely remained dormant for much longer than that, perhaps as long as 10,000 years.