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Explanation: Known for its bright and fast meteors, the annual Perseid Meteor Shower comes to planet Earth's skies from a radiant in the heroic constellation Perseus. The popular northern summer celestial spectacle is created as grains of dust cast off along the orbit of periodic comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle vaporize in Earth's dense atmosphere, tracing brief, but beautiful streaks through the night. Taken near the shower's peak of activity on August 12, this composite image recorded two bright perseid meteors and one meteor's watery reflection from a location near the coastal village of Grisslehamn, Sweden. Almost as bright as Altair, brightest star...

Researchers are shell-shocked at the latest marine discovery. Dolphins have been filmed using shells to ensnare their prey off the coast of Australia, marking the first time this clever tactic has been caught on camera, per a bombshell paper in Marine Mammal Science. “The second I saw that shell in the air, I immediately knew what was happening,” the study’s head author, Alexis Levengood, a marine mammal biologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, told ScienceAlert. Levengood said she and her team were on a research vessel off Hervey Bay when they spotted a female Pacific bottlenose...

WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has made at least $174,000 annually for nearly eight years as a member of Congress, but like many of her “Squad” colleagues, she has yet to put a substantial dent in her student loan debt, according to House financial disclosures. The Bronx and Queens Democrat has owed between $15,001 and $50,000 in federal student loan debt since her election to the House in 2018. That’s the same amount she owes now, according to her August disclosure, where lawmakers report ranges for debt and income. The “Tax the Rich!” pol reported less than $81,000 in...

...at the Carrarzu Iddia archaeological site in Bortigali, a short distance from the town of Macomer. The monument still preserves its burial chamber and exedra and provides new insights into Nuragic civilization...The monument, which had long been completely hidden by vegetation, was rediscovered thanks to survey activities...The tomb is located on the southern slope of Crastu Littu, at an elevation of approximately 740 meters...The funerary monument is constructed of trachyte blocks... the burial chamber and the monumental semicircular exedra preceding the entrance...are still clearly visible......the space is divided into two levels near the entrance -- a construction solution that has...

Fighting in the Second World War went on until the very end. WWII: The Last Day | 20:41 The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered | 1.64M subscribers | 14,619 views | August 14, 2026

California Post on Google Beverly Hills diners hoping to chow down on expensive filet mignon were treated to a different kind of beef at Steak 48. The messy melee exploded between two women at the pricey Beverly Hills steakhouse, captured on video obtained by TMZ. As forks clinked and calming music played, the two women brutally yanked each other’s hair as confused employees tried to stop them and entertained diners watched. "Oh my god, I love this,” one woman could be heard saying in the video. Both brawlers sported fancy dresses without undergarments as they attacked each other. They rolled...

Dazzling new images taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope show an astronomical object known for its striking resemblance to a lion’s face. NGC 2392, more commonly called the Lion Nebula, received its nickname from its hazy dust “mane” and the dying star at its center, which resembles a “button nose,” according to NASA. The images were taken by Webb, using its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI) The agency previously captured images of the feline-themed planetary nebula in 2000 using the Hubble Space Telescope. Webb’s higher-resolution images show that...

President Trump said Friday that he plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States” after the Iran war. “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said during a Long Island rally for Republican candidates in the gubernatorial and congressional elections. Trump’s preliminary peace deal with Iran — signed June 17 — fell apart last month after Iran attempted to assert control over the strait, including by opening fire on commercial ships that used a sea...

Explanation: On August 12, the Moon's shadow reached out to touch our fair planet. Beginning in the Arctic Ocean, it swept along a narrow track that led the dark lunar umbra across parts of Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic, Portugal, and northern Spain. And for a moment, denizens of Earth who found themselves with clear skies under the shadow of the Moon could witness a total solar eclipse. After dodging the weather by sea and making a landing along Rype Fjord on the Greenland east coast (at 71.07055N, 27.71252W), this hard-won snapshot was captured at 17:33:26 UTC. That's near the initial...

Explanation: On August 12th, 2026, the Moon totally eclipsed the Sun and cast its shadow across Siberia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal. Today’s image features two total solar eclipses viewed from Zaragoza, Spain, one over the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and the other reflecting in the Ebro River. For a few moments, Spain saw its first major total solar eclipse since 1905. Those witnessing totality may experience a chill in the air, the quieting of birds, the confused chirps of insects, and the shared awe of many. It’s the corona’s time to shine as the Sun’s bright...

Popocatepetl volcano is just east of Mexico city and is the 5th highest peak in North America ( 17,694 feet (5,393 meters) tall.) It is erupting steam right now. You can slide the time backward to see the last 12 hours. This mountain is where I did my first technical climb following the "Ventorillo Route" up the inactive vent on the right hand skyline, across the saddle and up the glacier to the summit.

