While total lunar eclipses are always spectacular, the one on May 26, 2021, promises to be particularly memorable given that it coincides with a supermoon. This means that the Moon — which will be at perigee, or its closest distance to Earth — will appear about 7 percent larger and 15 percent brighter than a standard full Moon. The eclipse will be most visible from the western parts of the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, and Eastern Asia. In the US, the best views will be reserved for Hawaii, Alaska, and the western states....

Given that white was one of the first colors used in art in the 15th century, one would think that there is little room left to improve its "whiteness." It turns out that is far from the case. A team of researchers led by Xiulin Ruan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Indiana's Purdue University, recently revealed an "ultra-white" paint that they believe could even help combat climate change....

A collection of 1,000 prehistoric structures dubbed mustatils — the plural form of the Arabic term for rectangles — scattered across 124,274 miles (200,000 kilometers) in northwest Saudi Arabia may be the world's oldest monuments. A team of archeologists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) reached this conclusion after radiocarbon dating of charcoal found inside the courtyards indicated they were constructed in 5,000 BC — or about 2,000 years before the Egyptian pyramids or monuments like Stonehenge in southern England....

Since landing on Mars on February 18, 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover has achieved numerous "firsts," including beaming audio sounds from the Red Planet's surface. It also made history as the first spacecraft to record sounds from another spacecraft — the Ingenuity helicopter — on another planet....

Geologists have long maintained that our Earth comprises four layers — the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and, the deepest layer, the inner core. However, a team of scientists led by Jo Stephenson, a doctoral student in seismology at Australian National University in Canberra, now asserts that our planet may be harboring a mysterious, fifth layer — an "inner-inner" core as well....

Researchers worldwide are celebrating the discovery of the fossil of an adult oviraptorosaur brooding over a nest of eggs containing unhatched babies. The unprecedented discovery confirms scientists' suspicions that the two-legged bird-like dinosaurs were doting parents, which not only incubated their eggs, but also guarded them —at times putting their own lives at risk....

When Jennifer Johnson and her team embarked on their annual quest to survey the sturgeon population in the Detroit River in mid-April 2021, they had fully expected to find some super-sized specimens. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists had never anticipated luring in the granddaddy of all sturgeons — a massive, 240-pound, 6-foot, 10-inch long fish that they estimate is at least a century old!...

On April 22, 2021, for the second consecutive year, the US House of Representatives voted 216-208 to make Washington, DC, the nation's 51st state. Though the symbolically titled H.R. 51 bill is identical to the one passed on June 26, 2020, the legislation was never put to the vote in the then Republican-controlled Senate. However, this time around, the bill — which has the support of both President Joe Biden and Democratic Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer — will get a hearing in the upper house of Congress....

Every year, on the second Sunday of May, Americans show their appreciation for the real-life heroes in their lives — moms — with special treats and lavish gifts. This Mother's Day will be no exception. A National Retail Federation (NRF) survey of 7,818 people revealed that the approximately 83 percent of US adults who plan to celebrate the holiday on May 9, 2021, will each spend an average of $220.48. The total, an astounding $28.1 billion, is the highest amount in the survey's 18-year history and easily topples 2020's record spend of $26.7 billion....

The annual 3-to 4-millimeter rise in sea levels is expected to impact many coastal communities in the coming decades. However, few are as vulnerable as the Republic of the Maldives, a collection of more than a thousand picturesque islands in the Indian Ocean. NASA researchers believe that parts of what is "arguably the lowest-lying country in the world" will become uninhabitable by 2050, due to wave-driven flooding and limited freshwater. To combat the inevitable, the government recently unveiled plans for the world's first "true" floating island city....

British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums. Over the years, the environmentalist has submerged over 850 massive artworks in numerous site-specific "sculpture parks" worldwide. On February 1, 2021, Taylor unveiled his latest endeavor — The Underwater Museum of Cannes....

Regeneration, or the ability to regrow body parts, is a fairly widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom. However, the skill is usually restricted to growing a new tail or a new limb. Now, researchers have found two species of sacoglossan sea slugs — Elysia atroviridis and Elysia marginata — that deliberately detach their heads from their original bodies and grow brand new ones!...

