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In an extraordinary confluence of events, three nations from three separate regions of the globe—the United States, China, and the United Arab Emirates —launched spacecraft headed for planet Mars within a 12-day period in July 2020. Earth and Mars were aligned perfectly for a complication-free trip during this window, and consequently the UAE’s orbiter probe Hope, China’s orbiter-rover Tianwen-1, and the United States’ rover Perseverance all began their long, arduous seven-month journeys to the ever-alluring red planet Mars at nearly the same time. Illustration showing the landing event of NASA’s Perseverance on planet Mars on February 18, 2021. (JPL-Caltech / NASA) NASA Planet Mars…

Australia’s Most Endangered Parrot Faces an Unusual Threat: Trees Native vegetation blocks the birds’ ability to see approaching predators In the far north of Australia, on a cattle ranch known as Artemis, a female golden-shouldered parrot burrows into a conical termite mound to build her nest. With her head deep in a narrow tunnel, she is vulnerable and relies on her mate, who guards the entrance, to sound the alarm. Without warning, a black-backed butcherbird swoops in, as if out of nowhere. The male parrot, a long-tailed bird with a vivid turquoise chest and bright yellow bands on his wings,…

The roughly 3,500-year-old bone ice skates found in Xinjiang are almost exactly like prehistoric ice skates found in northern Europe. Archaeologists in China have unearthed 3,500-year-old ice skates crafted from animal bone in the country’s western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a mountainous area that some archaeologists think was the birthplace of skiing. These ice skates, the oldest ever found in China,  were made from the bones of oxen and horses, according to a translated statement. They were found in a tomb in the Gaotai Ruins, about 240 miles (385 kilometers) west of the regional capital Ürümqi, archaeologists with the Xinjiang Uyghur…

“What does the U.S. government really know about UFOs and for how long have they known it?” Ufologists and UFO experiencers have been asking these questions for decades, and it seems that answers are finally emerging. Based on the CIA’s recent release, on January 14, 2021, of nearly 3,000 pages of documents that detail  a wealth of fascinating data about UFO behavior and capabilities , it seems they know a lot and have known a lot about this topic for quite some time. These freshly declassified US government UFO info documents (published in their entirety on  The Black Vault ) reveal the truth about…

New simulations from Imperial College London have revealed the asteroid that doomed the dinosaurs struck Earth at the ‘deadliest possible’ angle. The simulations show that the asteroid hit Earth at an angle of about 60 degrees, which maximized the amount of climate-changing gases thrust into the upper atmosphere. Such a strike likely unleashed billions of tonnes of sulphur, blocking the Sun and triggering the nuclear winter that killed the dinosaurs and 75 per cent of life on Earth 66 million years ago. Drawn from a combination of 3D numerical impact simulations and geophysical data from the site of the impact, the new models are…

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb created quite a stir in the scientific community in 2018, when he wrote a paper suggesting an interstellar object spotted in our solar system might be a surveillance vessel sent by an alien civilization. He claimed the object, which was named  Oumuamua (“scout” in Hawaiian), had unique characteristics that made a natural origin unlikely. Now, Loeb is at it again. In  an article just published  in Scientific American, Loeb speculates that there may be a connection between  Oumuamua and UFOs, or UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena). With the United States Department of Defense set to release the results of an extensive government study of…

Despite the fact that 2023 has only started, the cosmos are already poised to create history. A comet that was just recently identified will be visible in a few weeks during what is likely to be its one and only documented appearance. The comet is expected to have traveled billions of kilometers from its thought beginnings near the fringe of our solar system. In March 2022, the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was initially seen when it passed through Jupiter’s orbit. It’s a long-period comet that NASA believes originated in the Oort Cloud, the furthest area of the solar…

This artist’s concept shows the plumes of ice particles erupting from fractures in the south polar region of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. In our solar system, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is unique: It provides scientists direct access to a global ocean hidden beneath the moon’s icy surface. That’s because Enceladus is constantly venting its subsurface water out into space. Numerous geysers spew water vapor hundreds of miles into space through cracks that seem clawed into the moon’s south polar region. During its flybys, the Cassini spacecraft “tasted” some of the plumes, and its analysis indicated the water may have come from a carbonate-rich subsurface…

