A New Multi-Telescope Image Shows the Largest Known Spiral Galaxy

At 522,000 light-years across, NGC 6872 is the largest spiral galaxy we've discovered to date. A new image shows the galaxy in its entirety, combining visible light images, far-ultraviolet data, and infrared data from different telescopes. NGC 6872 is located some 212 million light-years away from Earth and is suspected to have such an elongated shape due to its gravitational interactions with the nearby disk galaxy IC4970.

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A Community is Uniting To Share Resources Through Clothing Swaps And Fridges

In Portland, Oregon, what started as a small clothing swap has grown into a lively community ritual. Fourteen years ago, Cassie Ridgway set out to keep clothes out of landfills, share fashion finds, and bring people together. Today, her twice-yearly swap, dubbed The Biggest Swap in the Northwest, attracts as many as 850 people. “We have a DJ and two full bars, so there’s some singing and dancing. But no one’s getting drunk at 1 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon,” said co-founder Elizabeth Mollo. The formula is simple: participants bring in gently used clothing, shoes, and accessories, which volunteers sort into piles. Shoppers pay a $10 entry fee to cover costs, then take as much as they like. Leftovers are donated to other neighborhood swaps. Ridgway, who worked in the apparel industry, says the event exposes the scale of fashion waste. “In this moment, we see the true ramifications of consumer culture and waste,” she said, recalling the towering “peak pile” of clothing that sorters work through. The swap has become a lifeline for some families. Ridgway remembers a single mother who told her she was able to outfit her teenager in brand-name clothing she otherwise could not afford. “These conversations, and so many others, have truly kept me coming back to this event,” she said. This kind of grassroots sharing is part of a larger movement across the U.S. to pool resources locally, one shirt, meal, or book at a time. In Richmond, Virginia, Taylor Scott turned a surplus of homegrown tomatoes into a citywide food network. When the pandemic derailed her career plans, she decided to open a community fridge for her birthday in January 2021. She found an old refrigerator, got it painted, and placed it outside a café. It was an instant success. “Right away, people asked me when I was going to open more,” Scott said. Four years later, her group RVA Community Fridges runs 14 refrigerators around the city. Volunteers keep them stocked with donations from restaurants, farms, weddings, and private events. Scott estimates the group has redistributed more than 520,000 pounds of food that otherwise would have been wasted. The fridges have also become social hubs. “They started out taking and now they’re giving,” she said of people who went from food recipients to volunteers. Books have also joined the sharing economy. Since 2010, the nonprofit Little Free Library has inspired over 200,000 miniature book-sharing boxes in 128 countries. The colorful huts provide 24/7 access to free books and often spark neighborly conversations. “People tell me they’ve met more neighbors in one week than they ever had before putting up their library,” said Daniel Gumnit, the group’s CEO. In East Los Angeles, Reyna Macias built her own library box to offer books in Spanish and English. She wanted to serve neighbors whose long work hours made it hard to visit the public library. Her little library now attracts dog walkers, children, and even one grandfather who brings his granddaughter every day. “There’s a great library nearby, but many people in our community work long hours that don’t coincide with what the library offers,” Macias said. “Our little library is open 24 hours and has books in their language.” Donations have been so plentiful that she now pushes a cart of free books to the local farmers market every Thursday. “For years, East L.A. has been looked down upon. But we’re a community that looks out for each other and takes care of each other,” she said. From swapping clothes in Portland to filling fridges in Richmond and stocking book boxes in East L.A., these small-scale projects are changing the way people think about resources. For Ridgway, Scott, and Macias, sharing is not just about thrift — it is about creating connections. “It’s an important time to show a lot of love,” Macias said. “This is my way of doing that.”

