The sky, the soil and the questions worth asking twice.
Long before weather apps, people read the sky. It is still worth learning, and the basics fit on a postcard.High, thin wisps called cirrus are made of ice crystals. On their own they mean fair weather, but when they thicken…
Read MoreOn 20 July 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon. The recordings of those minutes, between the crew and mission control in Houston, are some of the most listened-to audio of the twentieth century, and…
Read MoreNASA publishes a new image every day, from spacecraft, telescopes and astronauts on the space station, each with a short note on what you are looking at. It is the best daily reminder that the view from here is only…
Read MoreSunlight looks white, but it is a mixture of every colour. When it enters the atmosphere, it meets molecules of nitrogen and oxygen far smaller than the wavelength of the light itself, and they scatter it in every direction.They do…
Read MoreSome trees alive today were already old when the oldest buildings in most cities were new. Bristlecone pines in the mountains of the western United States have been dated at more than four thousand years, and many oaks and yews…
Read MoreA handful of healthy soil is one of the busiest places on Earth. A single gram can hold billions of bacteria, along with fungi, tiny animals and the roots that feed them, all working in the dark.Fungi spread thread-like networks…
Read MoreA honeybee can fly several kilometres from its hive to find flowers and return in a straight line, carrying a load of nectar and pollen. How it manages that has fascinated scientists for a century.Bees use the sun as a…
Read MoreA 75% keyboard keeps the function row and the arrow keys but drops the number pad and squeezes everything else…
