Credit: Karsten Sperling via Wikimedia Commons
Monday, 11 May 2026
The Moeraki Boulders look almost too perfect to be natural — but these giant stone spheres along New Zealand’s Koekohe Beach were formed over millions of years. Scientists believe the boulders began as sediment on the ancient seafloor around 60 million years ago, gradually growing into massive calcite concretions before coastal erosion revealed them along the shoreline. Some are nearly 7 feet across and split open, revealing striking, crystal-filled cracks called septaria.
Beyond geology, the boulders are deeply connected to Māori tradition. According to legend, they are the remains of gourds, eel baskets, and food containers washed ashore from the wreck of the great canoe Āraiteuru. Today, they remain one of New Zealand’s most iconic natural wonders — equal parts science, history, and mythology.
Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
A pair of spiral galaxies whirl across this excerpt from a First Look image captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Although NGC 4411b (left) and NGC 4411a (right) appear right next to each other, they don’t show signs of interaction, such as distorted arms. Above the pair is RSCG 55, a group of interacting galaxies with trails of material between them. These trails are made of stars, gas, and dust that have been pulled from one galaxy to another during a previous close encounter.
Credit: NASA
Wednesday, 13 May 2026
A thin sliver of Earth’s edge is brightly illuminated against the vast darkness of space in this April 3, 2026, image taken during the Artemis II mission. This thin blue ribbon is what separates us from the abyss of space vacuum: the Earth's atmosphere.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Thursday, 14 May 2026
This image of Mars was captured by NASA’s Psyche mission on May 3, 2026, about 3 million miles from the planet as the spacecraft approaches for a gravity assist on May 15. Sunlight is reflected and scattered by dust in the Martian atmosphere, creating an extended crescent around the planet.
The spacecraft is using the Red Planet’s gravity to increase speed and tilt its trajectory on the journey to the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.
Credit: S. Otarola/ESO
Friday, 15 May 2026
This image features two distinct families: a collection of ALMA antennas and a trio of vicuñas, a camelid related to llamas and alpacas. Unlike in almost every other way, the subjects of this image are linked by their extremely hostile home environment, high in the Chilean Andes.
The Chajnantor plateau, site of the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) shown here, is 5000 meters above sea level, making it one of the driest places on Earth. The aridity is ideal for ALMA observations, which search for cosmic signals from the cold Universe that are readily absorbed by moist air. But the low number of cloudy days, along with a thin atmosphere, produces harsh conditions, pushing the limits of both engineering and evolution.
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