The kingdoms and empires that once ruled across vast lands have by no means been forgotten – the power of the Roman Empire is still a symbol… Read more “Mapping the Empires of History”
Search Results for: History
Mysterious History Events On Earth
Mycenaean Greece (or Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece (c. 1600–1100 BC). It represents the first advanced civilization in mainland… Read more “Mysterious History Events On Earth”
Inca child mummy reveals lost genetic history
Back in 1985, hikers climbing Argentina’s Aconcagua mountain stumbled upon a ghastly surprise: the frozen corpse of a 7-year-old boy. It was apparent that he’d been… Read more “Inca child mummy reveals lost genetic history”
The Coolest Places You’re Not Allowed to Visit
Our spectacular planet has so many wonders to explore. However, there are some places that are just too dangerous, too protected, or maybe too special to visit—even… Read more “The Coolest Places You’re Not Allowed to Visit”
How the north ended up on top of the map
A cartographic history of what’s up. McArthur’s Universal Corrective Map of the World.Flickr A world map drawn by the Moroccan cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi for King Roger of… Read more “How the north ended up on top of the map”
These 7 Cities Are Total Time Warps
But in a good way. If you want to go back in time, you could binge-watch Mad Men. Or read Wolf Hall. Or start talking exclusively in Old English. Or you… Read more “These 7 Cities Are Total Time Warps”
DNA May ID Sailors Looking for Northwest Passage in 1845
Scientists have extracted DNA from the skeletal remains of several 19th-century sailors who died during the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, whose goal was to navigate the fabled Northwest… Read more “DNA May ID Sailors Looking for Northwest Passage in 1845”
Some Of The Most Bizarre Books Ever Written
If literary history teaches us one thing, it’s that people were just as confused and immature in the Middle Ages as they are now. From unsolvable codes… Read more “Some Of The Most Bizarre Books Ever Written”
A tour of our solar system
Our solar system is a fascinating place. For decades, ambitious engineers and scientists around the world have been sending brave humans and robotic emissaries deep into our… Read more “A tour of our solar system”
Tornado Cluster Sizes Skyrocket
Tornados are behaving strangely: The number of tornado outbreaks per year is fairly constant, but the number of tornados per outbreak has skyrocketed. And scientists aren’t entirely… Read more “Tornado Cluster Sizes Skyrocket”
10 Times More Galaxies Than Previously Thought
The universe suddenly looks a lot more crowded, thanks to a deep-sky census assembled from surveys taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories. Astronomers came… Read more “10 Times More Galaxies Than Previously Thought”
The Geomagnetic Blitz of September 1941
Seventy-five years ago next week, a massive geomagnetic storm disrupted electrical power, interrupted radio broadcasts, and illuminated the night sky in a World War II battle theatre. Seventy-five… Read more “The Geomagnetic Blitz of September 1941”
Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star
Pale Red Dot campaign reveals Earth-mass world in orbit around Proxima Centauri Astronomers using ESO telescopes and other facilities have found clear evidence of a planet orbiting… Read more “Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star”
Finds You Won’t Believe Were Found On Earth
Archaeology isn’t always the most interesting of subjects; not until there is some sort of jaw-dropping type of discovery, that is. The time they discovered the legendary lost… Read more “Finds You Won’t Believe Were Found On Earth”
The Grandfather Paradox
What would happen to you if you went back in time and killed your grandfather? A model using photons reveals that quantum mechanics can solve the quandary—and… Read more “The Grandfather Paradox”
QuantumBits Guide To Self Learning
Knowledge comes from self-learning. It won’t be right to say that there is ‘good education’ and ‘okay education’, because knowledge comes from our interest in that subject,… Read more “QuantumBits Guide To Self Learning”
A Fifth Force?
In an article submitted on April 7, 2015, to the arXiv repository of physics papers, a group of Hungarian researchers reported on a study in which they… Read more “A Fifth Force?”
20th anniversary of invention of Spin Torque MRAM
“A new mechanism is proposed for exciting the magnetic state of a ferromagnet.” Twenty years ago these words were written by IBM scientist John Slonczewski in his… Read more “20th anniversary of invention of Spin Torque MRAM”
The Apollo Missions Part 1
“That’s one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind.”- Neil Armstrong Apollo’s Goals The national effort that enabled Astronaut Neil Armstrong to speak those… Read more “The Apollo Missions Part 1”
New Views of Mercury
MESSENGER was the first orbital mission around Mercury. More properly known as the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission, the more than 1,000-pound spacecraft checked… Read more “New Views of Mercury”
Are we alone in the Universe?
(Illustration of the Drake equation and the Frank equation. In 1961, astrophysicist Frank Drake developed an equation to estimate the number of advanced civilizations likely to exist… Read more “Are we alone in the Universe?”
