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Leap seconds have kept our clocks more or less aligned with astronomical time.

It’s Official: Timekeepers Have Gotten Rid of the Leap Second—and Introduced the Leap Hour Instead

Since 1972, experts have added 27 seconds to Coordinated Universal Time to keep it aligned with Earth’s rotation, but it has been an imperfect fix

Large sits on Île Seguin, the former home of the original Renault factory.

On an Island Outside Paris, a Sprawling Contemporary Arts Center Aptly Called ‘Large’ Prepares to Open Its Doors

The landmark institution’s first exhibition pays homage to a historic Renault automobile plant that once operated on the Île Seguin in the Seine River. “The project called for a great deal of perseverance,” one official says

Claude Nuttall's pocket diary measures just under four inches long.

This Soldier Kept a Diary in the Trenches of World War I. A Child Found It at the Dump Decades Later, Pierced by a Bullet and Stained With Blood

Corporal Claude Nuttall recorded his wartime experiences in the diary. Now, after decades of research, a museum curator is telling the soldier’s story in a new book

Canaletto's capriccio of a ruined Renaissance arcade and pavilion by a waterway

Venetian Artist Canaletto Merged Fantasy and Architectural Detail in This Previously Unseen Sketch, Heading to Auction This Month

The 18th-century painter was a key practitioner of “capriccio” artworks, which blended scenes of everyday life with bold, out-of-place structures. This work was not known to exist for centuries and could now fetch up to $80,000

Curiosity captured the landscape at 8:30 a.m. local Mars time. 

A Detailed Martian Rover Photograph Highlights Mysterious Cliffs on the Edge of One of Mars’ Mountains

These crags don’t match the rest of the mountain, and scientists don’t know how they formed

Rules restaurant on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden, part of London's West End

London’s Oldest Restaurant, Frequented by Monarchs and Pop Stars Alike, Is a Site of ‘Living History.’ Now It’s Protected by the National Trust for Generations to Come

Rules, a historic restaurant where the likes of Charles Dickens and Madonna have dined, is changing hands for only the fourth time in over 200 years. Visitors can see artifact-covered walls and indulge in rich British cuisine

Biologists are running a pilot project with up to 100 birds on Albatross Island.

Wildlife Biologists Start Vaccinating Shy Albatrosses by Hand, Taking Aim at the Spread of Avian Flu in Tasmania

If all goes to plan, officials hope to vaccinate up to 100 of the large seabirds on Albatross Island, giving each two doses of the vaccine. Afterward, they plan to keep tabs on the birds using remote cameras and follow-up visits

Customs officers discovered two blue grosbeaks when they searched Alberto Hernandez Castillo.

Birds in Their Pants: Two Men Accused of Smuggling 21 Avians After Miami Airport Bust

Customs officers say they found the creatures hidden in the men’s clothes after they touched down on separate flights from Cuba, and it’s unclear whether the two incidents are related. Wildlife trafficking is the world’s fourth-largest form of organized crime

The North Dakota governor's residence in Bismarck was constructed between 2016 and 2018.

Cool Finds

Construction Work on the North Dakota Governor’s Residence Accidentally Unearthed Seven Coffins Dating Back to the State’s Early Settlement

The cemetery site was established in 1872, when the state capital Bismarck was a small frontier community called Edwinton. Most, but not all, of its gravesites were exhumed five years later to make way for a railroad

Coyotes and people coexist in San Francisco, despite an effort to eradicate the canines a century ago. This image and its portfolio won the Photojournalist Story Award.

See the Stunning Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest, Capturing the Splendor and Drama of Nature

These 19 recognized images highlight the diversity across our planet and the value in appreciating and protecting the natural world

A diver handles a container during underwater archaeological excavations near Kekova Island in Turkey.

Cool Finds

A New Contender for the World’s Oldest Shipwreck Has Been Discovered Off the Coast of Turkey. Its Ancient Cargo Is a ‘Time Capsule’ From 4,700 Years Ago

The ship was likely transporting huge jars of olive oil or wine across the Mediterranean when it sank to the seafloor. One archaeologist “could not believe how much” residue remained inside

Châtaigniers en fleurs, or Chestnut Trees in Blossom, on display in Hong Kong

This Vincent van Gogh Painting Has Not Been Seen in Public for Over 60 Years. It Is Now Poised to Set a Record at an Upcoming Auction

The Dutch Post-Impressionist painted “Chestnut Trees in Blossom” during the highly productive yet tragic final months of his life. It is heading to auction as part of a “legendary” private collection which also includes works from Cézanne and Renoir

Investigators say they have recovered Young Woman at the Well (left) and Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (right), two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that were stolen last month.

Two Recently Stolen Renoir Paintings Were Found Hidden Behind a Cinderblock Wall. French Police Used DNA Evidence and Vehicle Tracking to Crack the Case

The bungled heist took place at the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera in September. French authorities made six arrests and believe they prevented another “imminent” theft, possibly at a nearby modern art museum

The tomb's entrance is inscribed with protective funerary spells.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover a Mud-Brick Tomb Featuring a Heartbreaking Elegy to an Ancient Man’s Father

The 19-line poem was inscribed on a stone slab in the Bir al-Shaghala necropolis. The lament “is a highly literary and original epigram,” a scholar says

The tettina was found broken into pieces in 2011.

Cool Finds

Mourners Placed an Ancient Sippy Cup in a Roman Toddler’s Grave. It May Have Been Meant to Sustain the Child on the Journey to the Afterlife

Fragments of the spouted cup, known as a “tettina,” were unearthed in England over a decade ago. It has recently been restored and put on display for the first time

The nocturnal barn owls have drawn crowds of birders at night.

A Family of Barn Owls Has Moved Into New York City’s Upper West Side, Perhaps the First to Nest in Manhattan in Modern History

The feathered residents have attracted lots of attention, as their species is considered an extremely rare sight in the city

Chinstrap penguins are dietary specialists that mainly eat Antarctic krill.

One of the World’s Largest Chinstrap Penguin Colonies Is Shrinking Fast

Zavodovski Island, a remote, uninhabited volcanic island between South America and Antarctica, lost 63 percent of its chinstrap penguins between 2011 and 2025, according to a new study

Archaeologists excavating near the crash site

After an American Bomber Crashed Into an English Moor During World War II, a Corporal Was Declared Missing in Action. Archaeologists Have Now Revived the Search for His Remains

Corporal Clarence Watson was among 10 American airmen aboard a B-24H Liberator when it crashed under foggy conditions. The crew was training for Operation Carpetbagger, a top-secret effort to fly deep into Nazi-occupied Europe

Neanderthals may have used wooden objects as hunting weapons, trays, plates and more.

An Unprecedented Trove of Ancient Wooden Tools Uncovered at a Rock Shelter in Spain Shows Neanderthals Were Skilled Woodworkers

Wooden objects usually decompose quickly, but periodic flooding and minerals in the water helped preserve those at a site called Abric Romaní. Archaeologists documented nearly 600 wooden objects—or their imprints—and 13 were clearly shaped by human hands

An exhibition of the kinetic art of Argentinian artist Julio Le Parc at Tate Modern, London

With the Help of Family Wealth and Instagram, Gen Z Is Spending Big in the Art Market

According to a new survey, high-net-worth 20-somethings are emerging as the most active members of the global art trade, outspending other generations by wide margins. Their habits are changing how the art world works

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