THIS STORY IS ORIGINAL Appeared on WIRED Italy and has been translated from Italian. The twelve butterflies were flying gracefully across a beach in French Guiana when Gerard Talavera spotted them. It took only a moment to see that they were extraordinary. These were not just any butterflies, he saw, but painted ladies (Vanessa card)—beautiful … Read more
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. CNN — Painted ladybirds venture far and wide with their impressive migratory patterns that stretch thousands of miles – but they often travel over land so they can stop to rest. Scientists have now found … Read more
A bright quasar, powered by a supermassive black hole, emits radiation that pushes clouds of gas away from its surroundings, generating winds at speeds of about 58 million kilometers per hour. Oh, and the quasar is also almost as old as the universe itself. The discovery, made by a team of scientists led by astronomers … Read more
A bright quasar, powered by a supermassive black hole, emits radiation that pushes clouds of gas away from its surroundings, generating winds at speeds of about 58 million kilometers per hour. Oh, and the quasar is also almost as old as the universe itself. The discovery, made by a team of scientists led by astronomers … Read more
If you were attacked by a ravenous vampire star or risked falling into two dueling black holes, you’d probably run too! One of these terrifying scenarios is likely responsible for sending a low-mass star flying through the Milky Way at a staggering million miles per hour (1.6 million kilometers per hour). That’s about 1,500 times … Read more
Most stars in the Milky Way move in quiet and orderly orbits around the galactic center, but that is not the case for all of them. Every now and then a maverick is caught breaking ranks, zooming along at speeds that will eventually launch him into intergalactic space. These ‘hypervelocity’ stars are extremely rare, but … Read more
In an extraordinary feat of space engineering, a Chinese satellite performed a groundbreaking maneuver to prevent a potential asteroid disaster. The asteroid, known as 1994 PC1, is a colossal celestial body comparable in size to San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Astronomers had difficulty accurately tracking the asteroid’s path due to its sheer distance. However, … Read more