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These Gorgeous Yellow-Crested Cockatoos are Finding Refuge In Hong Kong's Urban Parks

In one of the world’s densest cities, a small population of critically endangered yellow-crested cockatoos has carved out a home among Hong Kong’s skyscrapers and parks. But like their human neighbors, the birds are facing a housing crisis. Native to Indonesia and East Timor, the snow-white cockatoos with bright yellow crests number no more than 2,000 mature individuals in the wild. Around 10 percent of them live in Hong Kong, where they squawk through urban parks and perch on banyan trees. Yet the city’s birds are running out of natural nesting sites, as old trees are felled by typhoons or trimmed back by authorities. “They can continue to live in the city,” said Astrid Andersson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hong Kong, “if we can provide the spaces.” Her team has begun installing artificial nest boxes, designed to mimic the cavities cockatoos rely on for breeding. A pair has already taken to one on the university campus, and Andersson hopes to expand to 50 boxes across Hong Kong Island in the next few years. Globally, the species has been pushed to the brink by habitat loss, climate change, and the illegal pet trade. Up to 90 percent of yellow-crested cockatoos have disappeared since the late 1970s, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Despite a 1994 export ban, trafficking persists. In one case in 2015, Indonesian police caught a man smuggling birds stuffed into water bottles. Deforestation has compounded the decline. Indonesia lost 107,000 square kilometers of rainforest between 2002 and 2024, an area about the size of Iceland, according to Global Forest Watch. Rising temperatures and volcanic wildfires are intensifying the pressure. “The fires are humongous,” said Bonnie Zimmermann, director of the nonprofit Indonesian Parrot Project. Hong Kong’s birds may trace back to pets released decades ago, possibly even during World War Two. But they remain at risk today. Captive-bred cockatoos are legally sold under international trade rules, yet no registered breeders exist in the city. A 2017–2018 survey found 33 cockatoos for sale in local markets, far more than official imports. Prices run high: a chick was listed for HK$14,000 ($1,800) in August. Andersson has created a forensic test to distinguish wild from captive birds, a tool she hopes can help authorities clamp down on trafficking. “Hopefully, Hong Kong’s population will be able to contribute to saving this species from extinction,” she said, noting that the city’s birds may carry genetic lineages missing in their native range. Some pet owners are unaware of their bird’s status. “It’s like taking away someone else’s baby,” said Dreamy Cheung, who bought her cockatoo Mochi in 2021 for more than HK$20,000, only to later realize it might have been taken illegally. The government insists it is committed to enforcement, saying it conducts regular inspections and will investigate reports of trafficking. It also pledged to provide advice during tree-trimming projects to minimize impacts on wild cockatoos. For conservationists like Harry Wong, who helped install new nesting boxes, the early signs are promising. A decade ago his first attempt failed. This time, seeing cockatoos move into a box just months after it was mounted, he said he was both excited and surprised. “We can create small things in the city that allow the animals who live here to coexist with us,” Wong said, as cockatoos squawked in the branches above. Andersson’s team plans to monitor the nest boxes with cameras to study reproductive behavior, a little-understood part of cockatoo life. For now, the birds remain a symbol of resilience in a city where space is scarce. As Andersson put it, Hong Kong’s cockatoos show that “humans and wildlife can coexist, even in a highly urbanized environment.”

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Volunteers Helping Scientists Learn About Sharks Say Connecting With Nature Has Changed Their Lives

On the shores of Morecambe Bay, a group of volunteers is finding both shark egg cases and a sense of purpose. Members of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Bay Group spend hours combing the sand for the tough, leathery pouches, known as mermaid’s purses, which once held shark embryos. Their work feeds into national records run by the Shark Trust, offering crucial data on more than 40 shark species found in UK waters. Last year alone, the group recovered 30 percent of all egg cases reported across the country. For many, though, the project has brought more than scientific insight. Volunteer Ras Thomasen said joining the group was transformative. “It really struck something in me,” he said. “It was that good that after a few weeks my therapist said ‘you can stop your therapy now and go to the Bay weekly’... and that’s two-and-a-half years ago.” Heather Neal, another member, said the sense of community had been invaluable. “It’s just wonderful because I’ve had so many problems over the years,” she said. “I had to leave work early because I had to look after mum and so it’s just wonderful. It’s just everybody’s so nice.” Volunteers take photographs of the egg cases before sending them to be rehydrated, categorised and counted. The findings help scientists track shark distribution and populations in British waters. Mike McDonnell, who runs the group, said the programme has had a profound impact on people’s wellbeing. “We’ve got people that maybe had quite severe anxiety, maybe hadn’t left the house for a couple of years, especially coming off the back of the pandemic, forming friendships,” he said. The Bay Group’s efforts were recently recognised with a Marsh Volunteer Award for Marine Conservation. Tom Burditt, chief executive of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, praised the work. “The volunteers are helping to collect an amazing amount of knowledge about the wonderful wildlife species that are living out here,” he said. With their award in hand, the group now hopes to step up conservation efforts to protect marine habitats — and keep their title.

