Dec 8th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google Astronomers have spotted one of the largest rotating structures ever reported. It's a knife-edge chain of hydrogen-rich galaxies, threaded inside a giant cosmic filament, about 140 million light-years away. The structure stretches 5.5 million light-years yet spans only about 117,000 light-years across. It seems to move in two ways at once – each galaxy spins on its own axis, and the whole filament rotates together. The discovery offers a rare laboratory for testing how the cosmic web funnels gas and angular momentum into galaxies. It also shows how those inputs ... [Read More]

Dec 7th, 2025 - A zoo on Java island released photos of Indonesia's first locally born giant panda cub, and said the male cub was showing signs of being in good health. The mother, 15-year-old Hu Chun, gave birth to Satrio Wiratama — nicknamed Rio — on November 27 at the zoo's facility in Cisarua, West Java province. The name symbolizes the hope, resilience, and shared commitment of Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species, Taman Safari Indonesia said in a statement Sunday. "This birth is the result of a long-term international cooperation program that has been ongoing for a decade, ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . T he movie Jaws has been terrifying moviegoers since it hit theaters 50 years ago. Now, the reputational damage the horror film inflicted on actual sharks may be beginning to wane. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. In several studies on public perceptions of sharks over the past decade, participants tended to report moderate to high levels of fear, often linking sharks with words like "blood" and "death." This highlights a prevalent misconception, given that shark attacks on people are extremely rare around the globe. But a new ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - For many people in the US, winter has come a little early , as a few waves of snow and blisteringly cold temperatures have colored the landscape white. It isn't officially winter yet, and it won't be until Dec. 21 when the winter solstice takes place. So get ready because Earth's shortest day is on its way. What is the winter solstice? The winter solstice has a few different meanings, so here are all of them. The most common definition, and the one you're most likely familiar with, is that it denotes the shortest day and longest night of the year on Earth. These times vary depending on your ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - A study published this week about tens of thousands of starving African penguins is highlighting what scientists warn is the planet's sixth mass extinction event , driven by human activity, and efforts to save as many species as possible. Researchers from the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), the United Kingdom's University of Exeter, and other institutions examined a pair of breeding colonies north of Cape Town, South Africa , and published their findings Thursday in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology . "These two sites are two of the most ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - This Martian dust devil on Amazonis Planitia towers 2,133 feet (650 m) high, casting a long shadow over the volcanic plains. A new study using Perseverance's microphones reveals these common vortices can be electrically active. As dust grains collide within the plume, they generate triboelectric friction, creating small lightninglike discharges. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona In a study published Nov. 26 in Nature , Baptiste Chide, a postdoctoral fellow in planetary acoustics at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and his team report what they believe to be the first evidence of ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . I t might not sound too tasty to us, but some animals snack on hornets, stingers and all, including certain spiders, birds, and frogs. Hornet stings can trigger powerful pain, heart issues, and even death in some species, yet others seem to eat them up without issue. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. It's unclear how such daring predators stomach these venomous victuals—they might endure the stings, or just manage to evade them before swallowing. Researchers have found hornets in frogs' stomachs, for example, but scientists ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - The 8 best things to do in Giza, Egypt - Lonely Planet , and visiting can be a sensory overload. The area around the site is a rolling parade of horse-drawn carriages, camels, tour buses, taxis and touts. Vendors hawk tours, scarves, alabaster pyramid models and pyramid-shaped key chains.  , Giza is undergoing perhaps the biggest change it has seen since the Great Pyramid of Khufu first rose. Improving the visitor experience are new rules and regulations on horse and camel drivers; improved toilet facilities; and a proliferation of modern cafes and upscale restaurants dishing up plates ... [Read More]