Humanity
Humanity
The Most Mysterious Star in the Universe: What is KIC 8462852?
It’s a story straight out of science fiction, but it’s completely real. In 2015, the Kepler telescope stumbled upon something baffling on a potentially habitable star named KIC 8462852. This star, which sits just above the Milky Way between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra, is also known as Tabby’s Star after its discoverer, Yale University’s Tabetha Boyajian.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
7 Materials That Defy the Laws of Physics
There are tons of scientific laws out there. You’ve heard of them: Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion, the Universal Law of Gravitation, Newton’s Laws of Motion, you get the idea. But let’s be honest, very few of us can actually recite what those laws state word for word. We mostly remember the basics, like what goes up must come down, or that extreme heat usually makes things melt.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
The Science Behind Mass Animal Deaths by Lightning: Why Hundreds Are Killed at Once
In a truly bizarre and unbelievable turn of events, a massive lightning strike recently claimed the lives of 323 reindeer in a remote, mountainous region of Norway. Finding over 300 animals lying dead after a single thunderstorm is a sight that wildlife officials called an unusually large natural disaster. The initial scene showed the reindeer clustered together on a plateau in southern Norway, having been caught in the lightning’s destructive path.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
A Strong Radio Signal Was Detected from a Sun-Like Star: Is It Aliens or Just Noise?
The internet has been buzzing recently about a curious “interesting” signal picked up by a radio telescope used for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). The signal, which came from the vicinity of a sun-sized star about 94 light-years away called HD 164595, has the whole community talking, but not everyone agrees on what it means.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
Is the Human Soul Real? Six Pieces of Evidence That Suggest It Is
Have you ever seriously wondered if you had a past life, or if the very idea of a “soul” is even real? The question of whether or not humans possess an immortal soul, a spiritual part of us that exists before birth and survives physical death, has been a chief question for philosophers and scientists for ages.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
Our Closest Neighbour: Is This the 'Second Earth' We've Been Waiting For?
Every time astronomers announce the discovery of a potentially habitable planet, our hopes fly high. They say, "This place could have liquid water and maybe even alien life!" But then reality hits: the planet is usually some 10 zillion light-years away, utterly unreachable with our current technology.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
The Persistent Clues: Did a Great Flood Really Happen?
The story of a devastating global flood, so great it wiped out all life except for a select few, is most famously told in the Book of Genesis. While many today treat the “Great Flood” as a simple myth, the evidence scattered across history and geology drops some pretty compelling hints that this worldwide disaster might have actually occurred.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
Rachael Carpani Dies at 45: Well-Loved Actress from 'McLeod's Daughters' Leaves Lasting Imp
Rachael Carpani, a popular face on Australian television and known affectionately for her work on "McLeod’s Daughters" and "Home and Away," has died suddenly but peacefully at the age of just 45. Carpani has been met with tributes not only for her work on screen, where she will always be remembered for her passion and dedication to her craft, but for the love and positivity that her presence brought into the world. Carpani died peacefully on the 7th December after a long struggle with a chronic illness.
By iftikhar Ahmad30 days ago in FYI
Clues to Civilisations Older Than We Think
We’re often taught that the story of modern humans only goes back about 200,000 years, with the oldest known civilisations, like those in Egypt, Rome, or China, peaking around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. But what if that timeline is way off? What if incredibly advanced societies thrived long before that? Our history books might be blank on this, yet there are fascinating clues suggesting advanced prehistoric civilisations could have existed even millions of years ago.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
Have We Been Visited Before?
I’ve been curious about this topic for ages, and I’ve said it before: I absolutely believe in extraterrestrials. It just seems logical that intelligent life exists somewhere else in this vast universe. There are so many subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, clues out there that seem to point to the fact that we are not alone.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
Earth: Still a Mystery After All These Years
It can often feel like we’ve uncovered every last secret about our planet. We’re constantly looking to the stars for new worlds to explore, but in reality, there’s still a significant amount of mystery right here beneath our feet and all around us. When we take a closer look at some fundamental things about Earth, it’s clear we still have a lot to learn.
By Areeba Umair30 days ago in FYI
