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Science & Technology

The intricate cloud bands of Jupiter and one of its largest moons, Europa, as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in August 2020.

Cold Moon rising: If skies are clear, Earth’s satellite will shine with a magical glow around Christmas

The intricate cloud bands of Jupiter and one of its largest moons, Europa, as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in August 2020.

December 12, 2023, 6:03am Clark County Life

and that’s always an astronomical if in this generally overcast season — the night sky on and around Christmas will shine with a magical, silver-white glow. Read story

This photo provided by Gatorland shows a white-skinned, leucistic alligator. There are only seven leucistic alligators in the world with three of them located at Gatorland Orlando, according to officials with the reptile park located in central Florida, who announced the birth on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.

Extremely rare white leucistic alligator is born at a Florida reptile park

This photo provided by Gatorland shows a white-skinned, leucistic alligator. There are only seven leucistic alligators in the world with three of them located at Gatorland Orlando, according to officials with the reptile park located in central Florida, who announced the birth on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.

December 12, 2023, 6:02am Life

An extremely rare white leucistic alligator has been born at a Florida reptile park. Read story

Halley’s comet is finally headed back to the sun; when you can see it

December 11, 2023, 10:41am Nation & World

The most famous comet of all is headed back toward Earth. Halley’s comet reached aphelion — its farthest point from the sun — on Dec. 8, at which point it began its long journey back to the sun. Read story

Marko Cetina, Duke assistant professor of Physics, works in the lab at the Duke Quantum Center on Aug. 30, 2022, in Durham, North Carolina. His research is focused on increasing complex quantum algorithms with increased numbers of quantum bits.

‘We’re hitting new limits.’ North Carolina quantum computing bullish on a coveted breakthrough

Marko Cetina, Duke assistant professor of Physics, works in the lab at the Duke Quantum Center on Aug. 30, 2022, in Durham, North Carolina. His research is focused on increasing complex quantum algorithms with increased numbers of quantum bits.

December 10, 2023, 5:25am Business

When Jungsang Kim came to Duke University in 2004, he wasn’t sure he’d live long enough to witness quantum advantage: the elusive moment when a quantum computer outperforms a classical computer to solve a real-world problem. Read story

A Serratichneumon maculatus, or spotted parasitic wasp. From Sheng, M.-L., Riedel, M., &amp; Wang, Z. (2023).

Researchers find new wasp species

A Serratichneumon maculatus, or spotted parasitic wasp. From Sheng, M.-L., Riedel, M., &amp; Wang, Z. (2023).

December 9, 2023, 5:48am Life

In a forest in southern China, a parasitic creature flew through the air. Suddenly, a net enveloped the animal. Scientists looked at their successful catch — and discovered a new species. Read story

This image made with the Hubble Space Telescope and released by NASA on Aug. 10, 2020 shows the star Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, a red supergiant. The star, one of the biggest and brightest in the night sky, will momentarily vanish as an asteroid passes in front of it late Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, into early Tuesday. The event should be visible to millions of people along a narrow corridor stretching from central Asia&rsquo;s Tajikistan and Armenia, across Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain, all the way to Miami and the Florida Keys, and, finally, Mexico.

Asteroid will pass in front of bright star Betelgeuse to produce a rare eclipse visible to millions

This image made with the Hubble Space Telescope and released by NASA on Aug. 10, 2020 shows the star Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, a red supergiant. The star, one of the biggest and brightest in the night sky, will momentarily vanish as an asteroid passes in front of it late Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, into early Tuesday. The event should be visible to millions of people along a narrow corridor stretching from central Asia&rsquo;s Tajikistan and Armenia, across Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain, all the way to Miami and the Florida Keys, and, finally, Mexico.

December 8, 2023, 7:56am Life

One of the biggest and brightest stars in the night sky will momentarily vanish as an asteroid passes in front of it to produce a one-of-a-kind eclipse. Read story

China scores a big win in race with U.S. for influence on the moon

December 7, 2023, 7:56am Nation & World

China notched a diplomatic victory in its race against the U.S. for influence in space, with Egypt agreeing to support Beijing’s plan for a proposed project on the moon. Read story

This image provided by Won Young Lee shows wild chinstrap penguins guard their fuzzy gray chicks on King George Island, Antarctica. Researchers have discovered that some penguin parents sleep for only seconds at a time around-the-clock to protect their eggs and chicks. Sensors were attached to adult chinstrap penguins in Antarctica for the research. The results published Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023 show that during the breeding season, the penguins nod off thousands of times each day but only for about four seconds at a time.

Penguin parents sleep for seconds at a time, study shows

This image provided by Won Young Lee shows wild chinstrap penguins guard their fuzzy gray chicks on King George Island, Antarctica. Researchers have discovered that some penguin parents sleep for only seconds at a time around-the-clock to protect their eggs and chicks. Sensors were attached to adult chinstrap penguins in Antarctica for the research. The results published Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023 show that during the breeding season, the penguins nod off thousands of times each day but only for about four seconds at a time.

December 5, 2023, 6:05am Life

It’s a challenge for all new parents: getting enough sleep while keeping a close eye on their newborns. For some penguins, it means thousands of mini-catnaps a day, researchers discovered. Read story

An axolotl swims in a tank at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. Ecologists from Mexico&rsquo;s National Autonomous University relaunched a fundraising campaign late last month to bolster conservation efforts for the axolotl &mdash; an iconic, endangered, fish-like type of salamander.

Mexican ‘Adoptaxolotl’ campaign races to save iconic, endangered species from pollution and non-native trout

An axolotl swims in a tank at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. Ecologists from Mexico&rsquo;s National Autonomous University relaunched a fundraising campaign late last month to bolster conservation efforts for the axolotl &mdash; an iconic, endangered, fish-like type of salamander.

December 5, 2023, 6:03am Life

Ecologists from Mexico’s National Autonomous University relaunched a fundraising campaign on Nov. 24 to bolster conservation efforts for the axolotl, an iconic, endangered, fish-like type of salamander. Read story

Visitors look at a replica of NASA&rsquo;s Mars Rover Opportunity during its unveiling ceremony at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum in Bengaluru on June 1, 2023.

NASA feels a ‘sense of urgency’ to get to Mars. Idaho scientists could help us get there

Visitors look at a replica of NASA&rsquo;s Mars Rover Opportunity during its unveiling ceremony at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum in Bengaluru on June 1, 2023.

December 3, 2023, 12:03pm Latest News

China has repeatedly stunned the U.S. intelligence community in the last five years with rapid progress in its space exploration program, landing a rover on the far side of the moon and completing its very own space station orbiting Earth. Read story