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Giant squid surfaces in Japanese harbor
Rare encounter with a giant squid. First one caught on camera was in 2012.
December 29, 2015
Sun halo over South Pole
High, thin cirrus clouds create halos around the sun or moon. This one is over Antarctica, at a time when the sun is shining 24 hours a day.
December 29, 2015
Dark skies disappearing
Earth's night skies are lighter, thanks to towns, cities and industrial complexes. How that affects astronomy ... as well as birds, insects and people.
December 28, 2015
Magnetic fields dragged and twisted by young star’s dusty disk
These disks contain the raw materials for planet formation. The magnetic fields can either help or hinder their growth. So this new research helps show how solar systems are born.
December 27, 2015
Venus and Saturn before sunrise
Saturn is becoming easier to see before dawn, below Venus in the east. Soon, all five visible planets will appear in the dawn sky simultaneously.
December 27, 2015
Amazing airglow over Atacama Desert
The sun's ultraviolet radiation excites atoms some 50 miles (80 km) or more high in Earth's atmosphere. When the atoms release the energy, the atmosphere glows.
December 25, 2015
First full moon on Christmas since 1977
Moon phases recur on or near same calendar dates every 19 years. Why didn't we in North America have a full moon on Christmas Day 19 years ago?
December 25, 2015
Sneaking a peek inside a black hole’s disk
Amazing new image - obtained via an orbiting X-ray observatory - shows the disk of gas and dust surrounding a supermassive black hole to be clumpy, not smooth.
December 24, 2015
How big can black holes grow?
Black holes could grow as large as 50 billion suns, before the 'food' that makes them grow crumbles into stars, says new research.
December 24, 2015
Latest images of Christmas Eve asteroid
Near-Earth asteroid 2003 SD220 will pass safely, at more than 28 times the moon's distance, on Christmas Eve. Will it cause earthquakes? Of course not.
December 24, 2015
