Free Republic

Explanation: Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball of cosmic yarn. It lies some 70 million light-years away, south of bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans. Wound up spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal tails as NGC 3169 (left) and neighboring NGC 3166 interact gravitationally. Eventually the galaxies will merge into one, a common fate even for bright galaxies in the local universe. Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions across the deep and colorful galaxy group photo. The telescopic frame spans about 20 arc...

With current events stirring up global energy prices, corn ethanol is again being dressed up as if it is a domestic energy source and agent of energy security. The truth is that corn ethanol is an energy sump, and that it takes more fossil fuel energy to make a gallon of corn ethanol than a gallon of gasoline. It is time to face this unpleasant truth and the other perverse outcomes achieved by twenty years of misguided policy. In 2005 and 2007, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Energy Independence and Security Acts that together created the Renewable Fuel Standard...

According to a statement released by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), archaeologists unearthed a mysterious tunnel beneath the streets of Jerusalem. During construction work near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, workers unexpectedly discovered the entrance to an ancient cavity, measuring 16 feet high and 10 feet wide, that was once accessed via a rock-cut staircase. At first researchers believed the passageway may have been part of an ancient water installation built to access underground springs, but this was subsequently ruled out, since the walls of the tunnel were not covered in plaster as they typically would have been. Geologists also found no...

Teenagers are known for dishing out the dirt, but not quite like this. Students at a high school in Maine were fed potting soil at a community service event raising money to fight hunger, in a bizarre incident the school called “an unfortunate accident.” Students at Medomack Valley High School in Waldoboro had baked a batch of potting soil earlier that day during a science class experiment to determine the effect of sterilized soil on plant growth, according to a statement from the school. “The soil had been placed in a baking dish covered with foil and set off to...

Explanation: Across the center of this spiral galaxy is a bar. And at the center of this bar is smaller spiral. And at the center of that spiral is a supermassive black hole. This all happens in the big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy cataloged as NGC 1300, a galaxy that lies some 70 million light-years away toward the constellation of the river Eridanus. This Hubble Space Telescope composite view of the gorgeous island universe is one of the most detailed Hubble images ever made of a complete galaxy. NGC 1300 spans over 100,000 light-years and the Hubble image reveals striking...

Nearly half the manmade objects orbiting Earth are chunks of “uncontrollable” space junk — with just three countries fueling the problem and endangering future space travel, a shocking new study found. At least 15,587 of the 33,269 tracked objects circling the planet are discarded debris from space launches — meaning a whopping 47% of the stuff hurtling around the planet is potentially hazardous junk, according to a May report from the engineering supply company Accu. Those objects include at least 2,396 discarded rocket bodies — sometimes hundreds of feet across in length — 12,550 expended launch components which can vary...

The Viking Herald reports that two rare English "Lamb of God" coins were recently unearthed in Jutland. During the eleventh century, English monarchs undertook various initiatives to try to ward off seemingly unending Viking attacks. Around 1009, King Æthelred the Unready even minted unusual coins in the hope of obtaining divine protection. The objects feature a lamb and a cross on one side -- a Christian motif alluding to Christ's sacrifice -- and a dove on the other, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Not only did these coins fail in their objective, they became somewhat coveted by Viking raiders,...

The US has recovered four distinct species of extraterrestrial life from crashed UFOs, a former CIA-funded government researcher sensationally claimed this week. Dr. Hal Puthoff, former Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program advisor and CIA-funded researcher, made the claim alongside “Age of Disclosure” director Dan Farrah on Steve Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO” podcast on Thursday. “People who have been involved in recoveries have said there are at least four types. Four separate types,” the 89-year-old said. “Now I have not had direct access to that but I believe the people who I talked to — four separate types...

Trust the scientists. 😜🤣 1 Minute Video at link.......... We are gone now.............

The mysterious Mycenaean collapse and the possible role of climate change continue to fascinate historians and archaeologists alike. If you ever visit the ruins of Mycenae or Tiryns, it is hard not to be amazed by the massive Cyclopean walls that surround these ancient cities. For centuries, however, historians have looked at these fortresses and wondered what could have brought down such a powerful civilization, one so advanced for its time that it still captivates experts and visitors alike. During the Late Bronze Age, these palatial centers ranked among the most dominant powers of the Aegean and the wider Mediterranean,...

When the experienced rock carving hunter Tormod Fjeld was driving his daughter Ada to a nearby location, the two of them decided to take a closer look beneath Kolsåstoppen, a hill in Bærum, Eastern Norway.That was when they found something remarkable: magnificent ships carved into the rock.Perhaps these carvings show people in Norway 3,000 years ago -- sitting in their ship, maybe even wearing helmets.They also spotted a large footprint of the sole of a foot, as well as a hand with five thick fingers.And then more ships appeared -- some carved upright, others upside down.

