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An impression of the large-scale structure of the universe, showing galaxy clusters and superclusters arranged in long filaments and concentrated at nodes.

An Enormous, Branching String of Galaxy Clusters Is the Largest Known Structure in the Universe, Scientists Say

The cosmic superstructure Quipu is more than 13,000 times the length of the Milky Way, and its mass is 200 quadrillion times that of the sun, according to preliminary research

Researchers think the portrait depicts a businessman, lawyer or banker.

Cool Finds

Experts Say They've Found a Portrait of a Mysterious Businessman Hidden Beneath a Titian Masterpiece

When the Renaissance artist painted his famous "Ecce Homo" around 1570, he covered up a portrait of an "an unknown professional man" standing at a desk

Looking through a telescope or binoculars can help you see Venus in its crescent phase on Valentine's Day—but the planet is visible to the naked eye.

Venus, the Planet of Love, Will Shine Bright on Valentine's Day. Here's How to See It

Around the time of your romantic dinner, head outside and look to the southwest to spot the super brilliant planet in the night sky

Teeth from humans who belonged to the Pavlovian culture show unexpected signs of wear.

New Research

Did These Ice Age Europeans Wear Cheek Piercings?

Wear patterns on the teeth of skeletons found in Central Europe suggest children as young as 6 may have been wearing labrets between 25,000 and 29,000 years ago

Mice have an instinctive reaction to hide when the shadow of a bird passes over. In a new study, scientists taught the rodents to overcome that fear.

How Can the Brain Overcome Fear? New Study of Mice Offers Clues to PTSD and Anxiety Treatment

Researchers identified two brain areas in mice that helped the animals learn to suppress their instinctive fears of predators

Washington at Princeton, Charles Willson Peale, 1779

This Historic Portrait of George Washington Is Being Restored to Its Former Glory

The 18th-century painting by Charles Willson Peale had previously been the subject of mismanaged restoration attempts. Now, experts in Versailles are bringing it back in line with the artist's original intent

Galaxy NGC 6505 and its surrounding Einstein ring, which represents light from a more distant galaxy behind it.

Cool Finds

Astronomers Discover Extremely Rare Einstein Ring in Early Euclid Telescope Data, Revealing Warped Space-Time

Such examples of gravitational lensing can help astronomers learn more about the properties of dark matter

Best known for her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar and poetry collections The Colossus and Ariel, Plath sourced much of the fodder for these great works from the troubled last years of her life.

On This Day in History

When This Brilliant Author Died, She Left Behind a Legacy of Grief, Haunting Poetry and Surprising Resilience

Modern accounts of Sylvia Plath’s renowned work and legacy seek to highlight the author’s resilience through a decade-long journey of depression

A metal detectorist discovered the Galloway Hoard in a ploughed field in Scotland in 2014.

A Proposed Translation Hints at the Origins of the Mysterious Galloway Hoard

Discovered in a field in Scotland in 2014, the Viking Age "community property" is now the focus of a new exhibition in Australia

Weighing up to 1,100 pounds, Risso's dolphins live throughout the world's temperate and tropical oceans.

See a Rare 'Super Pod' of More Than 1,500 Risso's Dolphins Spotted off the Coast of California

Whale-watching tour operators encountered the mass gathering of cetaceans while looking for migrating gray whales

The violin was made in Italy in the early 18th century.

This Storied Stradivarius Violin Made in 1714 Just Sold for Over $11 Million at Auction

The instrument was owned by a notable 19th-century Hungarian violinist

Maszycka Cave in southern Poland, where archaeologists unearthed 18,000-year-old bones that show evidence of human manipulation

Butchered Human Remains Found in a Polish Cave Suggest These Prehistoric People Cannibalized Their Enemies

The bones and skulls were found strewn among animal remains, a burial that was meant to humiliate a conquered rival even after defeat

The Schrödinger impact crater near the lunar south pole features two long canyons close by: Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck.

Two of the Moon's Grand Canyons Were Formed in Just Ten Violent Minutes, New Study Suggests

Scientists say Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck—dramatic trenches near the lunar south pole—were carved in a blast that unleashed 130 times the amount of energy in Earth's global nuclear weapons inventory

Images and schematic line drawings of the recently discovered neck vertebra of Cryodrakon boreas that bears a puncture mark, presumably from a predator or scavenger.

Cool Finds

Rare Neck Fossil With Puncture Mark Suggests a Prehistoric Crocodilian Snacked on a Young Pterosaur 76 Million Years Ago

The fossil sheds light on interactions within the Cretaceous food web and may represent the first record of this type of predation in North America

Victoria and Albert had a real spark between them—an anomaly in an age of dynastic marriages.

On This Day in History

One of Britain's Most Beloved Royal Couples Wed on This Day in 1840

Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert popularized white wedding dresses. Later, her mourning of his passing cemented the image of a grieving widow in black

At 8 p.m., 73 million people tuned in to CBS to see the Beatles’ debut.

On This Day in History

On This Day in 1964, 73 Million Americans Tuned in to Watch the Biggest Act in Music

Teenage girls threw themselves behind the Beatles and helped Ed Sullivan create the most-watched television event of its time

Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England on February 8, 1587.

On This Day in History

This Tragic European Monarch Was Executed for Treason on Her Cousin's Orders

Elizabeth I ordered the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic claimant to the English throne, on this day in 1587

A humpback whale

Humpback Whale Song Shares a Key Pattern With Human Language That Might Make It Easier for the Animals to Learn

Despite humans and whales being separated by millions of years of evolution, our vocalizations follow the same principle outlined in Zipf's law

The painting measures less than 15 inches tall and just over 5 inches wide. The verso of the panel includes part of a Marian prayer.

See the Miniature Portrait of Mary Magdalene That Raphael Painted When He Was Only 20

Created around 1503, the painting—which just sold at auction for $3.1 million—depicts the saint after the crucifixion of Jesus, when she entered a period of repentance

X-ray images of the neck and cheek guards from a Roman helmet discovered at Løsning Søndermark

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover a Stash of 1,500-Year-Old Weapons—Including the Only Known Roman Helmet Ever Found in Denmark

The cache included swords, spears, lances and chainmail. Researchers think these items may have been buried as part of a ceremony or sacrifice

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