On August 11, 2020, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden made history by announcing California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate for the upcoming election. Harris, who is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, is the first African American woman on a major party ticket and only the fourth woman in US history to run for vice president. She is also the first person of Asian descent to appear on a presidential ticket....

Summer 2020 has been exciting for stargazers. They have been treated to a once-in-a-lifetime visit from comet NEOWISE and had the rare opportunity to observe five planets and a full moon simultaneously, among other celestial events. Now, to top it all off, come the Perseids — the biggest and most spectacular meteor showers of the year....

On July 18, 2020, about 150 Paris residents settled inside 38 electric boats floating on the Seine river to enjoy a free screening of Le Grand Bain — a 2018 comedy about a group of middle-aged men forming a synchronized swim team. The city's first "Cinema sur L'Eau," or "Cinema on Water," was organized by MK2 Cinemas to celebrate the June 22 reopening of the country's movie theaters, which had been shuttered since mid-March to stem the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus....

The term "bird brain" is frequently used to describe a person's lack of intelligence and good decision-making ability. However, some scientists believe it should be considered a compliment, given that many birds can perform tasks that were once considered solely within the realm of humans. These include manufacturing and using tools, solving problems, and planning for future needs. Now, Griffin, an African Grey parrot, has proved that birds may even possess better visual memories than human adults and children....

A massive dust cloud that had been journeying 5,000 miles from the Sahara Desert across the Atlantic Ocean since June 15, 2020, finally hit the United States mainland on June 26, 2020. Nicknamed "Godzilla," the 3,500 mile-long plume broke into two chunks, thanks to the split in the mid-levels of the atmosphere....

Burying loved ones with basic necessities like grains, ceramic pots, and clothing, to ensure their comfort in the afterlife, was a fairly common tradition in ancient cultures. However, the families of some lucky individuals went a step further by including a board game for entertainment. Morten Ramstad, a researcher at the University of Bergen, Norway, and his team stumbled upon one of the rare artifacts — found only in a handful of graves before — while excavating the remains of an Early Iron Age (400-300 BC) burial mound in Western Norway....

With the days getting increasingly longer and warmer, the Northern Hemisphere summer may seem to be well on its way. However, though the meteorological season, which evenly splits the 12 months of the year into four seasons, started on June 1, 2020, the astronomical summer will not begin until June 20, 2020. Called summer solstice, it is the day when the North Pole is most inclined towards the Sun, allowing residents of the Northern Hemisphere to enjoy the longest day (and shortest night) of the year. Conversely, Southern Hemisphere residents will celebrate the astronomical start of winter, or winter solstice, with the shortest day (and longest night) of 2020....

As if the COVID-19 pandemic has not been difficult enough, 2020 has another "trick" in store for the residents of Southwest Virginia, parts of North Carolina, and West Virginia. This one will come in the form of millions and millions of noisy cicadas who are gradually emerging from their 17-year underground hibernation to spend the final few weeks of their lives mating and breeding. Dubbed Brood IX, the alien-like insects are expected to peak in mid-June, with as many as 1.5 million specimens emerging per acre. The visit, however, will be short-lived, and most will be gone by July....

Are you looking for an "out of this world" gift for dad this Father's Day? Then you are in luck, for June 21, 2020, also happens to be the day of a relatively rare annular solar eclipse. The celestial event, which will transform the Sun into a spectacular "ring of fire," will be visible across a narrow, but long, slice of the Eastern Hemisphere. While a larger swath of the world will be able to view a partial eclipse, Americans will miss the event altogether since it will occur on the evening of June 20 and end by sunrise on June 21, 2020....

Over the past two decades, powerful instruments, like the now-retired Kepler space telescope, have allowed astronomers to identify thousands of exoplanets. While the unique new worlds, which range from fiery gas giants to icy spheres, have helped increase astronomers' knowledge about the development of planets, the process of how they form has always been a mystery. Now, scientists may finally get some answers thanks to the stunning, first-ever images of a new exoplanet being "born" about 520 light years from Earth....

Countries worldwide are gradually easing the strict lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. While this will allow non-essential businesses to resume operations, they are required to ensure customers keep a safe six-foot distance from each other at all times. Here are some creative ways in which companies are abiding by the regulation....

Due to COVID-19, the Class of 2020 is missing out on a traditional graduation. However, those who accepted SpaceX's invitation to upload selfies to the company's website will commemorate their milestone year with a journey most people only dream about....

