Will day and night really be equally long on September 22, 2009, the autumnal equinox (or fall equinox)? Get the answer—and other first-day-of-fall facts.

Drastic drought conditions are killing iconic African animals and adding to political and ethnic tensions, according to relief workers who say Kenya is on the verge of disaster.

Using astronomy and archaeology, it's possible to calculate the exact day the ancient Egyptians started building the Great Pyramid of Giza, according to controversial new research.

On the 143rd anniversary of H.G. Wells's birth, several of the writer's inventions—such as moving walkways and sliding doors—have become reality while others, like the time machine, remain science fiction.

How well do you know H.G. Wells? Test your knowledge of the life and works of one of the fathers of science fiction today, his 143rd birthday.

H.G. Wells landed on Earth 143 years ago today, yet the "father of science fiction" forged worlds that in many ways seem strangely familiar today. Welcome to the future.

Gilded masks, llama bones, and ceramic bowls are among the treasures found in a tomb that may have belonged to an elite male of the pre-Inca Moche culture of Peru, archaeologists announced.

Decipher symbols of the Freemasons—the secret brotherhood featured in novelist Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol.

Why does Hierakonpolis, ancient Egypt's earliest city, contain tombs for baboons, elephants, cows, dogs, and cats? Archaeologists are uncovering answers.

Who—or what—made the first crop circles? What shape proves that at least some crop circles are human made? Test your knowledge of these uncanny artworks.

Strange crop circles have again materialized overnight. But this time they're on Google's home page, prompting speculation that rivals the real things for mystery.

The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's sequel to The Da Vinci Code, is a puzzle-packed fantasy. But its settings are real, and rife with history, science, and yes, symbols.

Like his Da Vinci Code, novelist Dan Brown's new book, Lost Symbol, spotlights a little-understood brotherhood that's already catnip for conspiracy theorists. But what's the truth about the Freemasons?

See blue ducks blanket the Thames, a fire truck submerged in a sinkhole, a historic landmark turned purple, and more in the week's best news pictures.

In a discovery worthy of a Dan Brown novel, archaeologists in Jerusalem say they've found an ancient ritual cup with an intentionally cryptic message.