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Editors of EarthSky

Chickens and turkeys closer to dinos than other birds

Songbirds and other birds sprang from dinosaurs, too. But new work indicates that chickens and turkeys are genetically closest to their dino ancestors.

Today in science: Dewey Decimal inventor

Happy birthday, Melvil Dewey!

New Horizon spacecraft wakes up for encounter with Pluto system

It's awake! On Saturday, the New Horizons spacecraft came out of hibernation, at the doorstep of Pluto.

Does this Martian meteorite contain traces of life?

Researchers say they’ve found evidence of biological activity inside a meteorite from Mars that landed on the Moroccan desert in 2011.

Asteroid brushes the Horsehead Nebula

Animation shows the space rock 4451 Grieve as it zips by the famous nebula.

Relentless blitz of small space rocks erased much of Earth’s primordial atmosphere

The inevitable question arises: What replaced the atmosphere? It's possible the same impactors that ejected the atmosphere also introduced new gases.

Another reason to be thankful for turkey

Be thankful for turkeys this Thanksgiving! An antibiotic to target staph infections and strep comes from good bacteria made inside turkeys, say researchers.

Video: Young volcanos on the moon

Scientists have long thought the moon's volcanos stopped erupting a billion years ago. But dotting the lunar landscape are some remarkably fresh volcanic features.

Is this exotic object an ejected black hole or a huge star?

Is SDSS1133 a supermassive black hole ejected from its home galaxy, or the remains of a massive star that exploded as a supernova? Astronomers aren't sure.

More lightning strikes in a warming world?

Rising temperatures could lead to a 50 percent increase in U.S. lightning strikes by the end of the century, says a new study.