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The "Mystic Mountain" image released for the Hubble's 20th anniversary showcases a three-light-year tall pillar of gas and dust stretching out of the Carina nebula. Mostly made of cool hydrogen, the structure is created by stars releasing jets of gas, which is worn away by radiation from other nearby stars, giving it its eroded shape.

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Breathtaking Images to Celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope Getting Another Five Years of Life

These amazing views are just a selection of the beautiful images the craft has captured over the years

The site where the historic Stonewall Inn was located will now be the United States' first National Monument to gay rights.

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President Obama Just Created the First National Monument to Gay Rights

The Stonewall National Monument tells the story of LGBTQ struggles in the United States

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What’s the Difference Between England, Britain and the U.K.?

Listen up, would-be Anglophiles: Here’s how never to mess up your realms, kingdoms and empires again

The House of Representatives' rostrum has been the site of brawls, debates and sit-ins.

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A Brief History of Congressional Carpets

There’s more to the House floor than meets the eye

Scientists will attempt to edit T cells in cancer patients in the first-ever human trial of CRISPR in the United States.

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Editing of Human Genes May Begin by Year’s End in the U.S.

The first-ever trial of CRISPR in the U.S. will test if it’s safe to edit T cells in cancer patients

A view of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, with two reactors.

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PG&E Announces Closure of California’s Last Nuclear Power Plant

One of the most famous, but aging, nuclear power plants in the U.S. will soon see its end

Finally...an excuse to buy more cookie butter.

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Trader Joe’s Agrees to Fix Its Fridges for the Environment

The retailer just agreed to a pricey settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency

Photo taken at Auschwitz in 2013.

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Former SS Guard Convicted on 170,000 Counts of Accessory to Murder

Reinhold Hanning a 94-year-old retired dairy farmer served as a guard at Auschwitz during World War II

A memorial in solidarity with the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in front of Montreal's St. James United Church.

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LGBT People Are the Targets of More Hate Crimes Than Any Other Minority

Hate crimes against LGBT people are far from rare

A pair of nilgai, Asia's largest species of antelope.

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India Gives Go-Ahead for Farmers to Cull “Vermin”

The cull will include a range of animals deemed troublesome to people—including rhesus monkeys and wild boar in some places

The Amazon Basin just got a little bit safer.

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New Agreement Will Help Protect the Amazon Basin

Earth’s largest tropical rainforest just got a slew of new allies

An illustration of the Tate Modern's new Switch House expansion.

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The Expanded Tate Modern Opens Its Doors Friday

The museum is being called the UK’s most important new cultural building since the British Library

An artist's rendition of merging black holes that produce gravitational waves.

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Gravitational Waves Strike Twice

Scientists announce the second detection of gravitational waves

Gambian asylum seekers look at a map while waiting in an Italian migrant center.

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Report: Nine Out of Ten Refugee Children Travel Alone

Tens of thousands of kids are on the move—and face scary challenges as they migrate

Net Neutrality is safe...for now.

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Net Neutrality Was Just Upheld in the U.S. Court of Appeals

It’s a victory for open internet activists—but will it stick?

Life is about to become a bit more humane for male chicks.

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Egg Producers Pledge More Humane Fate for Male Chicks

Better technology could make “maceration” go the way of the dodo

Domino tiles.

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Thousands of Objects Taken From Holocaust Victims Have Been Rediscovered

Almost 16,000 items were forgotten for decades

Meet "Opaque Couché," the world's most hideous hue.

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The World’s “Ugliest” Color Could Help People Quit Smoking

Officials hope hideous packs of cigarette packs will make would-be smokers think twice

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