The European Space Agency has released an extraordinary image obtained by its Solar Orbiter, a sophisticated spacecraft designed to observe the Sun from much closer than Earth — and spoiler alert, it’s pretty incredible. You can see a zoomed out version below, but to really appreciate the sheer majesty of the image, it’s worth clicking here for the full-resolution version. That tiny speck in the upper right corner? Yep, that’s the entirety of the Earth to scale. The end result was stitched together from 25 separate shots, the ESA explained, taken by the Solar Orbiter’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instrument as the spacecraft…

In three years, the “Ƅlack hole мerger,” a rare astronoмical occurrence, will take place. A single Ƅlack hole will Ƅe created when two extreмely large Ƅlack holes мeet and мerge. Due to the fact that the point of conʋergence will Ƅe ʋisiƄle to telescopes, this enaƄles researchers to мore thoroughly exaмine the characteristics and Ƅehaʋior of Ƅlack holes. Scientists and anyone who enjoy science are likely to Ƅe ʋery interested in this Ƅig and fascinating occurrence. We мight see soмething that no huмan has eʋer seen. Scientists eagerly await the historic мoмent, as it would Ƅe the first tiмe that…

In 1917, just two years after Albert Einstein proposed the general theory of relativity — his revolutionary new theory of gravity — he took a bold step forward and decided to apply his theory to the Universe as a whole. His question was simple but incredibly bold: Can we model the shape of the Universe? To answer, Einstein made use of his new, powerful theory that described gravity as the curvature of spacetime around a mass. The more massive a body, the more warped the geometry around it is, and the slower time ticks. Einstein’s reasoning was crystal clear. Since…

Thanks to the now-iconic limestone/plaster bust of her found in 1912 at Amarna, her striking beauty and elegance have captured millions of hearts around the world. However, her final resting place has never been located, and it remains to this day one of Egypt’s most outstanding mysteries. The hunt has even attracted prominent Egyptologists such as Drs. Nicholas Reeves and Zahi Hawass, both of whom believe they may actually find the elusive mummy this year. Ever since 2015, when Reeves first suspected there were still undiscovered chambers lying inside the tomb of Tutankhamun, possibly housing the mummy of Nefertiti , the race has…

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the search for gold was at an all-time high. People discovered vast goldfields all across the world, attracting newcomers who wanted to try their luck. Gold miners and prospectors flocked to Alaska, Canada, Africa, and Australia. Some of them found wealth, while others found nothing at all. But some found more than they bargained for. They found the madness that the hunt for gold can create, the obsession with the promise of wealth. Harold Bell Lasseter was one such man, devoting his entire life searching for a fabled gold field in the heart of…

An astonishing collection of gold and silver jewelry and coins, some of which are at least 1,000 years old, has just gone on display at the Rijksmuseum Van Oudheden (RMO) museum in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands, the Dutch News reports. The priceless precious metal treasure includes four gold ornaments shaped like earrings, two pieces of unattached gold leaf and 39 small silver coins, all of which were found in the same small plot of land. The jewelry has been dated to the first half of the 11th century, but the coins were minted in the 13th century, which means…

One of the skeletons of 140 children who were ritually sacrificed during a ceremony about 550 years ago near the modern day city of Trujillo, Peru. Archaeologists in northern Peru say they have found evidence of what could be one of the world’s largest single cases of child sacrifice. The pre-Columbian burial site, known as Las Llamas, contains the skeletons of 140 children who were between the ages of 5 and 14 when they were ritually sacrificed during a ceremony about 550 years ago, experts who led the excavation told The Associated Press on Friday. The site, located near the…

4,000-Year-Old Lion Jaw Bone Unearthed in Kültepe Excavations continue in Kültepe, the starting point of Anatolian written history. During the excavations, a 4,000-year-old lion jawbone was unearthed. For the first time, a lion’s jawbone was found in Kültepe. Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu of Ankara University’s Faculty of Language, History-Geography, and Archeology Department said that in 2021, they discovered many animal bones and large storage logs in the basement of a large edifice in the region. Providing information about the lion bone found in the Kültepe excavation site to journalists, Kulakoğlu said, “For the first time, a lion’s jawbone has been…

