Science

In pictures: Stunning eclipse turns daylight into darkness across Europe

Millions of people witnessed the most significant eclipse in Europe for decades on Wednesday.

Image of total solar eclipse (Credit: Getty Images)

The transcendent effects of the eclipse

Awe-inspiring cosmological events can powerfully influence our psychology.

Honeybees take a democratic approach to important decisions (Credit: Getty Images)

Five ways insects make better decisions than you

From democratic honeybees to self-aware flies, there's plenty we can learn from creepy crawlies about how to make better decisions.

Volunteers work to reopen city's old observatory

Once-in-a-generation solar eclipse wows millions in UK and Europe

Perseid meteor shower reaches peak: When and where to catch a glimpse

Disabled in a heatwave: 'We're talking about survival'

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The Moon in part shadow, with craters showing

Why haven't we seen images of SpaceX Moon crash yet?

A rocket is believed to have crashed into the Moon, forming a new crater - but why haven't images been released yet?

8 days ago

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Head-and-shoulders portrait of a person with hair tied back, wearing pearl stud earrings and a light-coloured top, facing the camera indoors.

Body of Scottish woman found in a suitcase in Greece

Orca swimming vertically surrounded by bits of fish

Watch: Orcas ram into fish so hard they explode

Left, a woman with shoulder length black hair smiles. Right, a monkey.

New monkey species a 'fascinating discovery', study lead says

The BBC's Lana Lam in a split screen with a bee.

We're a step closer to finding out if bees have feelings, here's why

Fascinating reads

A collage of a woman smiling at a mirror, the reflection shows an older woman looking back at her (Credit: Serenity Strull/ BBC)

How defying ageism can help you live longer

Research shows a positive attitude towards ageing can make people feel younger and live longer.

International Space Station (ISS) in orbit (Credit: Nasa)

How to evacuate a doomed space station - quickly

Astronauts orbiting the Earth are drilled to deal with the worst possible scenarios. That includes having to leave their space station on short notice.

Panels and cables of the Large Hadron Collder at Cern (Credit: Alamy)

The ultra-cold temperatures needed for epic nuclear science

One of the world's most sophisticated scientific facilities is turning to jaw-droppingly low temperatures to try and unravel the secrets of the Universe.

Carlos Alcaraz jumps to return a ball with his tennis racket (Credit: Getty Images)

What are your chances of beating top tennis stars?

An unusual tennis competition that pits amateurs against professionals in one-point matches is launching at the Australian Open.

A footballer wearing a yellow jersey with a dark stripe, stretches to head a ball

The unseen damage from heading a ball in sport

Why sports stars who head the ball are much more likely to die of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease.

A black-and-white image of Mercury partly in shadow captured by the Messenger spacecraft (Credit: Nasa)

The planet that shouldn't exist

Mercury has long baffled astronomers because it defies much of what we know about planet formation. A new space mission arriving in 2026 might solve the mystery.

More science

31 Jul 2026

A photograph of a tiny seaweed with pink stripes and pincer tips looks as if it's reaching up.

Scientist's lifelong obsession with mystery of elusive 'pink zebra' seaweed

An ancient algae first spotted four decades ago will now join the collection of the Natural History Museum.

31 Jul 2026

28 Jul 2026

Fozzie, a Labrador-Golden Retriever mix, sniffs a blue park bench, his owner in the background (Credit: Clark DeHart for Virginia Tech)

The spotted lanternfly is ravaging the eastern US. Pet dogs are coming to the rescue

Spotted lanternflies are an invasive pest and a multimillion-dollar disaster for the US's wine industry. Meet the good boys and girls of the resistance.

28 Jul 2026

25 Jul 2026

A line of Tour de France riders cresting over a hill (Credit: Getty Images)

The brutal maths behind Tour de France wins

The Tour de France, which finishes this weekend, is regarded as one of the world's toughest cycle races. Winning it is a psychological as well as a physical test.

25 Jul 2026

26 Jul 2026

Dr Nicola Fox is stood, smiling, with a gallery of art behind her

Nasa boss praises rise of women in science

Dr Nicola Fox says she was one of four women on her science course at university in the 1991.

26 Jul 2026

23 Jul 2026

A European wren - a small, brown, speckled bird with a white chest appears to sing its heart out in the sunshine. It's beak is wide open with song and its short, squared off tail sticks upward as it perches on a log.

Scientists find the secret of birdsong's 'spectacular diversity'

A scientific study has revealed the acoustic secret that connects all birdsong - and it is surprisingly simple

23 Jul 2026

17 Jul 2026

An artist's impression of exoplanet LHS 1140b, a large reddish-brown rocky planet filling the foreground, edged with a faint blue-white atmospheric glow. In the dark background, a small red star glows brightly, with a second, closer planet shown as a tiny black silhouette crossing in front of it

First atmosphere found on Earth-like planet in habitable zone of distant star

Researchers have found an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of a distant star with an atmosphere.

17 Jul 2026

23 Jul 2026

A ward at the District General Hospital in Sri Lanka's Negombo city where dengue patients are getting treated. A nurse in green is seen taking notes in the foreground

What is the mosquito-borne disease Sri Lanka is using drones to fight?

Dengue has killed 56 people and infected more than 77,000 in the South Asian nation this year.

23 Jul 2026

12 Jul 2026

An illustration of four medieval women sat at a table with colourful letters written above them in Old English (Credit: BBC/ Serenity Strull/ Getty Images)

Which English accent sounds closest to the original?

Two BBC journalists go on a quest to find out whose accent is older – and uncover a dramatic history filled with hidden twists and surprises.

12 Jul 2026

15 Jul 2026

The image shows a newly discovered species of monkey looking down towards the camera from the branch of a leafy tree, in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The monkey has black fur and a black face with particularly striking pinkish-orange lips.

New monkey species with orange lips found 'hiding' in DR Congo forest

Scientists describe "amazing feeling" to look into the face of an animal that so few people knew existed.

15 Jul 2026