Harry Baker

Orcas that attack and sink boats in southwestern Europe have been spotted circling a vessel in Spain, hundreds of miles from where they should currently be. And scientists can't explain why.

During the recent total solar eclipse on April 8, scientists and other observers spotted some strange things in the sky and on the ground. Here are some of our favorites.

The 2,000-foot-wide asteroid 2013 NK4 just made its closest approach to Earth in recorded history, sailing by at about eight lunar distances. You can still see the massive rock with a backyard telescope.

New data suggest that exoplanet WASP-76 b could harbor a massive, rainbow-colored light show known as a "glory." Until now, this phenomenon has been seen only within our solar system.

Strange radio signals coming from a magnetar that "woke up" after more than a decade of radio silence cannot be explained by our current understanding of the universe's strongest magnets, hinting at a puzzling new phenomenon.

Several media outlets have incorrectly claimed that explosive solar flares were spotted during the April 8 total solar eclipse. But there were no flares during totality, so what did people see?

On April 8, just a few hours before the total solar eclipse, an amateur astronomer discovered a small "sungrazer" comet in close proximity to our home star. The newfound object was photographed during totality before disintegrating into nothingness later the same day.

Satellite images show the moon's gigantic shadow sweeping across North America during the April 8 total solar eclipse. Astronauts on board the ISS also captured stunning shots of the enormous dark patch.

A new study warns that 5,000 meteorites could be sinking beneath Antarctica's icy surface every year as a result of climate change, depriving scientists of vital information about our solar system.

Despite nearing its most active period, the sun is unusually inactive right now and may not wake up again before the total solar eclipse on Monday (April 8). How will this impact our view of the spectacle?

New images show a glowing "dashed" line in the night sky above Arizona after part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fell back to Earth following a double-header launch.

The location of the solar system's outer boundary is a point of contention among astronomers. There are three possible candidates, which "all have merit." But which one is best?

A new polarized light image of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* has given us our first clear look at the magnetic field of the cosmic juggernaut, which suggests that it may have superheated jets just like even larger black holes.

Earlier this month, a sudden atmospheric warming event caused the Arctic's polar vortex to reverse its trajectory. The swirling ring of cold air is now spinning in the wrong direction, which has triggered a record-breaking "ozone spike" and could impact global weather patterns.

A recent X-class flare, which was split into two simultaneous explosions, launched a coronal mass ejection that smashed into Earth, triggering the most powerful disruption to our planet's magnetic field for more than six years.

A reanalysis of 50-year-old Apollo mission data long abandoned by NASA has revealed 22,000 previously unrecognized moonquakes, almost tripling the known number of seismic lunar events.

A massive column of sulfur dioxide that was pumped out by the erupting volcano on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula is currently traveling across northern Europe. Scientists are concerned it could impact the ozone layer.

In a surprise video, Elon Musk's Neuralink revealed the first recipient of the company's brain-computer interface using the device to play online chess. They also discussed the "life-changing" procedure for the first time.

The gigantic star Betelgeuse, which could be close to exploding, has previously been seen spinning much faster than it should be. However, a new study suggests that these observations were misinterpreted because of the star's shape-shifting surface.

The submerged volcano in Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted for the fourth time in four months. The resulting lava flow narrowly missed Grindavík but could still reach the sea and potentially unleash a toxic gas plume.

New, specially edited photos show a previously unseen swirl of light surrounding the city-size comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which is currently racing toward the sun and will later zoom past Earth.

Two new James Webb Space Telescope images show off massive bubbles carved out of a stellar nursery by giant, baby stars growing in a nearby galaxy.

A U.S. computer storage company has calculated the irrational number pi to 105 trillion digits, breaking the previous world record. The calculations took 75 days to complete and used up 1 million gigabytes of data.

On Pi Day (March 14), NASA reminded us why we need only a small slice of the irrational number's infinite decimal places to explain most of the known universe.

A theoretical new paper argues that atmospheric metal pollution from falling space junk could create an invisible conductive shield around our planet that might weaken our magnetosphere. However, other experts are skeptical of this idea.