COMMON NAME: Horned screamers SCIENTIFIC NAME: Anhima cornuta TYPE: Birds DIET: Herbivore AVERAGE LIFE SPAN: Unknown SIZE: About the size of a turkey WEIGHT: Up to seven pounds What is a horned screamer? Horned screamers are the unicorns of the bird world. Over the course of their lives, these birds grow long, white spines of cartilage in the middle of their foreheads. Some birds possess horns approaching six inches in length. No other birds on earth have anything like it. Unlike with rams and rhinos, the screamer’s horn doesn’t seem to be a weapon, because it is only loosely attached to the skull and known to snap off once…

What is CITES CoP19? Now a multi-billion-dollar industry, the wildlife trade impacts an array of species: over a third of the world’s bird species are impacted by international trade, some traded as food, some as pets, while others have unique features highly sought after on international markets. The trade in wildlife is now a key form of exploitation, which globally is the second greatest driver of extinction risk in birds, with only habitat loss pushing more species closer to the edge. Alongside this, controlling the trade of wild animals is also a vital component of preventing the devastating impacts of…

New satellite imagery showing rapid forest loss in many parts of the tropics has led to a suite of forest-dependent bird species being moved to higher extinction risk categories in BirdLife’s latest update to the IUCN Red List. Meanwhile, the impacts of climate change are already taking their toll on a range of Australian endemics. Amidst the gloom, however, comes another chapter in one of conservation’s great success stories, proving that targeted efforts can change the fortunes of species in the most perilous of positions. As the official Red List Authority for birds, BirdLife’s Red List team regularly reassesses the conservation…

How does it feel to look a bird in the eye and know that the entire species would have gone extinct without your help? As Thomas Ghestemme puts some mealworms onto a feeding station, a young Fatu Hiva Monarch tilts its head inquisitively, looks at him and takes the food. Watching the bird flutter off, Ghestemme’s eyes show a mix of emotions: relief, fascination and hope. However, his frown also betrays deep concern. For Ghestemme and his Polynesian colleagues, contemplating a species’ existence when out in the field is a regular occurrence rather than an emotional experience. Not once – but twice…

Long-tailed Tit plumage varies substantially across its range, and the pale head of the subspecies found in Hokkaido, Japan, along with its inquisitive behaviour, has long inspired many a nature lover. Discover more about these real-life ‘snow fairies’ in the latest ‘Through the lens’ article. Subspecies are those belonging to the same species that are usually geographically isolated and have therefore developed distinct differences in body colour, size and pattern. The Long-tailed Tit subspecies found in Honshu, Kyushu and Shigoku, and Tushima Island has a thick black eyebrow like patch. The subspecies of Long-tailed Tit found in Hokkaido Japan, known as Shima-Enaga in…

Our technologies are on the verge of being able to save us. But it will be close. The popular Netflix movie Don’t Look Up is a satirical send up of two astronomers’ attempts to warn an indifferent world to the civilization-ending threat of an imminent asteroid impact. After its release, the film generated the most Netflix viewing hours in a single week. At the heart of the movie is the question of what to do in the face of a threat from a 10-kilometer diameter asteroid heading straight towards us. That’s a similar size to the asteroid that that killed off the…

A planet enters the last phase of its death spiral into the white dwarf it has been orbiting. For some years, the resulting debris cloud will change the spectrum of the white dwarf. When it comes to exoplanets, the search for water is paramount, thanks to its vital role in the evolution of life as we know it. However, finding the life-giving liquid on other worlds is an ongoing challenge.For nearly a decade, scientists have probed the composition of planets as the worlds are shredded and consumed by white dwarf stars. Because heavy elements quickly sink below the hydrogen- and…

The recent episodes of jet fighters shooting down spy balloons has everyone talking about how they can be used for surveillance. But if anyone had bothered to ask an astronomer, they would know we’ve been attaching telescopes to balloons for decades — and the technique even represents the latest cutting edge in NASA research. Windows to the universe Sure, the atmosphere may provide living creatures on our planet with plenty of air to breathe. But for the astronomer, it’s simply a nuisance. Not only does the atmosphere scatter light from distant sources, making detailed observations difficult, but also the atoms…