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Scientists Just Discovered the Oldest Dome-Headed Dinosaur Fossil

A pint-sized dinosaur with a polished dome on its head is rewriting what scientists know about a famously oddball group of plant-eating dinosaurs. Researchers working in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert have identified Zavacephale rinpoche, the oldest known pachycephalosaur and the most complete specimen ever found. The discovery, published Wednesday in Nature, fills in a missing chapter in the evolutionary story of these dome-headed dinosaurs. Anyone who grew up with dinosaur books will remember pachycephalosaurs, often drawn slamming their skulls into rivals like prehistoric bighorn sheep. But in reality, paleontologists rarely find anything more than the thick skull domes, leaving much about the animals a mystery. “The exception is their cranial domes, which were practically indestructible and are usually all we find of these critters,” said Lindsay Zanno, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University. “Almost all of these skull caps date back to the Late Cretaceous, when pachycephalosaurs were already established across the Northern Hemisphere, obscuring the group’s early evolution.” That’s what makes Zavacephale so important. In 2019, Mongolian paleontologist Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig spotted the top of a skull sticking out of a cliffside in the Gobi. The rocks dated back 115 to 108 million years, to the Early Cretaceous, far older than most pachycephalosaur finds. As researchers carefully removed the fossil, they realized they had struck scientific gold: a nearly complete skeleton. It included the first known pachycephalosaur hand, a complete tail reinforced with petrified tendons, and even gastroliths—small stones once used by the animal to grind plants in its stomach. The team named the new species Zavacephale rinpoche. The species name, meaning “precious one” in Tibetan, refers to the way the rounded skull looked like a polished gemstone when it was first uncovered. Despite its name, Zavacephale was no giant. It was roughly the size of a miniature poodle but had already developed a full dome and had likely reached adulthood. How exactly pachycephalosaurs used their signature headgear has long been debated. Some experts think the domes were for attracting mates or helping individuals recognize each other, while others point to evidence of healed injuries on skulls suggesting they were used for headbutting. “This fossil tells us that the dome head evolved early in pachycephalosaur evolution and arose long before Zavacephale’s bigger cousins started littering the latest Cretaceous fossil record with their skull caps,” said Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study. Still, Zavacephale’s dome had quirks. Unlike later pachycephalosaurs, its cranium was formed mostly from a single skull bone, and it lacked the ornamental knobs and spikes that became common among its descendants. Zanno sees this as just the beginning. “Zavacephale was just an opening act,” she said, “and now we get to see more of the show.”

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This Turtle Trapped By Brexit Has Finally Returned Home

