Why Did the Maya Abandon the Ancient City of Tikal?

In the ninth century A.D., the Maya abandoned the great city of Tikal after hundreds of years of prosperity and expansion. Researchers have long sought to explain how and why the city collapsed, but despite extensive study of the site, unanswered questions remain.

PRENATAL MERCURY EXPOSURE CANCELS OUT COGNITIVE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE

We all know the benefits of a daily dose of physical activity by now. Not only does exercise tone your body so you can wear your favorite jeans, it even helps with your memory. But when it comes to retaining new information, working out may not do much for people who were exposed to high levels of mercury before birth, according to a new study that was just published in thejournal Environmental Health Perspectives.

PERU DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY OVER MERCURY POISONINGS

Gold may be beautiful and valuable, but some mining operations to extract the precious metal are seriously dirty.

This Liquid Metal Watch Looks Like It Was Designed by a Terminator

There are a lot of good reasons to believe this watch that uses flowing liquid mercury to show the time is fake. A low-quality video, a questionable website, and product shots that look like photocopies of photocopies. But that doesn’t stop us from wanting a watch that looks like the T-1000 strapped to your wrist.

Watch NASA’s Beautiful Mercury Transit Time Lapse

If you tried to to watch Mercury crossing in front of the Sun yesterday, chances are you didn’t get as good a view as NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Mercifully, the space agency has put together a stunning time lapse so you can watch the spectacle again.

We Finally Know Why Mercury Is So Dark

Something about the planet Mercury doesn’t sit right with astronomers: It’s too dark. Darker than the Moon, despite containing way less iron. But at long last, scientists have solved the mystery—and their discovery is shedding light on the fascinating past of the Solar System’s innermost planet.

MERCURY FOUND IN FOG OFF CALIFORNIA COAST

Fog is a hazard to ships, but it might also be a problem for the food web.

Action Bronson – Mongolia ft. Hologram, Meyhem Lauren

KAYTRANADA – The Worst In Me ft. Tinashe

Future & Lil Uzi Vert – That’s It

H.E.R. – Damage

TOBE NWIGWE – EAT

2 Chainz – Quarantine Thick ft. Mulatto

A little bit of soul

This image of the Soul Nebula (IC 1848) combines 21.1 hours of exposures through Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen-III, and Sulfur-II filters. This object resides in the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen.

Jellyfish in the ocean of space

Supernova remnant IC 443 has the common name the Jellyfish Nebula, and it lies at the top right of this image. The other, larger, nebula is IC 444. Both objects are in the constellation Gemini the Twins. Terry Hancock from Grand Mesa, Colorado

Seven sisters

The Pleiades (M45) is the most famous star cluster in the sky. It lies 444 light-years away in the constellation Taurus the Bull. The clouds of gas seen in this image are not connected to the stars, but are a dust cloud through which the cluster is passing. Dave Doctor from Las Cruces, New Mexico

Old friend

The Orion Nebula (M42) may be the most photographed deep-sky object of all. It’s a huge emission nebula and star-forming complex. In addition to the glowing hydrogen, however, the object also has regions of both reflection and dark nebulae. James Esch from Lovettsville, Virginia

Boom goes the star

The Cygnus Loop is a huge supernova remnant some 2,500 light-years away. It has many components, and this image shows two of them well. At the top is the Witch’s Broom (NGC 6960), and Pickering’s Triangle (which doesn’t have its own designation) lies down and to the lower left of the Broom. Naresh Singh from Saint Petersburg, Florida

Natural satellite