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Surprising Science

A composite image of S106, from the Hubble Space Telescope and Japan's Subaru Telescope

A Holiday Angel Among the Stars

The star-forming region Sharpless 2-106 bears a certain resemblance, particularly during this time of year

If you don't want to show an misformed Moon on a Christmas card, a full moon is a safe option

That Moon On Your Christmas Card

An astronomer finds that depictions of the Moon on Christmas cards, wrapping paper and books is often wrong

Reindeer have a few strategies for keeping cool (courtesy of flickr user much ado about nothing

How Rudolph Keeps A Cool Head

Reindeer have several strategies for releasing heat when they get too hot

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Evolution, A Book That Turns Science Into Art

See examples of these beautiful photographs of animal skeletons in our image gallery

Aspen trees in Colorado

What Was Killing the Aspens?

Scientists determine it was lack of water, not food, that was responsible for sudden aspen decline

In this image from December 15, 2011, Comet Lovejoy appeared to be headed towards sure destruction in a collision with the Sun

A Comet’s Close Call

Scientists predicted that Comet Lovejoy would collide with the Sun

Nephila clavipes, a tropical spider, is big enough that it can keep all its brains in its body rather than in its legs

Some Spiders Have Brains in Their Legs

Just one more reason it’s not nice to pull the appendages off of creepy crawlies

The Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge University

Read Sir Isaac Newton’s Works Online

Cambridge University is digitizing its collection of works by Newton and other revolutionary scientists of the past

A page from my own calendar, with a photo of giraffes taken at Tarongo Zoo in Sydney, Australia

Should You Buy a Wildlife Calendar?

Not all photographers are ethical about where they shoot their photos

A great white shark off the coast of South Africa

The Secrets of a Shark Attack

In an attack against a Cape fur seal, a great white shark’s advantage comes down to physics

A map of extreme weather events in the United States, January to October 2011

Visualizing a Year of Extreme Weather

The United States has seen thousands of weather records broken this year

A lunar eclipse turns the moon reddish brown

How to Measure the Moon this Weekend

The people of Byzantium viewed a lunar eclipse as a bad omen, but today it’s just another time to do science

A northern cardinal

The City Bird and the Country Bird

As in Aesop’s fable, there are advantages and disadvantages for birds living in the city

A woolly mammoth sinks into the tar at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.

Annalee Newitz of io9: Why I Like Science

Best of all, science is a story with an open ending. Every discovery ends with more questions

In this image from Science on Ice, graduate student Maria Tausendfreund collects a water sample from an Arctic melt pond during a brief period of 'ice liberty.'

A Holiday Gift List for Science Lovers

Some books, toys, art and clothing for the scientist or geek in your life

Hawkmoths prefer columbines with long, slender spurs.

The Columbines and Their Pollinators: An Evolutionary Tale

New research provides insight into an evolutionary concept introduced by Charles Darwin

Bottlenose dolphins are good swimmers

For Dolphins, Pregnancy Comes With a Price

A bigger body means increased drag, slower speeds and greater vulnerability to predators

Water crystallizes into ice at 32 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time, but not always.

Ask Smithsonian

At What Temperature Does Water Freeze?

The answer is far more complicated than it first appears—water doesn’t always turn to ice at 32 degrees Fahrenheit

A pigeon's turn is very different from that of an airplane

How A Pigeon Is Like A Helicopter

The bird changes direction with its whole body

Technicans work on the Mars Science Laboratory, aka Curiosity

Curious About Curiosity? What to Read on the Mars Science Laboratory

The traveling science laboratory launched successfully on Saturday and is scheduled to touch down on the red planet in August 2012

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