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Pia the Peacekeeper sits under the trees on Bainbridge Island in Washington.

See the Whimsical Trolls Taking Over the Pacific Northwest

Made with recycled materials, the large-scale sculptures are meant to encourage visitors to get out into nature

Dimorphos, a moonlet orbiting the asteroid Didymos, as seen by NASA's DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact from 42 miles away.

The Asteroid Hit by NASA Seems to Be Moving Strangely, High School Students Find

After the DART spacecraft made contact with Dimorphos last year, the space rock’s orbit is declining more than expected, according to preliminary research

Wall panels allow children to explore different patterns and varieties of wood.

The Met’s Free Children’s Studio Is Finally Here

Called 81st Street Studio, the sprawling play space encourages interactive engagement with art and science

A worker uncovers the mummy, which belonged to the Ychsma culture, buried in a shallow funeral chamber during an excavation in the Huaca Pucllana on September 5, 2023.

Cool Finds

1,000-Year-Old Mummy With a Full Head of Hair Discovered in Peru

The remains belonged to the Ychsma culture, a group that lived in present-day Peru before the Inca came to power

Comet Nishimura, as imaged on September 7. On Tuesday, the comet will pass within 78 million miles of Earth, the closest it will get for more than 400 years.

Newly Discovered Green Comet Is Passing By Earth This Week

Comet Nishimura, which appears only once every 435 years, is on track to approach the sun and shoot into deep space

Scientists inserted human stem cells in pig embryos that couldn't develop kidneys, then let these embryos gestate in sows for several weeks. The experiments resulted in kidneys partly made of human-derived cells.

Scientists Grow Part-Human Kidneys in Pig Embryos for Nearly a Month

The new work is a “big step forward” in finding new ways to generate viable organs for human transplants, but it comes with some ethical considerations

Construction workers used an excavator to widen an existing gap in the Great Wall.

Construction Workers Plow a Shortcut Through the Great Wall of China

They caused “irreversible damage” to the wall when they used an excavator to widen an existing gap

The four swords in their showcase during an announcement event on September 6

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Four 1,900-Year-Old Roman Swords in Israeli Cave

Jewish rebels may have hidden the weapons away from the Roman army in the second century C.E.

Théâtre D’opéra Spatial by Jason Allen

Art Made With A.I. Won a State Fair Last Year. Now, the Rules Are Changing

Artists who submit to the competition will need to disclose whether they used A.I. tools like Midjourney

Scientists came across the golden orb while exploring the seafloor of the Gulf of Alaska with a remotely operated vehicle on August 30.

What Is This Mysterious Golden Orb Scientists Found on the Ocean Floor?

After bringing the four-inch-diameter blob to the surface, researchers still only know that it is “biological in origin”

The Gans' egg-eater swallows a quail egg far larger than its head.

How a Small Snake Can Eat Meals Many Times Larger Than Its Head

The egg-eating African reptile uses its stretchy jaw skin to swallow huge prey, a feat that not even a python can match

André Derain's 1906 painting La Femme en Chemise showcases Fauvism's bold colors and brushstrokes.

How the ‘Wild Beasts’ of Fauvism Took the Art World by Storm

A new exhibition examines the short-lived movement—and sheds new light on its women members

These shell dolls were among the artifacts that the Manchester Museum returned to the Anindilyakwa people of Australia.

Manchester Museum Returns 174 Artifacts to Indigenous Australians

After years of planning, the museum handed over dolls, baskets, maps and other objects acquired in the 1950s

An artist's rendering of the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission. The satellite will measure X-rays to deepen science's understanding of the universe. 

Japan Launches X-Ray Satellite and Lunar Lander to Space

The satellite will study large bodies in the cosmos, while the lander will attempt to land at a precise location on the moon’s surface

The Briolette of India necklace sold for 6.3 million Swiss francs (a little over $7 million) in May.

Christie’s Cancels Auction Tied to Nazi-Era Wealth

In the 1930s, Helmut Horten purchased businesses that Jewish owners sold “under duress”

An artist's interpretation of Fujianvenator prodigiosus

This ‘Weird,’ Bird-Like Dinosaur Had Really Long Legs

Paleontologists discovered the 150-million-year-old creature in southeast China

Venice is struggling to manage an overwhelming number of visitors.

Venice Will Start Charging an Entry Fee Next Year

By charging daytrippers to visit on peak travel days, the city hopes to combat overtourism

Untitled #1, April 16, 1987

Art Meets Science

See Keith Haring’s Computer Drawings, Hidden on Floppy Discs Since the 1980s

The never-before-seen images will be sold as NFTs at an upcoming Christie’s auction

Moose numbers have plummeted in Minnesota.

What’s Killing Minnesota’s Moose? Studies Reveal Sites of Deadly Brainworm Transmission

Carried by deer and spread by snails and slugs, a lethal parasite is infecting the large ungulates, which have recently declined dramatically

McMurdo Station in Antarctica

Women Report Rampant Sexual Harassment and Assault at Antarctica’s McMurdo Research Station

Speaking publicly for the first time, women detailed incidents of violence that had been minimized by employers, per an exposé in the Associated Press

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