Over the past two decades, powerful instruments, like the now-retired Kepler space telescope, have allowed astronomers to identify thousands of exoplanets. While the unique new worlds, which range from fiery gas giants to icy spheres, have helped increase astronomers' knowledge about the development of planets, the process of how they form has always been a mystery. Now, scientists may finally get some answers thanks to the stunning first-ever images of a new exoplanet being "born" about 520 light years from Earth.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are always thrilled to welcome new crew members to the orbiting laboratory. However, the May 31, 2020, arrival of NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley on SpaceX's Endeavour was particularly exciting. It was the first piloted launch from American soil since the US Space Shuttle program was retired in 2011 and the first human spaceflight performed by a public-private partnership — NASA and SpaceX.
If you are looking for an excuse to indulge in a donut or two, here is a perfect one. Friday, June 5, 2020, is National Donut Day, which means it is your civic duty to devour one — or even a dozen — of the fried treats. Observed annually on the first Friday of June, the yummy holiday was not established by donut manufacturers to boost sales, but by Salvation Army volunteers to raise funds for the poor.
Countries worldwide are gradually easing the strict lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. While this will allow non-essential businesses to resume operations, they are required to ensure customers keep a safe six-foot distance from each other at all times. Here are some creative ways in which companies are abiding by the regulation.
Due to COVID-19, the Class of 2020 is missing out on a traditional graduation. However, those who accepted SpaceX's invitation to upload selfies to the company's website will commemorate their milestone year with a journey most people only dream about.
Given their reputation as solitary creatures that come together only to mate and hibernate, the notion of snakes hanging out in groups with their "best friends" may sound a little far-fetched. However, a recent study conducted by researchers from Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University asserts that the reptiles not only actively seek out socialization with their peers, but are also extremely particular about who they spend time with.
Over the years, archeologists have unearthed several royal tomb complexes in the Dra' Abu el-Naga' necropolis near Luxor, Egypt. However, the occupant of a 3,500-year-old wooden coffin, recently discovered in the region by a Spanish-Egyptian team, was not a pharaoh or an important royal official, but a mysterious teenager adorned with precious jewelry.
Since early May, visitors to the Padre Island National Seashore off the coast of South Texas have been discovering specimens of the rare blue dragon, or Glaucus atlanticus. Though the name evokes images of flying, fire breathing monsters, the delicate creatures are a type of sea slug that spend their lives in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
