In 2007 comet Holmes swelled to become larger than the sun and sent fragments of itself flying, producing the largest known cometary outburst in history, astronomers say.

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.

Whether by "earth spirits," UFOs, or advertisers, crop circles have been spinning up speculation since the 1970s—and perhaps never more than now, thanks to Google.

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.

For the first time, a photographer has walked alongside Wyoming pronghorn on their annual treks, documenting the modern obstacles endangering the ancient migration.

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.

A "handsome" three-foot rodent is among the 40 potentially new species found on Mount Bosavi in central Papua New Guinea, one of the least explored places on Earth, conservationists say.

A meat-eating marsupial, a purring frog, and the first new dolphin species in three decades are among at least 1,300 plant and animal species discovered in Australia since 1999, a new report says.

A peek inside a dense nebula, a brightly colored "butterfly," and mirror-like galaxy reflections predicted by Einstein are among some of the first cosmic beauties snapped by the newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope.

An astronaut takes a walk outside, a white dwarf bulks up, a planet finder shows that habitable moons may be out there, and more in the week's best space pictures.

Twice the size of Texas, the remote Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch is home to much of the world's plastic trash, and now a scientific expedition has documented the vast "dump" for the first time.

Almost 40 years after astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean set foot on the moon, a lunar orbiter has snapped a high-res picture of their landing site, complete with footprints and equipment.

A thousand "humans" melt in Berlin, golfers use a cuddly caddy, fires ravage Los Angeles, and more in our roundup of the week's best news pictures.

A wildfire surrounds a historic telescope, a "triple threat" nebula comes to light, a crater's rim creates a "halo" on the moon, and more in the week's best space pictures.