In 2006 a star exploded 50 billion times brighter than our sun. New research suggests it wasn't one star, but two.

A famous 15th-century altarpiece has been restored in Belgium, and people are freaked out by the artist's original image of a human-faced Jesus sheep.

The world's oldest known impact crater has been in Western Australia for more than 2.2 billion years, a new study suggests.

There's a faint gamma-ray background in the universe, and scientists now think it could be caused by dark matter.

The black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be warping and combining binary stars into a strange new kind of object, according to a new study.

Scientists sank three alligator corpses into the Gulf of Mexico to see whether bottom-dwelling sea creatures could eat them. They did — handily.

The US Navy confirmed they have secret, classified documents regarding a 2004 UFO encounter, but releasing them could 'gravely damage' national security.

Christopher Columbus claims to have fought with a fierce cannibal tribe in the Caribbean, despite historical evidence to the contrary. Now, a new study shows he may have been telling the truth.

Three galaxies 13 billion light-years may be ending the cosmic 'dark ages' before our eyes.

A newly discovered suburb of baby-booming stars, known as the Radcliffe Wave, may be the largest structure in the Milky Way.

A man caught a spider eating his goldfish in midair. This is creepily common among semiaquatic spiders, which live across the globe.

Conservationists in Indonesia discovered the largest-ever specimen of Rafflesia tuan-mudae, a parasitic plant known as the 'corpse flower'

A stash of seven rare coins dating to 1,200 years ago was uncovered near an ancient pottery kiln in Yavne, Israel.

When scientists find a round, lumpy object they can't totally explain, they call it a "blob." Here are our nine favorite blobs of 2019.

From cannibal ants to reindeer 'cyclones' to solar tsunamis, 2019 was a metal year for nature. Here are our 10 favorite moments.

Scientists probed some strange corners of the universe this year. Here are our favorites.

A "penis fish" is neither a penis nor a fish. (Discuss.)

A private UFO enthusiast has donated his collection of 30,000 documents to the University of Manitoba in Canada. The truth is in there.

The ESA has announced a mission to launch a four-armed robot to grab a single piece of space junk and drag it into the atmosphere.

Hoag's object, which is a galaxy within a galaxy within a galaxy, has befuddled stargazers since astronomer Arthur Hoag discovered it in 1950.

Scientists hunting for neutral hydrogen — a rare molecule that predates every star in the universe — just took a step closer to catching their prize.

Archaeologists think they may have discovered the oldest chess piece in the world, excavated from a seventh-century trading site in Jordan.

Scientists recorded a blue whale's heartbeat for the first time, and found that the world's largest creatures can survive on just two beats per minute while diving for food.

At the edge of our solar system, a fierce battle rages between solar wind and interstellar rays. NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft has now passed through the frontlines.