Explanation: It looks like a view from the Little Prince's planet. The featured image is a throwback to the 2024 Perseid meteor shower, surrounded in this projection by the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland. Visible in the sky is the arch of the Milky Way, along with several nebulas in red and over a hundred meteors pointing to the radiant. The Perseids are easily visible and quite popular in the Northern Hemisphere summer. (Watching meteor showers in the winter is less convenient for a good reason). This year they are expected to offer an even more dazzling spectacle than usual, because...

WASHINGTON — Speculation is swirling over whether Democrat darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has quietly split with her longtime beau Riley Roberts — following her public announcement this week that she was freezing her eggs to feel “more in control of my life.” The “Squad” star, 36 — who got engaged to Roberts in April 2022 — has been spotted in recent months without her engagement ring and it was noticeably absent in May when the pair was photographed together at a Manhattan burger joint. She also carefully chose her words when asked this week by a reporter about her choice...

A hobbyist searching a forest in northern Poland stumbled across an unusual sight: a bronze sword that had been standing upright in the ground for nearly 2,700 years. The remarkably well-preserved weapon was discovered by metal detectorist Marcin Wiśniewski in the Gdańsk Forest District, according to the Pomeranian Provincial Heritage Conservator. Officials say the sword dates to the Late Bronze Age, between 900 and 700 B.C. Photos released by the conservator show the ancient weapon protruding vertically from the sandy soil before archaeologists carefully removed it. Rather than excavating the find himself, Wiśniewski reported it to heritage officials, who recovered...

Jacob Tsimerman won the biggest prize in math. Now he’s working on the most important problem of his career.When he won the Fields Medal last week, Jacob Tsimerman accepted the most prestigious honor in math wearing a powder-blue tuxedo with satin lapels.Then he made an announcement as striking as his tux. After the ceremony, the four winning mathematicians were asked what they planned to do next. One said he would keep working on partial differential equations, one said he wanted to experiment with artificial intelligence and one said she had absolutely no idea. That left Tsimerman.“I’ll be starting a position...

Explanation: How many moons does Saturn have? While the total will likely continue to grow, as of June 2026 the ringed gas giant had 293 confirmed moons. That's easily more than any other planet of the Solar System, including ruling gas giant Jupiter with a mere 115 confirmed moons. Most of Saturn's known moons are small, irregular satellites. Many are only few kilometers to a fraction of a kilometer across and grouped in tilted outer orbits. Six of its largest satellites can be seen here, though, in this sharp telescopic Saturnian family portrait taken on August 5. Larger than Earth's...

A Roman-era shipwreck has been found off Mazara del Vallo, along with hundreds of amphorae on the seabed. Culture Minister Giuli has hailed the discovery as "extraordinary"... A Roman-era shipwreck, probably dating from between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, has been located around three miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, at a depth of 46 metres. On the seabed, the Italian Ministry of Culture reports, there are hundreds of amphorae, mostly of the Dressel 1A type, two lead anchor stocks and another structure made of the same material. The discovery was made during a joint inspection carried...

The discovery of the gold cross is an interesting story in itself, but the story becomes even stranger. 'Tucker's Cross' had been on display at the museum for years. One day, as they were preparing for Queen Elizabeth II's royal visit to the island, it was discovered that at some point, the highly valuable cross had been stolen -- and swapped out for a cheap plastic replica! The loss of the golden cross was a huge blow to Bermuda, especially as it has never been recovered. Its location is still an unsolved mystery to this day.

New research from the University of Leicester has conclusively determined why the famous Ketton mosaic in Rutland -- one of the most remarkable Roman discoveries in Britain for a century -- cannot depict scenes from Homer's Iliad as was initially believed. Instead, it draws on an alternative version of the Trojan War story first popularised by the Greek playwright Aeschylus that has since been lost to history. The mosaic's images combine artistic patterns and designs that had already been circulating for hundreds of years across the ancient Mediterranean, suggesting that craftsmen in Roman Britain were more closely connected to the...

The more I hear of the WNBA, the more I realize there is no intelligent life here on this planet. Here is a recent headline, one that should be an excellent example of a Babylon Bee headline, but that isn’t a Babylon Bee headline, but a real one from Townhall -- an actual news outlet:AdvertisementWNBA to Hold Meeting to Discuss What the ‘W’ Stands For.The more I hear of the WNBA, the more I realize there is no intelligent life here on this planet. Beam me up, Scotty. Please.AdvertisementThe league is actually going to hold a meeting in an attempt...