Barnacle Bill, a loggerhead turtle stranded in Guernsey for nearly two years because of Brexit red tape, is finally heading home to the Atlantic. The young female turtle was rescued by the Guernsey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) in November 2023 after Storm Ciarán washed her ashore, weak, covered in barnacles, and weighing less than one kilogram. She is now more than 13 kilograms and ready to be released near the Azores. “To get the news Barnacle Bill is finally on route to warm waters to be released is such amazing news,” said GSPCA manager Steve Byrne. “We’ve been told she now weighs over 13kg compared to under 1kg when we rescued her, which means Barnacle Bill is ready to return to her natural habitat near the Azores, where she will have the chance to thrive in the wild and is currently on route to Horta.” When Barnacle Bill first arrived at the shelter, she was only the second loggerhead turtle ever recorded in Guernsey. But efforts to return her home quickly ran into complications. Post-Brexit rules on CITES health certificates made it impossible to transport her abroad, even with a local islander offering a private jet. The GSPCA described the paperwork hurdles as “insurmountable.” After more than a year of care, and with no confirmed support from the Royal Navy, the GSPCA coordinated with Sea Life Brighton, which had just opened a sea turtle rehabilitation and repatriation centre. Thanks to cooperation between UK and Guernsey authorities, Barnacle Bill was transferred there in December 2024 with the help of Condor Ferries. At Sea Life Brighton, curators worked to prepare her for life back in the ocean. She was kept in conditions that mimicked the wild, including artificial waves and rain, limited human interaction, and opportunities to forage for food. “Getting to put her in the water – going back off to hopefully live a long, healthy life – I'm sure will be emotional,” said Sea Life Brighton curator Joe Williams. Loggerhead turtles are listed as a vulnerable species by the World Wildlife Fund, facing threats such as habitat loss, marine pollution, and accidental capture in fishing nets. Joe noted that while turtles can wash into UK waters due to storms and changing ocean conditions, the seas around Britain are too cold for them to survive. Steve Byrne urged the public to call rescue teams if they come across turtles on local beaches. “If people find turtles stranded on beaches, it would be almost a death sentence for that turtle to return them to the sea,” he said. “This recent stormy weather could easily wash turtles in to our shores if in the area so keep an eye out.” After nearly two years in care, Barnacle Bill’s return to the ocean has become more than just a rescue story. “Barnacle Bill’s story is a testament to the power of collaboration, compassion, and determination,” Byrne said. “The GSPCA extends heartfelt thanks to all who played a role in her recovery and journey home.”

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Move Over Nicolas Cage, the National Archives Has the Real Treasure

For the first time, visitors to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. will be able to view the entire United States Constitution. From September 16 through October 1, the museum’s Rotunda will feature all five pages of the document, including the rarely seen transmittal page. That final sheet instructed the states on how to implement the Constitution and bears the signature of George Washington, then president of the Constitutional Convention. The National Archives usually has the Declaration of Independence, the first four pages of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights on permanent display. But this limited exhibition will be the first time that all five Constitution pages, along with the Bill of Rights and the 17 other amendments, are shown together. The transmittal page was briefly exhibited in 2012, but never alongside the full Constitution. “As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, the National Archives is playing a major role in the coast-to-coast commemorations by providing the American people access to their history,” said Jim Byron, senior adviser to the acting archivist, in a statement. “This extraordinary installation welcomes all Americans to celebrate the bedrock of our national life: our Constitution.” The Constitution currently has 27 ratified amendments. The first ten are collectively known as the Bill of Rights, and visitors will also be able to see the remaining 17 amendments on display. Admission to the National Archives is free, and tickets are not required, but officials expect heavy crowds for the special showing. Timed-entry reservations are available online, and the Archives is extending weekend hours to accommodate more visitors. The exhibition is part of a wider effort by the National Archives to mark America’s 250th anniversary. In October, the museum will complete a $40 million renovation and open a new permanent exhibition, The American Story. The 10,000-square-foot galleries will feature digital display cases, media stations, and interactive tools powered by artificial intelligence to let visitors explore the Archives’ records. For now, guests can visit Opening the Vault, a rotating display of artifacts tied to pivotal people and events in U.S. history. Other institutions are also preparing anniversary projects. The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia will soon debut The Declaration’s Journey, tracing the global impact of the Declaration of Independence. The Concord Museum in Massachusetts is organizing its own series of special shows. Next year, the New York Public Library will exhibit one of Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copies of the Declaration, penned just days after Congress adopted it in 1776. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will open In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness, a museum-wide exhibition of 250 historical objects. And the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is preparing America at 250, an exhibition examining how artists have shaped ideas of nationhood and identity.