While the massive Essex-class fleet carriers grabbed the headlines with their sprawling air groups and high-speed strikes, the "Jeep carriers" of the Casablanca class provided the indispensable backbone of Allied maritime operations. Note: Just because you can think up a reason to criticize doesn't mean that you are obligated to do so. Pedantic is not a compliment folks. Kaiser's Coffins: The Casablanca Class | 21:02 The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered 1.64M subscribers | 67,484 views | May 15, 2026

Explanation: Like salsa verde on your favorite burrito, a green aurora slathers up the sky in this 2017 June 25 snapshot from the International Space Station. About 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth, the orbiting station is itself within the upper realm of the auroral displays. Aurorae have the signature colors of excited molecules and atoms at the low densities found at extreme altitudes. Emission from atomic oxygen dominates this view. The tantalizing glow is green at lower altitudes, but rarer reddish bands extend above the space station's horizon. The orbital scene was captured while passing over a point south...

A new study suggests that about 59,000 years ago, someone used a small stone tool to drill into a badly decayed tooth, remove diseased tissue and expose the pulp chamber. The patient may have done it himself, or allowed another Neanderthal to do it. Either way, the procedure points to a striking level of skill, pain tolerance and practical medical understanding...By the time archaeologists found it in Chagyrskaya Cave, in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia, the molar had lost nearly all of its crown. Its enamel was gone and the chewing surface had been worn flat by a hard...

A hefty, never-before-seen asteroid is racing toward Earth at around 20,000 mph (32,000 km/h) and will zoom past our planet closer than some satellites on Monday (May 18), scientists say. You can watch the unusually close encounter for yourself, even if you don't have access to stargazing equipment. The asteroid, dubbed 2026 JH2, was discovered May 10 by astronomers at the Mount Lemmon Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, who also spotted the superbright Comet Lemmon last year. The space rock, which has since been verified by other observatories across the globe, likely circles the sun every 3.7 years on an elliptical...

An artificial intelligence data center was running up a water bill for the ages, and local residents were the ones to point out the problem. In November, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Microsoft had a new “superfactory” named Fairwater spanning over 1 million square feet outside of Atlanta. Chief Technical Officer Mark Russinovich explained why the site is so massive. “To make improvements in the capabilities of the AI, you need to have larger and larger infrastructure to train it,” he said in a statement. The site developer, Quality Technology Services, purchased the plot in 2022 for $154 million. Ironically, Microsoft...

Explanation: Comet R3 PanSTARRS might be best remembered as an Orion comet. A key reason is because Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) was near its most spectacular -- in terms of tail visibility -- when passing in front of the iconic constellation. Although rare, other bright comets, too, have ventured across Orion, including Lovejoy in 2015, Hale-Bopp in 1997, and the Great Comet of 1264. Best visible in long duration exposures, the featured image was captured last week from the Craigieburn Mountain Range in New Zealand. Visible in the deep background image are the Orion Nebula, Barnard's Loop, and through R3's...

NASA’s TESS mission has released its most complete cosmic mosaic yet, revealing thousands of confirmed and candidate exoplanets scattered across the night sky. © Credit: NASA NASA has unveiled the most complete panoramic view yet from its Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), offering a breathtaking look at a sky crowded with thousands of potential alien worlds. The newly released all-sky mosaic combines years of observations into a single image that highlights nearly 6,000 confirmed and candidate exoplanets discovered across the galaxy. Beyond its visual impact, the map represents one of the most ambitious planet-hunting efforts ever conducted and marks another...

Explanation: What are some of the most interesting astronomical objects you can see in the night sky? Armed with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look for the very popular objects in the Messier Catalog. Most of them, but not all, are also visible from the southern half of the Earth. The featured image shows all 110 objects in the catalog at uniform scale -- the same magnification. Charles Messier created the catalog in the 18th century. He was interested in comets, and his catalog was a list...

Bordeaux-no! A Michigan woman was arrested and then rushed to the hospital after she stole a bottle of wine and hid it inside a “body cavity,” cops said. The 48-year-old was allegedly caught by shopkeepers drinking a bottle of alcohol in a Traverse City liquor store without paying for it, and returned the next day to nab a bottle of Chardonnay. Employees attempted to stop her, but were unable to find the pilfered tipple. That is, until police arrested her and found it stashed inside an unnamed bodily orifice at the jail, at which point she was brought to Munson...