In 1959, Colonel Remy Van Lierde of the Belgian Royal Air Force was on helicopter patrol. He had flown in over 400 missions, his eyes trained to spot friend and foe below. That skillset that would help him with the ensuing ordeal over the Katanga region of the Congo, for what he saw next shocked him and his copilot: A truly gargantuan snake, estimated by his account to be over 50 feet in length. This measurement would easily have made it the largest snake alive on Earth, dwarfing today's tit ...read more
From Moon missions to new uses of biotechnology and technological developments, 2024 will be packed with science missions and anniversaries. Here are a 12 science events and missions to mark on your calendars. Space Missions and Events for 2024 For space, all eyes are on the Moon. There are various uncrewed missions planned to land on the Moon in preparation for the Artemis II missions for the global Artemis program led by NASA. Artemis aims to create a long-term human presence on the Moon event ...read more
The southern polar regions are a forbidding place. Antarctica’s harsh climate and thick ice coverage have made archaeological explorations — or explorations of any kind — exceptionally challenging. This has added a sense of mystery to various theories that humans could once have occupied the continent as a permanent civilization.Scientists, however, have given a decidedly chilly reception to the prevailing hypotheses. Let’s go through them one-by-one. Historic (and Hypothetical) MapsThi ...read more
How lazy is too lazy? It’s easy to feel guilty for not always going the extra mile in our productivity-obsessed society. But scientists have found that a penchant for laziness may be wired into our biology: Researchers from the University of British Columbia observed that our brains must deliberately work harder to choose exercise over sedentary activities, according to a study published in Neuropsychologia in 2018. Fortunately, even the most committed couch potato pales in comparison to ...read more
One of the great mysteries of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is the temporary smoothness of its hydrocarbon lakes in places, a state that sometimes last for days or weeks. Planetary geologists have come up with two potential explanations for this smoothness. The first is a lack of waves. Perhaps there just isn’t enough wind on Titan to drive waves across the entire surface of its lakes. And where there are no waves, the lakes are almost flat, varying in height by no more than a few millimet ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine