As days grow shorter and temperatures drop, it might seem like winter has already arrived. However, the astronomical start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere will not occur until December 21, 2024. This date, known as the winter solstice, marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. Meanwhile, residents of the Southern Hemisphere will celebrate the summer solstice on the same day. They will enjoy the longest day and shortest night of 2024....

For Taylor Swift fans, December 13, which falls on a Friday this year, will be a day of celebration. It is, after all, their beloved singer's 34th birthday. But for the millions who suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia — the fear of Friday the 13th — it will be the unluckiest day of the year. The origins of this superstition remain unclear. However, experts have some theories....

"Comedian," a conceptual artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall, fetched an astounding $6.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction on November 20, 2024. Bidding began at $800,000 and quickly surged to $4 million and then $5.2 million, plus $1 million in auction fees. The final price surpassed the $1.2 million pre-auction estimate for the artwork....

With Christmas just around the corner, your neighborhood is likely aglow with beautiful lights. But those displays pale in comparison to nature's dazzling light show — the Geminids. Nicknamed the "900-pound gorilla of meteor showers" by NASA, the Geminids outshine others with dust streams that are 5 to 500 times more massive. The "shooting stars" are also easier to spot because they travel through the skies at about 22 miles (35 km) per second. This is about half the speed of the Perseid meteors, which zip by at about 37 miles (60 km) per second every year in August....

LignoSat, the world’s first satellite made mostly from wood, reached the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX cargo capsule on November 5, 2024. The palm-sized satellite, named after the Latin word for “wood," will be launched from the ISS into Earth’s orbit later this month. Its mission is to determine if wood can withstand the harsh conditions of space. If successful, LignoSat could pave the way for more environmentally friendly spacecraft designs....

The days following Thanksgiving — Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday — are filled with deals to jump-start the holiday shopping season. However, GivingTuesday, which falls on December 3 this year, has a more altruistic purpose. The "Global Day of Giving" encourages individuals and businesses to give back in meaningful ways. This can include charitable donations, volunteer work, or simple acts of kindness....

An estimated 46 million unlucky turkeys will be the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner tables across the US on November 28, 2024. However, Peach and Blossom, two gorgeous white toms from Minnesota, will not be among them....

In January 2019, Adam Staples and his friends traveled to Chew Valley in Somerset, England, to test a new metal detector. While exploring a farmer's field, the device found a trove of silver coins buried in the soil. Staples, an auctioneer specializing in ancient coins, immediately knew they had found something extraordinary....

Over the years, astronomers have managed to capture a few images of stars in galaxies beyond Earth. However, these images have always appeared as mere points of light, even when seen through powerful telescopes. Now, thanks to the Very Large Telescope (VLT), scientists have captured the first close-up image of a massive star located a staggering 160,000 light-years from Earth....

Drones have come a long way since the first model that barely lifted two feet (60 cm) off the ground was unveiled in 1907. Modern quadcopters can soar to high altitudes and perform a wide range of tasks. However, their capabilities are often curbed by limited battery life....

Thanksgiving, celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November, is one of the most anticipated holidays in the United States. The tradition dates back to a harvest feast shared by early European settlers and Native Americans in 1621. The holiday, which will be observed on November 28 this year, is centered around delicious food and various fun traditions. Here is a brief history of how some of these customs began....

About two years ago, Damien Boschetto was walking his dog in a forest near Cruzy in southern France when he noticed a large bone poking out from an eroded cliff. Suspecting it might belong to a dinosaur, the amateur paleontologist quickly alerted experts at the Cruzy Museum. His hunch was correct: the fossil turned out to be the pelvic bone of a titanosaur, one of the largest dinosaurs ever to roam Earth....

Full moons are always a stunning sight, but the one on November 15, 2024, promises to be even more spectacular. It will be the last of four consecutive supermoons, following August's Blue Moon, September's Harvest Moon, and October's Hunter Moon. After this, the next supermoon will not occur until October 7, 2025....

The next time you are upset about short winter days, think about Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. The residents of America's northernmost town will experience their final sunset this year on November 19, 2024. They will not see the Sun again until January 23, 2025. For those wondering, that is 65 straight days, or 1,560 hours, of darkness!...

Donald Trump will be the 47th president of the United States. As of 3:00 PM ET, November 6, 2024, the former president had secured 292 electoral votes — 22 more than the 270 needed to win the presidency....

A rare, 237-year-old copy of the United States Constitution has been sold to an anonymous buyer for a staggering $9 million. The document was auctioned by Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 17, 2024. Bidding began at $1.1 million and quickly soared to the final price in just seven minutes....

Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a vibrant and colorful Mexican celebration honoring life and death. Observed annually on November 1 and 2, it offers an opportunity to remember and pay tribute to loved ones who have passed....

Every fall, Americans buy tens of millions of decorative pumpkins. Some are carved into spooky jack-o'-lanterns, while others are used simply for display. Unfortunately, the interest in these colorful gourds fades soon after Halloween. Experts estimate that over one billion pounds of pumpkins — more than 80 percent of the 1.3 billion pounds purchased annually — end up in landfills....

Every October, farmers across the US harvest millions of pumpkins. Some make it to the dinner table in the form of delicious soups or pies. Others get transformed into spooky jack-o'-lanterns. Then there are the select few whose only purpose is to win weigh-off contests. There are numerous such competitions held nationwide. However, the most impressive mega gourds typically end up at the annual "Super Bowl" of pumpkin weigh-offs in Half Moon Bay, CA....

At just 18 years old, Nima Rinji Sherpa has achieved a feat that few can even imagine. He has become the youngest person, and one of only about 50, to climb all 14 of the world's "eight-thousanders." These peaks, located within Asia's Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, stand over 26,247 feet (8,000 m) tall. This is above the so-called "death zone," where the lack of oxygen makes it impossible to sustain human life for long....

SpaceX has achieved yet another groundbreaking milestone. On October 13, 2024, the aerospace company successfully flew the 233-foot (71 m) Starship rocket booster back to its launch site and caught it mid-air with two mechanical arms. Previously, SpaceX boosters landed on a floating platform or landing pad and required transportation back to the launch site....

Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. As food decomposes in landfills, it releases methane and carbon dioxide. These potent gases accelerate global warming and climate change. Experts estimate that nearly a third of the world's food, about 1.3 billion tons, is wasted annually. This waste generates a staggering 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases each year. It accounts for 8 to 10 percent of global emissions....

Earthworms are well-known for their ability to enrich and improve soil. Yet, their precise impact on plant growth had remained a mystery. Now, two groundbreaking studies have found that these creepy crawlers not only boost crop yields but also protect plants from harmful microplastics....

Columbus Day is observed annually on the second Monday of October. It commemorates Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas in 1492. However, this US federal holiday, which falls on October 14 this year, has often been a topic of debate. Many believe that the European settlers' mistreatment of the Native American people is not a cause for celebration....