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How Floating 'Pinecone Huts' are Protecting Ducks From Heat And Typhoons

As climate change drives hotter summers and more violent storms, humans aren’t the only ones needing to adapt. At a bed and breakfast resort in Taiwan, the owners worried about the ducks living on their property and how they would cope with rising heat and frequent typhoons. So they turned to artist and architect Cheng Tsung Feng, who designed a set of floating shelters meant just for the ducks. The project, called Nesting Plan VI Call Duck, is part of Feng’s series exploring how humans can borrow from nature’s nest-building techniques. This version takes the form of pinecone-style huts, crafted with rope-weaving methods and pine wood arranged in overlapping slats for ventilation, drainage, and shade. Feng studied the behavior of the resort’s call ducks before finalizing his design. Staff placed prototypes in the pond and filmed how the ducks interacted with them, allowing adjustments to details like buoyancy and window height. He noticed the ducks often gathered in four distinct groups, so he built four shelters of different scales and heights to suit them. “The structures were intended to provide a safe, comfortable, and weather-resistant habitat for the ducks, especially during Taiwan's intensely hot summers and frequent typhoons,” Feng told Dezeen. He added that the birds prefer dry, secluded corners, where they usually gather leaves and straw to make hidden nests. Circular windows give the ducks a view from inside, while guests at the resort can look through telescopes in their rooms to watch them. Each hut even has automatic lighting that switches on during winter evenings, offering a warm glow for both animals and human spectators. About 25 ducks now call the shelters home, enjoying a refuge that blends function with a nod to the natural pinecones already scattered around the landscape. What started as a practical solution has turned into something that feels almost poetic: a piece of architecture that protects wildlife while drawing inspiration directly from it.

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Widow Finds Solace and Community on TikTok Through Late-Night Snack Videos

For more than four decades, Donna and Patrick Clement ended their days the same way: with a snack and a quiet chat before bed. The LaFayette, Georgia couple raised three children and juggled busy lives, but no matter how hectic the day, they carved out time late at night to connect. Sometimes they shared the same treat, but often it was different — Patrick preferred sweets, especially ice cream, while Donna leaned salty. “A lot of the nights, he would've already gone upstairs and I'd come in with our snacks and he'd just light up to see I'd brought him something to eat,” Donna, 66, told PEOPLE. That nightly ritual came to an end in March when Patrick died at 68. For months, Donna leaned on her family, her faith, and her community, but nights felt especially heavy. “There got to be nights I would ache to talk to somebody, and I try not to bother my kids late at night,” she said. One evening, she decided to share her snack and her thoughts with TikTok instead. She filmed a short video as if she were talking to Patrick beside her. In July, it went viral. Now, Donna has nearly half a million followers, many of whom tune in nightly to see her snack, listen to her reflections, and leave messages of encouragement. “I’ve just gained a community,” she said. “I feel like I have half a million new friends.” Comments pour in from strangers who say her videos bring them comfort. One wrote, “You could talk about how dry the dirt is for an hour and I would listen. You do you! You are FABULOUS and you bring so much joy to so many people.” Another thanked her for making “being in a new city alone a lot better.” For Donna, the videos have transformed her nights from something she dreaded into something she looks forward to. “I used to just dread nighttime — and of course I think things are always worse when the sun goes down. But now I can’t wait until it gets here. I usually film around 10 o’clock at night, and it just gives me something to look forward to.” Her followers often suggest new snacks to try, which she takes with good humor. “It’s so fun. People will comment suggestions like, ‘You should try this’ or ‘You should try that.’ So I’ll take their advice, and sometimes it’s the same, sometimes it’s different — but it’s really fun.” Though Patrick never got to see his wife’s TikTok following grow, Donna believes he’d get a kick out of it. “He just would not believe it, you know? But I think he can see it, and I sure hope he can. Of course, he’s probably just shaking his head, but I’m sure he’s getting a big kick out of it.” Donna says sharing her story has also helped her understand grief in a new way. “I was fortunate — I had almost 44 years with my husband. He saw his kids grow, he saw his first grandchild. But there are people who share that their husband passed when their kids were babies, or that they’ve lost a child.” Her late-night ritual may have started as a private act of love, but today it’s helping others feel less alone. “If everyone could know how much they’ve healed me, and how much they mean to me, I wish they could,” Donna said. “I wish everybody could know that.”

