Science

At first, there was nothing dramatic about the galaxy. ESO 130 G012 sits relatively close by cosmic standards, about 55 million light-years from Earth. It is an edge-on spiral with a steady but unremarkable pace of star formation. Nothing about it suggested spectacle. But while astronomers were slowly scanning radio images from Australia’s ASKAP telescope,…

Saudi Arabia plans to plant 10 billion trees, rehabilitating 74.8 million hectares across deserts under the Saudi Green Initiative nationwide/ Image: earth.com In a country where nearly 95 per cent of the land is desert, sand is not just terrain, it is culture. Bedouin life, camel routes, oases and long crossings have shaped Saudi Arabia’s…

The night sky has a habit of slipping into the background during quieter years. Fewer headline events pass overhead, and attention moves on. That calm is set to break in 2026. The year opens with a concentrated run of eclipses and planetary gatherings that arrive close enough together to feel connected rather than isolated. Some…

Mars often feels finished. Mapped, scanned, labelled in broad strokes. Yet every so often, something unsettles that sense of familiarity. A shadow where none was expected. A shape that does not fit earlier categories. Researchers studying satellite images noticed a small cluster of openings in a remote Martian region that did not behave like known…

The moa were a group of giant flightless birds that lived in New Zealand. They disappeared from Earth about 600 years ago, not long after humans settled the islands and radically changed the ecosystems. The largest species were more than three meters tall and had a major ecological role long before the Polynesian hunters caused…

BENGALURU: Scientists from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) reported an advance in the long quest to move electronics beyond silicon, by creating molecular-scale devices that can adapt their behaviour and perform multiple computing functions within the same material.In a study that brings together chemistry, physics, and electrical engineering, the IISc team has demonstrated tiny electronic…

The venom of black widow spiders can cause an array of symptoms in humans. (Image credit: Kimberly Hosey/Getty Images) Most encounters with black widow spiders happen by accident, a hand in a shed, a brush against a web. In one rare and extreme case documented by clinicians, a woman deliberately introduced black widow venom directly…

Dreams of space travel often start with rockets and starry views, not dental chairs. Yet for astronauts, small and ordinary parts of the body can become serious concerns once Earth is far behind. Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station, recently spoke about one such detail that rarely makes headlines….

On record 2025 as one of the most amazing years in contemporary astronomy, providing findings that would turn our collective understanding of our planet and our place within our galaxy on its head. Ranging from finding a rare interstellar comet passing through our solar system to hints that point towards signs of past life on…

January tends to pass quietly for most people, but above Earth, it rarely does. The International Space Station keeps moving, orbit after orbit, while small changes continue to shape its future. Early in the year, two planned spacewalks will take place outside the station, part routine work, part long-term preparation. Before any astronaut steps outside,…