Exoplanets Exist That Are So Hot They Rain Titanium And Have Aluminium Oxide Clouds
Thanks to the success of the Kepler mission, we know that there are multitudes of exoplanets of a type called ‘Hot Jupiters’. These are gas giants that orbit so close…
Scientists Create Prototype That Generates Electricity From Shadows
It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, but the newly revealed Shadow-Effect Energy Generator (SEG) is a real prototype device. The fascinating concept could help us to transform the…
Siberia’s 10°C Hotter Than Average, We Just Had Warmest May on Record
Temperatures soared 10 degrees Celsius (°C) above average last month in Siberia, home to much of Earth’s permafrost, as the world experienced its warmest May on record, the European Union’s…
Earth’s Forests Aren’t Just Shrinking, They’re Getting Younger
The fate of Earth’s forests remains uncertain. In the past few years, humans have removed more than 40 football fields of tree cover every single minute; altogether, it’s an annual…
As Permafrost Melts It’s Unleashing Ancient Viruses, Carbon
Melting permafrost, suspected by Russia of being behind an unprecedented fuel spill that has polluted huge stretches of Arctic rivers, is a time bomb threatening health and the environment, and…
In a Fascinating Twist, Animals That Do Math Also Understand More Language Than We Think
It is often thought that humans are different from other animals in some fundamental way that makes us unique, or even more advanced than other species. These claims of human…
It’s 2020, And Astronomers Have Just Found a New Class of Massive Space Explosions
Astronomers have finally classified a tremendous space explosion first noticed in 2018 – an event so bright, it was thought to have originated much closer to us than we eventually…
Scientists Thought This Egyptian Mummy Was a Bird, But The Truth Was Something Sadder
A tiny, 2,100-year-old mummy from ancient Egypt had long been thought to contain the remains of a treasured bird – which would make sense, considering the hawk-themed decorations and small…
Physicist Proposes a Pretty Depressing Explanation For Why We Never See Aliens
The Universe is so unimaginably big, and it’s positively teeming with an almost infinite supply of potentially life-giving worlds. So where the heck is everybody? At its heart, this is…
Yellowstone Discovery Suggests The Risk of Super-Eruption Is Actually Decreasing
Two newly discovered super-eruptions have been found hidden in the geological history of Yellowstone National Park – including one that ranks in the fifth biggest volcanic eruption of all time.…
This May Have Been Earth’s First-Ever Land Animal
The first creepy crawlies to climb out of Earth’s ancient lakes and make their way on land may very well have done so with hundreds of tiny feet. After carefully…
Russia Says Melting Permafrost Is Behind The Massive Arctic Fuel Spill
An unprecedented fuel spill that has polluted huge stretches of Arctic rivers was caused by melting permafrost, Russian officials said Friday, ordering a review of infrastructure in vulnerable zones. The…
Watch Friday’s ‘Strawberry Moon’ Darken With a Partial Penumbral Eclipse
June’s full moon – also known as the “strawberry moon” because it comes during strawberry season – might look a little darker than normal on Friday. That’s because many parts…
Astronomers Pinpoint The Origin of Huge Gas Bubbles Flowing Out of The Milky Way
There’s an unusual paradox hampering research into parts of the Milky Way. Dense gas blocks observations of the galactic core, and it can be difficult to observe in visible light…
Humans Really Do Want Be Kind to Each Other, Even in The Face of Competing Interests
If one word sums up 2020 so far, it’s division. A recent study could give us some much-needed optimism. Results from an experiment conducted by sociologists from The Ohio State…
Russia Is in a State of Emergency After 20,000 Tonnes of Diesel Fuel Leak Into River
Russia on Thursday intensified efforts to clean up a major fuel spill that environmentalists say is the worst such accident in the Arctic, as investigators made their first arrest. A…
Snake Eels Can Burst Through Predators’ Stomachs, And That’s Not The Grossest Part
Desperate times call for desperate measures – but when fighting for survival, the burrowing snake eel doesn’t have a lot of tools in its arsenal. If this finless creature is…
The Psychological Effect of Seeing Earth From Space Changes You, Astronauts Say
Riding atop a pillar of flames, fumes, and dust, two NASA astronauts – Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley – ascended to space on Saturday with the help of a Falcon…
Discovery of Elusive ‘Black’ Nitrogen Structure Finally Solves Chemistry Mystery
When it comes to putting the lighter elements of the periodic table under high pressure, nitrogen seems to be the odd one out. While oxygen, boron, and carbon all change…
Scientists Have Engineered Human Cells With a Squid-Like Power of Invisibility
The opalescent inshore squid has a superpower. Not only can it change the colour of its skin – which many chephalops can do – it can also turn parts of…
The First Known Interstellar Comet Might Survive Our Solar System After All
Earlier this year, a comet that wandered into the Solar System from a distant star appeared to have met its demise when it started to break apart. But appearances can…
We’re Only 3 Days Into Hurricane Season, And It’s Already a Record-Breaker
Just two days into the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Cristobal was churning in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the third Atlantic storm powerful enough to get a…
A Pristine Pocket of Sky Has Been Identified as Possibly The Cleanest Air on Earth
We’ve seen plenty of scientific reports on poor air quality, but a new study takes the opposite approach: using samples collected out on the ocean and some modelling, it identifies…
Researchers Unveil a Sodium-Ion Battery That Rivals Commercial Lithium-Ion Models
So much of our everyday tech runs on batteries, the importance of lithium-ion rechargeables cannot be overstated. But they are expensive to produce, with difficult-to-source materials. There is an alternative…
Largest And Oldest Maya Monument Ever Found Discovered Under Mexico
A giant, sprawling structure almost a mile long has been discovered at the southern tip of Mexico, with researchers saying it may represent the oldest and largest monument of the…
Scientists Discover The Oldest Known Parasitic Relationship
The COVID-19 outbreak has put into stark relief the disruption parasites can cause, both in human society and ecosystems. Researchers have long sought to better understand the evolutionary importance of…
How to Watch This Friday’s Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
Eclipse season resumes on June 5th, with a fine penumbral lunar eclipse. Are you cursing the June Full Moon as it thwarts your dreams of deep-sky imaging this week? Fear…
There’s Now Strong Evidence That an Exotic Type of Matter Exists Inside Neutron Stars
Neutron stars are rising to the top of the list of the most delicious objects in the Universe. First, it was dense “nuclear pasta” beneath their crusts. Now, we have…