Smart News

This global map indicates the temperature differences between now and preindustrial times, where dark blue translates to cooler temperatures.

Scientists Project Precisely How Cold the Last Ice Age Was

Researchers used models and data from fossilized plankton to determine the global average temperature at the time

Speaking with BBC News, Frans Hals specialist Anna Tummers described the painting as a "wonderful example of his loose painting style. ... It was very playful, daring and loose."

Thieves Steal 17th-Century Masterpiece for Third Time in 32 Years

Frans Hals' "Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer" was previously purloined in 1988 and 2011

Dark skies specialist Stephen Hummel of the University of Texas at Austin captured this rare formation at the McDonald Observatory.

How to Spot Elusive 'Jellyfish Sprites' Dancing in the Sky During a Thunderstorm

The large red flashes of light only last for milliseconds

Critics argue that moving the bust does little to address more commonly cited complaints, including the repatriation of looted artifacts and a need to diversify curatorial staff.

British Museum Moves Bust of Founder, Who Profited From Slavery

The London institution, which reopened this week, is reckoning with its colonialist history in the wake of global protests against racism

A visitor at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument in Washington, D.C.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How the National Park Foundation Is Highlighting Women's History

The organization will allocate $460,000 toward projects at 23 parks across the country

The mushroom cloud from Tsar Bomba was 42 miles high, about seven times the height of Mount Everest

Russia Declassifies Video From 1961 of Largest Hydrogen Bomb Ever Detonated

The blast was over 3,000 times bigger than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima

Many of the monkeys died young, perhaps as a result of their rapid introduction to a drastically different environment.

Cool Finds

Monkeys Found Buried in 2,000-Year-Old Egyptian Pet Cemetery

The primates—likely imported from India to the then-Roman province—were laid to rest with care

Researchers found that painting one blade black was enough to encourage the birds to alter their flight path.

New Research

Painting Wind Turbine Blades Black Help Birds Avoid Deadly Collisions

A recent study found the simple intervention reduced bird mortality by 72 percent

An illustration of the poliovirus, which causes polio

Wild Polio Eradicated in 47 African Countries

Experts announced Tuesday that the disease, which can cause paralysis and death in young children, has been virtually eliminated from the continent

The 63 statues selected depict their subjects in eight different situations, including carrying a baby, playing music, preparing for combat and undergoing torture.

New Research

What Ancient Sculptures Reveal About Universal Facial Expressions

New research suggests displays of emotion may transcend time and culture

A photo from the statue's unveiling in Central Park on Wednesday, August 26

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Why the First Monument of Real Women in Central Park Matters—and Why It's Controversial

Today, New York City welcomed a public artwork honoring three suffragists. But some scholars argue that the statue obscures more than it celebrates

In the background, an image taken from the Northern Hemisphere of Comet NEOWISE on July 18, 2020. Inset, the Hubble Space Telescope's most recent snapshot of NEOWISE, taken on August 8 as it careens away from Earth.

Hubble Snapshots Reveal That Comet Neowise Survived Its Trip Around the Sun

A close-up taken in August shows the 11,000-mile-wide cloud of dust and gas that shrouds the comet

Wolverines make dens in snowpack to raise kits

First Wolverine Family Makes a Home in Mount Rainier National Park in 100 Years

A trio of wolverines—a mom and two kits—were spotted on camera traps in the park

Paleontologist David Schmidt (left) and a crew of student volunteers worked together to find and excavate a huge Triceratops skull in South Dakota.

Cool Finds

College Students Unearth Massive Triceratops Skull

On an annual summer fossil collecting trip, the undergraduates struck it big in South Dakota

Two volunteers found a cache of 425 gold coins that date back to the ninth century A.D.

Cool Finds

Israeli Teens Discover Trove of 1,100-Year-Old Gold Coins

The 24-carat currency dates to the ninth century, when the Abbasid Caliphate ruled much of the Near East and North Africa

El Greco, The Assumption of the Virgin, 1577–79

A History of El Greco's Masterful—and Often Litigious—Artistic Career

A 57-work retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago charts the evolution of the 16th-century painter's distinctive style

L-shaped foundations of the medieval Great Sacristy, as seen from the roof of Westminster Abbey

Cool Finds

Lost Medieval Sacristy, Burial Grounds Unearthed at Westminster Abbey

Demolished in the 1740s, the 13th-century structure once housed the church's altar linens, chalices and other sacred items

Geologist Allan Krill spotted these markings on a boulder the side of the Bright Angel Trail in 2016. The boulder weighs several hundred pounds.

Fallen Boulder at the Grand Canyon Reveals Prehistoric Reptile Footprints

313 million years ago, two reptilian creatures crept over this boulder's surface

Some redwoods were still on fire on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020 in Boulder Creek, CA.

Wildfire Burns California’s Oldest State Park—but Most Redwoods Should Recover Soon

However, the park lost its historic core infrastructure, including headquarters, amphitheater and campgrounds

Prototype biodegradable flip-flops made using algae.

New Research

Researchers Use Algae to Make Biodegradable Flip-Flops

The shoes break down in about 18 weeks under the right conditions

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