We know a great deal about ancient Greece, its culture and contributions to philosophy and politics – but did you know they feared beans or that sneezing was considered divine omens? At this point, independent city-states (called polities ) began forming across both mainland Greece and its islands. Worship of Olympus’ twelve gods and goddesses…
After 21 hours on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin returned to their lunar module, known as Eagle. They disconnected it from the command module that would remain orbiting above, before undocking Eagle from Eagle itself and dismounting from it. Armstrong made history when he took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”….
After The First Man made history with its Oscar win and before Captain Marvel returns to cinemas, Apollo 11 is an eye-opening documentary on America’s inaugural moon landing mission, using previously unseen 70mm footage to tell its tale. Incredible footage brings astronauts to life and shows there were many moments that nearly cost their lives…
Octopuses are aquatic creatures with eight arms, three hearts, blue blood, and the ability to squirt ink. Incredibly intelligent creatures that have even been observed using tools; some even seem capable of opening wired-closed clamshells! These incredible animals live alone and construct dens from rocks they find themselves, moving each rock piece to place with…
People frequently ask, “Which planet is closest to Earth in size?” Unfortunately, the answer lies within how distance is measured. Kepler-452b, located 1,194 light years from Earth, is approximately 60% larger than Earth and orbits within its host star’s habitable zone, giving researchers reason to believe there’s an excellent chance it could support life. Venus…
Germans are well known for many things, from beer and sausages to their history and culture. There may be some lesser-known facts about Germany that will surprise you. Explore German political leaders such as Angela Merkel and Ludwig van Beethoven, Christmas traditions unique to Germany, and intriguing inventions with this quiz! Learn even more about…
Sky blue color results from air molecules scattering light. Short wavelengths like blues bounce around more, while longer ones such as red can just wiggle through more freely. Rayleigh scattering was first developed by Lord Rayleigh in 1871. The Sun One major contributor to why the sky appears blue is due to sunlight hitting Earth’s…
National Archive employees collaborated closely with filmmakers to digitize their film footage at high resolution for better clarity than would have been possible with original technical restrictions. Miller did not exploit this aspect in his movie. Instead, Miller used this image of astronauts wearing spacesuits as an allusion to their monumental mission and its associated…
Voyager 2’s brief flyby of Uranus in 1986 provided much of what astronomers know about it; yet, its brief encounter also left behind surprises which are still being researched today by scientists. Now, an influential group of scientists have proposed that NASA make exploring this mysterious ice giant a top priority. However, which instruments should…