Elegance conceals an eventful past
The elegant simplicity of NGC 4111, seen here in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, hides a more violent history than you might think. NGC… Read more “Elegance conceals an eventful past”
Supernovae showered Earth with radioactive debris
An international team of scientists has found evidence of a series of massive supernova explosions near our solar system, which showered the Earth with radioactive debris. The… Read more “Supernovae showered Earth with radioactive debris”
Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle
About 3200 years ago, two armies clashed at a river crossing near the Baltic Sea. The confrontation can’t be found in any history books—the written word didn’t… Read more “Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle”
Moon used to spin ‘on different axis’
The Moon used to spin on a different axis and show a slightly different face to the Earth, a new study suggests. Using data collected by Nasa’s… Read more “Moon used to spin ‘on different axis’”
First new butterfly species in decades
Some might say it takes a rare breed to survive the Alaska wilderness. The discovery of a possible new species of hybrid butterfly from the state’s interior… Read more “First new butterfly species in decades”
A black hole flashing red with the energy of 1,000 Suns
As if black holes needed another horrifyingly weird characteristic, astronomers have observed one of the brightest black hole ‘outbursts’ in years, with each pulse emitting the energy… Read more “A black hole flashing red with the energy of 1,000 Suns”
Debating Signatures of Alien Life
Huddled in a coffee shop one drizzly Seattle morning six years ago, the astrobiologist Shawn Domagal-Goldman stared blankly at his laptop screen, paralyzed. He had been running… Read more “Debating Signatures of Alien Life”
European Mission to Mars Launches
Next stop, Mars! Two robotic spacecraft began a seven-month journey to the Red Planet today (March 14), blasting off together atop a Russian Proton-M rocket from… Read more “European Mission to Mars Launches”
Dust in the interstellar wind
Cosmic dust is not simply something to sweep under the rug and forget about. Instead, NSF-funded astronomers are studying and even mapping it to learn more about… Read more “Dust in the interstellar wind”
Charon: A possible ancient ocean?
Pluto’s largest moon may have gotten too big for its own skin. Images from NASA’s New Horizons mission suggest that Pluto’s moon Charon once had a subsurface… Read more “Charon: A possible ancient ocean?”
Finding Beauty in the Darkness
WITH presidential primaries in full steam, with the country wrapped up in concern about the economy, immigration and terrorism, one might wonder why we should care about… Read more “Finding Beauty in the Darkness”
The Antikythera Mechanism
After 2,000 years under the sea, three flat, misshapen pieces of bronze at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens are all shades of green, from emerald to forest. From… Read more “The Antikythera Mechanism”
Ancient Babylon figured out forerunner of calculus
Tracking and recording the motion of the sun, the moon, and the planets as they paraded across the desert sky, ancient Babylonian astronomers used simple arithmetic to… Read more “Ancient Babylon figured out forerunner of calculus”
Brightest-ever supernova
Scientists may have spotted the most powerful supernova ever seen, some 3.8 billion light years away in deep space. Named ASASSN-15lh, it looks like a huge ball… Read more “Brightest-ever supernova”
Strange Galaxy Discovered Swept By Fierce Oxygen Winds
“I was actually very surprised to discover that this wind is made mostly of oxygen because nobody has seen a galaxy like this before,” says Anna Lia… Read more “Strange Galaxy Discovered Swept By Fierce Oxygen Winds”
Quantum Time
Many people who have sat through introductory physics courses in high school or college might disagree with the claim, “Newtonian mechanics makes intuitive sense to us.” They… Read more “Quantum Time”
A curious cosmic collision revisited
The spectacular aftermath of a 360-million-year-old cosmic collision is revealed in great detail in new images from the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) at… Read more “A curious cosmic collision revisited”
Quantum Blips Triggered the Formation of Galaxies, Stars, Planets
Data from the Planck telescope have confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt a theory of the quantum origin of structure in the Universe. What exactly happened after the… Read more “Quantum Blips Triggered the Formation of Galaxies, Stars, Planets”
Marrying Relativity to the Quantum World
Don Lincoln is a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermilab, the U.S.’ largest Large Hadron Collider research institution. He also writes about science for… Read more “Marrying Relativity to the Quantum World”
First glimpse of another universe
THE curtain at the edge of the universe may be rippling, hinting that there’s more backstage. Data from the European Space Agency’s Planck telescope could be giving… Read more “First glimpse of another universe”
The Future of Physics
Get Nima Arkani-Hamed going on the subject of the universe — not difficult — and he’ll talk for as many minutes or hours as it takes to… Read more “The Future of Physics”
