Aug 8th, 2025 - The Perseids meteor shower — considered one of the best shows in the sky — is set to peak next week. But the peak for fireballs shooting through the night sky coincides this year with a bright moon that is expected to negatively impact visibility for eager viewers. The Perseids peak in 2025 is Aug. 12-13, specifically early next Wednesday for those in North America. At that time, the moon will be 84% full, according to the American Meteor Society. "In 2025, the waning gibbous moon will severely compromise this shower at the time of maximum activity," the organization says . "Such ... [Read More]

Aug 8th, 2025 - A previously unknown Jurassic sea reptile has been uncovered from Germany's renowned Posidonia Shale fossil beds. The discovery sheds new light on the oceans around about 183 million years ago. Scientists at the Naturkunde‑Museum Bielefeld , working with colleagues from the Polish Academy of Sciences, examined a nearly complete skeleton that has preserved traces of soft tissue. Sea creature with distinctive features While unearthed back in 1978 from Holzmaden quarry, the distinctive aspects of the fossil have been overlooked. "This specimen has been in collections for decades, but ... [Read More]

Aug 8th, 2025 - Quantum mechanics is one of the most successful theories in science — and makes much of modern life possible. Technologies ranging from computer chips to medical-imaging machines rely on the application of equations, first sketched out a century ago , that describe the behaviour of objects at the microscopic scale. But researchers still disagree widely on how best to describe the physical reality that lies behind the mathematics, as a Nature survey reveals. At an event to mark the 100th anniversary of quantum mechanics last month, lauded specialists in quantum physics argued politely ... [Read More]

Aug 8th, 2025 - Researchers have found evidence of former residents and newcomers making a life among the ruins of the ancient Roman city in the years following 79AD Pompeii was resettled by former residents and settlers "with nothing to lose" after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius laid waste to the ancient town, new research suggests. The theory of Pompeii's resettlement has long been proposed, however archaeologists have confirmed during ongoing restoration and consolidation work in a southern district of the ancient town. There they discovered ovens, marble and ceramics, dated to after Vesuvius erupted in ... [Read More]

Aug 8th, 2025 - The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best picture yet of a high-speed comet visiting our solar system from another star. NASA and the European Space Agency released the latest photos Thursday. Discovered last month by a telescope in Chile, the comet known as 3I-Atlas is only the third known interstellar object to pass our way and poses no threat to Earth. Astronomers originally estimated the size of its icy core at several miles across, but Hubble's observations have narrowed it down to no more than 3.5 miles. It could even be as small as 1,000 feet, scientists say, according to ... [Read More]

Aug 8th, 2025 - Chilling 66-million-year-old discovery rewrites primate origin story A groundbreaking study has traced the 66-million-year evolutionary history of primates and overturned conventional thought that our ancestors originally inhabited warm tropical forests. Using advanced statistical and climate-modeling techniques, researchers have discovered that the earliest members of our evolutionary family tree were in fact cold-climate survivors. Researchers from the University of Reading investigated 479 species of primates –178 extinct, via fossils, and 301 living – to track how species ... [Read More]

Aug 8th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . I n life, a T. rex's teeth were fearsome. Arguably the majestic carnivore's most valuable weapon. But 66 million years after the king of dinosaurs exited the Mesozoic scene, its fossilized, banana-size flesh rippers are finding a new purpose. Fossilized T. rex teeth—along with gnashers from other dinosaur species—are yielding chemical clues that can help researchers reconstruct Earth's ancient climate. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Scientists in Germany have divulged the atmospheric secrets locked within fossil dino ... [Read More]

Aug 8th, 2025 - Cicadas have been annoying for as long as I can remember. The first time I remember them showing up in Maryland was when I was a teenager. Big, noisy bugs with red eyes, and they were absolutely everywhere. I remember cicadas invading everything with that incessant noise -- everywhere from my grandparents' pool, to the inside of my best friend's truck, flying into windows and doors. However, the fact that they take over the trees isn't the biggest problem with cicadas. The bigger issue is the skull-throbbing noise they make, which just doesn't seem to stop. Their constant shrill buzz can be ... [Read More]