Given their reputation as solitary creatures that come together only to mate and hibernate, the notion of snakes hanging out in groups with their "best friends" may sound a little far-fetched. However, a recent study conducted by researchers from Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University asserts that the reptiles not only actively seek out socialization with their peers, but are also extremely particular about who they spend time with....

Over the years, archeologists have unearthed several royal tomb complexes in the Dra' Abu el-Naga' necropolis near Luxor, Egypt. However, the occupant of a 3,500-year-old wooden coffin, recently discovered in the region by a Spanish-Egyptian team, was not a pharaoh or an important royal official, but a mysterious teenager adorned with precious jewelry....

Given that each light-year — defined as the distance light travels in one Earth year — is about 6 trillion miles (9 trillion km), a black hole that lies 1,000 light-years away may not seem very close. However, to astronomers who are accustomed to cosmic distance scales, the recently-discovered HR 6819's black hole, which lies in the constellation Telescopium, is an extremely close neighbor....

British street artist Banksy is well-known for his controversial and often politically-themed artwork. However, his latest creation can only be described as heartwarming. The mostly black-and-white stenciled sketch, dubbed "Game Changer," features a young boy playing with a British National Health Services (NHS) nurse superhero toy. In the background, Batman and Spiderman action figures lie in a waste bin, indicating that the boy's new superheroes are the "game changers" of today — the millions of COVID-19 medical workers worldwide who are risking their lives daily to keep the rest of us safe....

Historians have long suspected that the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, a popular ancient shipping route, is home to numerous shipwrecks. However, seven decades of search by marine archeologists had failed to unveil any traces of the boats. That changed on April 21, 2020, when the Enigma Shipwrecks Project (ESP) team revealed the discovery of a dozen ancient trading vessels in the Levantine Basin, the easternmost part of the Mediterranean Sea....

Nickelodeon's annual Kids Choice Awards show is notorious for dumping buckets of green slime on the heads of unsuspecting hosts and celebrities. Fortunately for the winners, that was not possible during this year's virtual award ceremony, aired on May 2, 2020. To compensate, the popular children's cable channel surprised the millions of online viewers with footage of International Space Station (ISS) astronauts getting "slimed". The video's debut was particularly timely given that May 2, 2020, was National Astronomy Day!...

The COVID-19 pandemic shelter-in-place mandates and the need for social distancing has changed our lives in unprecedented ways and put a damper on everything — from graduations to proms, milestone birthdays and even summer vacations. However, it has also helped raise awareness of the importance of family. Hence, it is not surprising that many Americans plan to go the extra mile to demonstrate their love and appreciation for the real-life superhero in their lives on Mother's Day, which will be celebrated on May 10, 2020....

"Glow in the dark" dolphins may seem like something straight out of a science fiction movie. However, that is precisely what Newport Coastal Adventures' Captain Ryan Lawler and professional videographer Patrick Coyne witnessed on April 22, 2020, when they set out to explore the spectacular neon blue tides that have been lighting up the waters off Southern California's coast since mid-April....

On April 29, 2020, Earth will get an intimidating visitor — a massive asteroid called 1998 OR2. Fortunately for us, the space rock, which experts believe will be the largest one to fly by our planet this year, will be following the strict COVID-19 pandemic regulations. 1998 OR2 will not only be zooming past Earth at a safe "social" space of about 3.9 million miles (6.3 million km), or about 16 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, but it will also be wearing a "face mask."...

Researchers have long believed that all four-limbed animals or tetrapods, a group that includes amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, evolved from an ancient group of fish known as Elpistostege watsoni, which lived between 416 million and 358 million years ago, during the Devonian Period....

While the novel coronavirus is dangerous for everyone, it is particularly so for the first responders who are being exposed to the illness daily. In the US alone, almost 5,500 nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals have been infected with COVID-19. Of these, dozens have succumbed to the disease. Now, hospital workers worldwide may get some reprieve thanks to Spot, a semi-autonomous four-legged robot developed by Waltham, Massachusetts-based robotics company, Boston Dynamics....

When 99-year-old Tom Moore announced a "walkathon" to help Britain's National Health Service (NHS) staff, he was hoping to collect a modest £1,000 ($1,250). Instead, the World War II veteran has managed to raise millions from donors worldwide in less than two weeks, and the money is still pouring in at unprecedented rates....