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Animal Experts Rescued an Entangled Whale Amid 45 MPH Winds; Most Challenging Mission Of The Season

Rescuers in Australia have freed a humpback whale that became tangled in a fishing line and thick rope off the coast of South Golden Beach. The operation unfolded on September 11 after a member of the public spotted the animal “in a compromised state” and alerted the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA). The group then called in the Sea World Foundation and Marine Rescue Brunswick Heads to assist. When crews reached the whale, they saw the rope wrapped tightly around its tail. Initial attempts to lasso and pull it free didn’t work, made even harder by strong winds gusting up to 40 knots. The team then deployed a buoy to stabilize the situation and give rescuers closer access to cut through the line. After about an hour of work, the rope was finally cut loose and the whale swam away. Despite the difficult conditions, rescuers said the animal stayed calm throughout the effort. “Yeah, that final cut, all the gear comes off, it’s always a great feeling, even more so today,” Sea World Foundation skipper Andy Mulville told 9 News. The foundation described it as their most challenging rescue of the season. Entanglements remain a deadly threat to marine life, with the International Whaling Commission estimating that around 300,000 whales and dolphins die every year from becoming caught in fishing equipment. This time, the whale was one of the lucky ones.

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NASA Confirms Discovery Of 6,000 Exoplanets, Heralds New Era Of Exploration

NASA’s list of known exoplanets just hit a major milestone: 6,000 confirmed worlds beyond our solar system. The agency announced the news on September 17, noting that only three years ago the count was at 5,000. With more than 8,000 additional candidates still awaiting confirmation, the pace of discovery appears to be accelerating. “We’re entering the next great chapter of exploration — worlds beyond our imagination,” a narrator says in a NASA video marking the occasion. The announcement comes near the anniversary of one of astronomy’s biggest breakthroughs. On October 6, 1995, astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz confirmed the first planet orbiting a sun-like star: 51 Pegasi b, a gas giant about 0.64 times the mass of Jupiter and 50 light-years away. Earlier discoveries had been made around pulsars, but 51 Pegasi b was the first “normal” exoplanet detection. Unlike that landmark moment, there’s no single “6,000th” exoplanet. “Confirmed planets are added to the count on a rolling basis by scientists from around the world, so no single planet is considered the 6,000th entry,” NASA explained. Still, one of the newest additions is KMT-2023-BLG-1896L b, a Neptune-like planet with about 16 times the mass of Earth. NASA’s telescopes are behind much of the growing list. The Kepler Space Telescope, retired in 2018, identified more than 2,600 planets, while the still-active Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has confirmed nearly 700 so far. The catalog spans an astonishing variety. Of the 6,007 exoplanets confirmed as of this week, 2,035 are Neptune-like, 1,984 are gas giants, and 1,761 are super-Earths — planets larger than Earth but lighter than Neptune. There are also about 700 rocky worlds and seven classified as “unknown.” Each one represents an entirely new world, and in some cases, they defy imagination. Astronomers have found planets with molten surfaces, ones racing through space at 1.6 million kilometers per hour, and even a diamond-like planet capable of regenerating its atmosphere. “Each of the different types of planets we discover gives us information about the conditions under which planets can form and, ultimately, how common planets like Earth might be, and where we should be looking for them,” said Dawn Gelino, who leads NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “If we want to find out if we’re alone in the universe, all of this knowledge is essential.” For all the discoveries, one remains elusive. As NASA’s video puts it: “There’s one we haven’t found — a planet just like ours.” At least, not yet.

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