National Geographic News

Near-Extinct Monkeys Found in Colombian Park

Christine Dell'Amore — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:59:20 -0500

A new population of one of the world's rarest primates has been found in a Colombian park, conservationists announced today.

Stonehenge Precursor Found? Island Complex Predates Famous Site

James Owen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:54:51 -0500

What's more, the Scottish island complex may have been the model for England's famous stone-circle site, new data suggest.

Hottest Thing on Earth: X-rays Heat Metal to 3.6 Million Degrees

Dave Mosher — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:18:26 -0500

By zapping a scrap of metal with superpowerful x-rays, scientists created plasma that rivals the sun for heat.

Hyperactive Sun Helping to Clear Out Space Junk

Ker Than — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:55:44 -0500

The recent uptick in solar flares and other sun activity has been causing orbiting debris to fall faster, a NASA scientist reports.

Space Pictures This Week: Sun Loops, Blue Marble, More

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:31:27 -0500

Plasma arcs over the sun, Earth shines in high resolution, a colorful halo surrounds the moon, and more in the week's best space pictures.

Giant Veil of "Cold Plasma" Discovered High Above Earth

Dave Mosher — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:22:38 -0500

Clouds of slow-moving charged particles reach from the top of Earth's atmosphere to a quarter of the distance to the moon, new data show.

Death Valley's Big Bang: Volcano "Potentially Active"

Richard A. Lovett — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:42:40 -0500

It may be barren, but California's Ubehebe Crater is anything but dead, according to a new study.

New Aurora Pictures: Huge Solar Storm Triggers Northern Lights

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:24:21 -0500

Intense northern lights displays dazzled sky-watchers this week as the strongest solar storm since 2003 swept over Earth.

Green Moves: Medellin Cable Cars, San Francisco Parking Reform

Josie Garthwaite — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:07:48 -0500

Two cities renowned for hilly terrain and cable cars share in international prize for sustainable transport.

New-Species Pictures: Cowboy Frog, Armored Catfish Among Finds

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:50:50 -0500

A cowboy frog, eye-licking gecko, and "Crayola" katydid are among new and known species found in a Suriname rain forest.

Scavenging for Charcoal Fuel in the Rubbish of Manila

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:03:25 -0500

The plight of charcoal scavengers in the Philippines capital underscores why the United Nations declared 2012 the International Year of Sustainable Energy For All.

Biggest Solar Storm in Eight Years Now Pummeling Earth

Andrew Fazekas — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:47:05 -0500

The strongest solar storm since 2003 is hitting our planet. Find out why planes are being rerouted and what other effects are predicted.

Feathered Dinosaur Had Black Wings?

Ker Than — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:57:05 -0500

Black wings may have given Archaeopteryx a flight advantage, according to a new study.

Pictures: Oldest Dinosaur Nests Found in South Africa

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:03:51 -0500

Dinosaur-baby footprints and 190-million-year-old egg clutches have been pried from a rock wall in South Africa, a new study says.

Rare Pictures From the Dawn of NASA Spaceflight

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:05:46 -0500

Newly released digital scans offer a rare high-resolution glimpse into NASA's Project Gemini, the precursor to the Apollo moon missions.

Raiding the Bread Basket: Use and Abuse of the Mississippi River Basin

Sally Deneen — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:25:20 -0500

Industrial agricultural has significant socioeconomic and environmental costs in the Mississippi River Basin, although scientists are bringing solutions.

Pictures: America's "Lost" National Parks

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:31:00 -0500

See U.S. national parks that are no more, including the second national park, a Trump pleasure palace, and more.

Pictures: "Extinct" Monkeys With Sideburns Found in Borneo

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:03:13 -0500

The Miller's grizzled langur, a rare monkey species with bristly sideburns, has been "rediscovered" in a forest in northeastern Borneo, a new study says.

Kodachrome: First Great Color Film Remembered

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:14:55 -0500

Called a "photographer's liberation," Kodachrome produced clear, vivid color photographs that drastically changed National Geographic magazine. Kodak announced Monday it will cease production of the iconic medium.

Space Pictures This Week: Italy Shipwreck, Squashed Moon

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:47:17 -0500

The Costa Concordia from above, a rusty dead star, a "fresh" Mars crater, and a sinking moon are among the week's best space pictures.

Unknown "Structures" Not Tugging on the Universe After All?

John Roach — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:39:07 -0500

Unseen structures on the edges of creation most likely aren't tugging on our universe, according to a new study that found a slower flow.

Ancient Popcorn Found—Made 2,000 Years Earlier Than Thought in Peru

Christine Dell'Amore — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:43:38 -0500

Just in time for National Popcorn Day, a new study says that Peruvians were eating the snack thousands of years earlier than thought.

Second Try: LanzaTech Grabs Failed Biofuel Refinery in Georgia Pine

Josie Garthwaite — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:17:36 -0500

A new chapter begins in the effort to brew advanced biofuel in the “Million Pines City” of Soperton, Georgia, with a startup's purchase of a failed U.S. government-backed biorefinery.

Comet Seen Vaporizing in Sun's Atmosphere—A First

Rachel Kaufman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:37:46 -0500

For the first time, a NASA craft has watched as a "suicide" comet breaks apart in the sun's upper atmosphere.

Injections Could Lift Venice 12 Inches, Study Suggests

Brian Handwerk — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:52:10 -0500

Pumping billions of gallons of water under the sinking Italian city could save it from worsening floods as seas rise, a new study says.