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Chris Meaney/NASA/CIL
Scientists have spotted unexpected X- and C-shaped structures in the atmosphere. They are struggling to explain them
Scientists studying the zone between Earth’s atmosphere and space have spotted unusual X- and C-shaped features that could thwart signals that keep our planet running smoothly.
Plan of the Castle and Observatory of Uraniborg, constructed c.1584 by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) on the island of Hven, Denmark from 'Le Theatre du Monde' or 'Nouvel Atlas', published in Amsterdam, 1645 (coloured engraving) (Photo by Art Images via Getty Images)
Culture Club/Hulton Fine Art Collection/Art Images/Getty Images
Surprising element found in traces of Tycho Brahe’s alchemy lab confounds scientists
On 19–20 August 2024, ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will achieve a world first: using the gravity of the Moon and then Earth to bend its path through space, bringing it one step closer to Jupiter.
ESA
Spacecraft will slingshot around Earth today after successful lunar flyby on its way to Jupiter
Overall winner: 'Feeding Frenzy',
Jorge Fontes
Spectacular images of nature’s wonders revealed in photo competition
An artist's depiction of the Polaris Dawn missions shows a crew member during a spacewalk, in the moments before stepping outside the capsule into the vacuum of space.
Polaris via X
SpaceX is about to send four people on a wild — and risky — mission into the radiation belts. Here’s what to know
A rare blue supermoon appears in the night sky over Sydney on August 19, 2024. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
When and how to see the rare super blue moon
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Nick Pearce/Aberystwyth University
Neolithic people moved Stonehenge’s mysterious Altar Stone over hundreds of miles
Me-after-Excavating.jpg
Courtesy Eddie Templeton
He stumbled onto a large tusk in a Mississippi creek. It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind discovery
Unknown.jpg
Murat Akar/Mustafa Kemal University
Archaeologists unearth tiny 3,500-year-old clay tablet following an earthquake
Naval battle ship HMS Hawke before it was sunk in World War I.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Wreck of torpedoed World War I warship found in ‘amazing’ condition
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Mark Garlick
Dinosaur-killing asteroid was likely a giant mudball, study says

Editor's picks

In 1922, American chemist, Thomas Midgley, Jr. discovered tetraethyl, an antiknock agent in gasoline, which led to the establishment of the ethyl gasoline industry. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Corbis/Getty Images
Once celebrated, an inventor’s breakthroughs are now viewed as disasters — and the world is still recovering
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3D Illustration Getty Images/NASA
‘Dyson spheres’ were theorized as a way to detect alien life. Scientists say they’ve found potential evidence
KARS, TURKIYE - MAY 18: A view of moon, appearing in the sky in the evening hours in Kars, Turkey, on May 18, 2024. (Photo by Omer Tarsuslu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Omer Tarsuslu/Anadolu/Getty Images
Why scientists say we need to send clocks to the moon — soon
B8C6TT MEXICAN AXOLOTL
Stephen Dalton/Avalon.red/Alamy Stock Photo
Why axolotls seem to be everywhere — except in the one lake they call home

Space

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the image of sketches is from Kepler's book in 1609, "Phaenomenon Singulare Seu Mercurius In Sole, Thomae Scheueri, Lipisiae"
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler thought he sketched Mercury orbiting across the sun. What he actually captured has solved a solar mystery
NASA’s decision on Boeing Starliner astronauts more than a week away
A supernova shone in the night sky 1,000 years ago. Astronomers have now found its leftover ‘zombie star’
Underground reservoir on Mars could fill oceans on the planet’s surface, study finds

Archaeology

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WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND. November 16. Aerial photograph of the neolithic, Stonehenge. This UNESCO World Heritage Site dates back to 3100 BC, it is located 2 miles west of Amesbury, 7 miles North of Salisbury Plan. (Photograph by David Goddard/Getty Images)
David Goddard/Getty Images
Century-old theory of where Stonehenge’s Altar Stone came from overturned by new study
Pompeii archaeologists find bodies of man and woman – and their treasure
New excavations reveal missing pieces of intriguing artifact at Sutton Hoo
Ancient pot of gold unearthed in Turkey hints at ‘gravest misfortune,’ researchers say

Life

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A Joro spider makes a web, Sept. 27, 2022, in Atlanta.
Brynn Anderson/AP
Are Jorō spiders well poised to spread even more into human areas? A new study offers clues
These scientists want to safeguard Earth’s species by cryogenically preserving them on the moon
Scientists traced roses’ thorny origins and solved a 400 million-year-old mystery
Hens blush when excited or scared, study finds

Paleontology

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Yousuke Kaifu
Newly discovered fossils shed light on the origins of curious ‘hobbit’ humans
How did ancient Egyptians stack those heavy stones of the oldest pyramid? Scientists float new theory
Excavation in Egyptian necropolis uncovers 63 ancient tombs and a trove of gold artifacts
Scientists reveal new details about ‘screaming’ Egyptian mummy’s life and death