National Geographic News

Space Pictures This Week: Trippy Stars, Spooky Moon, More
Stars whirl in a psychedelic sky, NASA spies a ghostly eye, a cloud-stained moon rises, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Tiles May Help Shrink Carbon Footprint by Harnessing Pedestrian Power

In areas with high foot traffic, installations of special flooring may prove that the answer to meeting energy demand lies right beneath our feet.

SpaceX to Launch First Private Craft to Space Station Tomorrow

Dragon is slated to become the first commercial craft to visit the International Space Station—and it should return with used gloves.

Bugs Help Measure Impact of New Transoceanic Highway on Amazon

Scientists deploy "leaf packs" to survey threatened water quality in Peru.

Approaching Asteroid May Get Close Enough to Smash Satellites

The newfound space rock 2012 DA14 will pass so close to Earth in February that it could hit a communications satellite, scientists say.

Slow-Mo Microbes Still Living off Dino-era "Lunch Box"

Buried for 86 million years, a bacterial community lives so sluggishly it's still surviving on a "lunch box" from dino days, a new study says.

"Ring of Fire" Solar Eclipse Coming Sunday

A "time traveling" solar eclipse will soon turn the sun into a ring of fire for sky-watchers in parts of Asia and the U.S. West.

Pictures: Elephant Underpass Reuniting Kenya Herds
A corridor beneath a busy highway in northern Kenya is helping isolated elephant populations reunite, conservationists say.
Everest Expedition Calls Off Risky West Ridge Climb

Unsafe conditions on Mount Everest forced a Nat Geo team to cancel plans to ascend via the West Ridge, the expedition leader says.

Hundreds of Superflares Seen on Sunlike Stars

But the new data from a NASA spacecraft cast doubt on a popular theory for what triggers the planet-roasting bursts of energy.

Pictures: "Body Jars," Cliff Coffins Are Clues to Unknown Tribe
Perched on precarious cliff ledges, centuries-old log coffins and "body jars" are the only known traces of an unknown Cambodian tribe
Best Night-Sky Pictures of 2012 Named
A holiday comet, Icelandic auroras, and the Milky Way feature among the winning shots from the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest.
Prehistoric "Panda" Found in Spain—Giant Panda Has European Roots?

A small fossil bear recently identified in Spain suggests China's giant panda has European roots, a new study says.

Space Pictures This Week: Supermoon, Solar Flare, More
A supermoon looms, a solar flare erupts, and night-shining clouds glow in this week's best space pictures.
Mother's Day's Dark History

Born of war, Mother's Day grew to horrify its own mother, whose fight to fix the holiday "cost her everything, financially and physically."

New Planet Found in Our Solar System?

An unseen world might be disturbing the orbits of several objects in the outer solar system, new calculations hint.

Runner's High Hardwired in People—And Dogs

The pleasurable sensation known as "runner's high" may have motivated human and canine ancestors to build endurance, a new study says.

Pictures: New Maya Mural, Calendars Debunk 2012 Myth
See the rare, newfound Maya artworks and calculations that show mysterious figures and contradict popularly held 2012 apocalypse theories.
Sun Is Moving Slower Than Thought

New NASA data hint that our star is moving too slow to form a bow shock, a structure long thought to protect us from cosmic rays.

Unprecedented Maya Mural Found, Contradicts 2012 "Doomsday" Myth

Unprecedented paintings and calculations have emerged from under the Guatemalan jungle—including evidence against the 2012 "doomsday myth."

Light From a "Super Earth" Seen—A First

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has proven it's possible to capture the infrared glow from relatively small alien worlds, a new study says.

Top Ten Infrared Space Pictures Announced
From the Helix Nebula to the Sombrero galaxy—see top infrared shots from the Spitzer Space Telescope, chosen by Spitzer scientists.
Howard Carter: "Miraculous," Misunderstood Man Behind Google's Gilded

Find out why the "miraculous," misunderstood archaeologist who found King Tut's ancient tomb was honored Wednesday in a modern way.

Is Saturn Moon's Haze Old Enough for Life?

Saturn's largest moon may have only recently turned hazy, according to two new studies that could spell trouble for the chances of life.

Biggest Crocodile Found—Fossil Species Ate Humans Whole?

The 27-foot-long predator may have ambushed early humans in what's now Kenya, a new study says.