The beauty of love is that it can happen with the most unexpected person in the most unlikely of places. In the case of a one-year-old stray puppy in Duplin County, North Carolina, that "person" happened to be a bright purple stuffed unicorn at a local Dollar General store. The good news is that this unusual love story has a happy ending!...

When famed archeologist and former minister of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, and his team set out to excavate an area near the Egyptian city of Luxor in September 2020, all they were hoping to find was King Tutankhamun's mortuary temple. Instead, the archeologists stumbled upon the largest ancient city ever found in Egypt. Hawass, who revealed the discovery on April 8, 2021, believes the enormous, well-preserved metropolis is the “So’oud Atun,” or the "Rise of Aten," whose location has eluded scientists for decades....

NASA made history on April 19, 2021, by conducting the first controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. In what is being described as a "Wright brothers moment," the tissue-box-sized Ingenuity gradually ascended to an altitude of 9.8 feet (3 meters) above the surface of Mars and hovered for 30 seconds before gracefully descending to land on its four legs....

On Saturday, April 17, 2021, Queen Elizabeth II bade her final farewell to Prince Philip— her husband of over 70 years. The solemn 50-minute service was limited to just 30 senior royals due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Duke of Edinburgh was laid to rest inside the Royal Vault at St. George’s Chapel alongside the remains of 24 other royals, including three kings of England....

When 36-year-old Andy Duran decided to return to his favorite high school hobby — skateboarding — in January 2021, the only obstacle he expected to encounter was his own ability to get back into the sport after the long hiatus. However, the 340-pound skateboarder from Oakland, California, soon realized that was the least of his problems....

Darius, one of the world's most famous rabbits, has disappeared! The massive, 4 foot 3-inch long Continental Giant, who has held the Guinness World Record for the "longest living rabbit" since 2010, vanished from his backyard in the village of Stoulton, England, on April 10, 2021. The local police, who are frantically searching for Darius, believe he was stolen from his enclosure overnight on Saturday....

Fifteen US states, including New York, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, as well as Washington D.C., will soon be buzzing with billions, and perhaps even trillions, of cicadas. The noisy, red-eyed members of Brood X, which have been hibernating underground for the past 17 years, will emerge unannounced as soon as the conditions are right: the soil is 64 degrees, and on a night that's humid enough but free of wind and rain....

For the more than a billion Muslims worldwide, there is nothing more sacred than the month of Ramadan, or Ramazan. It was during this ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar that Jibril (the Archangel Gabriel in the Judeo-Christian faith) revealed the first verses of the Quran — Islam's holy text — to the prophet Muhammad. The auspicious month's start, based on the appearance of the super-slim young crescent Moon, is determined by moon-sighting committees in various Muslim countries, most notably in Saudi Arabia. This year, Ramadan will begin on Monday, April 12th, or Tuesday, April 13th....

While bioluminescence — the ability to glow in the dark — is a fairly common occurrence in fish and squid that live in the ocean's darkest depths, its presence in sharks is not as well-documented or understood. Now, the discovery of the largest-known luminous vertebrate — the six-foot-long kitefin shark — and two other glowing shark species has enabled researchers to gain valuable insights into the luminescent abilities of the deep-sea creatures....

When Christie's set out to auction its first-ever digital-only artwork — "Everydays: The First 5000 Days"— on March 1, 2021, they had fully expected it to fetch more than the minimum bid of $100. However, the 255-year-old British auction house had never in its wildest dreams envisioned that the unique masterpiece, minted by Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, would fetch a record $60.25 million ($69.3 million with fees)....

With over 120 pasta sizes and shapes available, one would think there was a design to satisfy every palette. However, Dan Pashman, host of James Beard and Webby Award-winning podcast The Sporkful, was unhappy with the available options. So, the food-lover spent three years, and a substantial amount of his personal savings, to create cascatelli — a new pasta shape that is purportedly more functional than any available today....

The 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay is finally underway. The Olympic flame, which was kindled in Olympia, Greece, on March 12, 2020, and transported to Japan on March 20, 2020, spent a year at the Olympic Museum in Tokyo after the Games were postponed due to the coronavirus. It began its 121-day journey from Fukushima to Tokyo's National Stadium — the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies — on March 25, 2021....