While total lunar eclipses are always spectacular, the one on May 26, 2021, promises to be particularly memorable given that it coincides with a supermoon. This means that the Moon — which will be at perigee, or its closest distance to Earth — will appear about 7 percent larger and 15 percent brighter than a standard full Moon. The eclipse will be most visible from the western parts of the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, and Eastern Asia. In the US, the best views will be reserved for Hawaii, Alaska, and the western states....
Read news articleA collection of 1,000 prehistoric structures dubbed mustatils — the plural form of the Arabic term for rectangles — scattered across 124,274 miles (200,000 kilometers) in northwest Saudi Arabia may be the world's oldest monuments. A team of archeologists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) reached this conclusion after radiocarbon dating of charcoal found inside the courtyards indicated they were constructed in 5,000 BC — or about 2,000 years before the Egyptian pyramids or monuments like Stonehenge in southern England....
Read news articleGeologists have long maintained that our Earth comprises four layers — the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and, the deepest layer, the inner core. However, a team of scientists led by Jo Stephenson, a doctoral student in seismology at Australian National University in Canberra, now asserts that our planet may be harboring a mysterious, fifth layer — an "inner-inner" core as well....
Read news articleResearchers worldwide are celebrating the discovery of the fossil of an adult oviraptorosaur brooding over a nest of eggs containing unhatched babies. The unprecedented discovery confirms scientists' suspicions that the two-legged bird-like dinosaurs were doting parents, which not only incubated their eggs, but also guarded them —at times putting their own lives at risk....
Read news articleWhen Jennifer Johnson and her team embarked on their annual quest to survey the sturgeon population in the Detroit River in mid-April 2021, they had fully expected to find some super-sized specimens. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists had never anticipated luring in the granddaddy of all sturgeons — a massive, 240-pound, 6-foot, 10-inch long fish that they estimate is at least a century old!...
Read news articleEvery year, on the second Sunday of May, Americans show their appreciation for the real-life heroes in their lives — moms — with special treats and lavish gifts. This Mother's Day will be no exception. A National Retail Federation (NRF) survey of 7,818 people revealed that the approximately 83 percent of US adults who plan to celebrate the holiday on May 9, 2021, will each spend an average of $220.48. The total, an astounding $28.1 billion, is the highest amount in the survey's 18-year history and easily topples 2020's record spend of $26.7 billion....
Read news articleBritish sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums. Over the years, the environmentalist has submerged over 850 massive artworks in numerous site-specific "sculpture parks" worldwide. On February 1, 2021, Taylor unveiled his latest endeavor — The Underwater Museum of Cannes....
Read news articleRegeneration, or the ability to regrow body parts, is a fairly widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom. However, the skill is usually restricted to growing a new tail or a new limb. Now, researchers have found two species of sacoglossan sea slugs — Elysia atroviridis and Elysia marginata — that deliberately detach their heads from their original bodies and grow brand new ones!...
Read news articleThe beauty of love is that it can happen with the most unexpected person in the most unlikely of places. In the case of a one-year-old stray puppy in Duplin County, North Carolina, that "person" happened to be a bright purple stuffed unicorn at a local Dollar General store. The good news is that this unusual love story has a happy ending!...
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