captured

NASA’s Webb telescope captured the Black Eye Galaxy in unprecedented detail; its opposing gas streams reveal a violent cosmic past

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NASA’s Webb telescope captured the Black Eye Galaxy in unprecedented detail; its opposing gas streams reveal a violent cosmic past

At first glance, Messier 64 looks like a classic spiral galaxy. Its bright centre is wrapped in sweeping arms, while a broad, dark band of dust cuts across one side of its nucleus, giving it the distinctive appearance that earned it the nickname Black Eye Galaxy. But beneath that familiar spiral shape lies something much … Read more

After countless hours searching for rare seahorses in French Polynesia, a photographer captured an adult male beside two newborn juveniles; the image won Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026

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After countless hours searching for rare seahorses in French Polynesia, a photographer captured an adult male beside two newborn juveniles; the image won Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026

A photograph showing an adult male seahorse with two tiny newborn juveniles in the shallow waters of Mo’orea, French Polynesia, has won the grand prize at the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 awards. French underwater photographer Julien Anton spent countless hours searching through underwater seaweed beds with local naturalists before finding the trio. He … Read more

Denmark planted trees for carbon storage, but 21 years later natural forests proved more diverse while plantations captured carbon faster

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Denmark planted trees for carbon storage, but 21 years later natural forests proved more diverse while plantations captured carbon faster

Denmark’s long-running effort to create forests on former farmland has revealed a striking trade-off between carbon storage and biodiversity. After 21 years, scientists compared naturally regenerated forests with areas deliberately planted with trees. Plantations accumulated tree biomass and captured carbon faster, while naturally colonised forests developed greater diversity and more varied ecological structures. The University … Read more

A forgotten American photographer captured one of the earliest clear images of a total solar eclipse 175 years ago; the photograph changed eclipse science

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A forgotten American photographer captured one of the earliest clear images of a total solar eclipse 175 years ago; the photograph changed eclipse science

Berkowski made this first solar eclipse photograph at the Royal Observatory in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). Image Credit: Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski/Wikipedia A total solar eclipse is one of nature’s most dramatic sights, but 175 years ago it was also a difficult scientific problem to record. On July 28, 1851, a little-known photographer named … Read more