In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered an unusual, regularly pulsing radio signal. This led to the identification of pulsars, rapidly rotating neutron stars, a previously theoretical celestial body. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons Looking into the heavens in the middle part of the twentieth century did not always require viewing the starry night through a glass…

The world’s largest meteorite never made it to a museum. Image credit – Wikimedia Meteorites are usually shown as small rocks housed behind glass panes in a museum display. Yet, some of the biggest meteorites ever unearthed resemble trucks more than they do stones. Such colossal chunks of iron and rock fell to the surface…

Mount Uturuncu, a Bolivian volcano, is not on the brink of a massive eruption as previously feared. New research reveals its ‘zombie’ behaviour stems from migrating hydrothermal fluids and gases, not an imminent magma buildup. A huge shadow has been hanging over the Bolivian Plateau for many years. Standing more than 6,000 meters above the…

In 1978, utility workers in Mexico City unearthed the massive Coyolxauhqui Stone, a significant Aztec artefact. This discovery revealed the Templo Mayor, the empire’s religious and political centre, buried beneath the modern city. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Any digging in the concrete of a modern metropolis would most likely bring up only remnants of ancient…