Elise Cutts

All Stories by Elise Cutts

  1. Planets

    Here are 5 exoplanet mysteries the James Webb telescope could help solve

    This space telescope could reveal much about the formation, makeup and evolution of distant exoplanets.

  2. Planets

    Huge polygons on Mars hint its equator may once have been frozen

    A Chinese rover used radar to reveal long-buried terrain. The discovery hints that Mars’ equator was once much colder and wetter.

  3. Physics

    Before the ancient Egyptians, nature may have carved sphinxes

    Steady ‘winds’ can carve clay blobs into lion-shaped landforms called yardangs, a new study suggests. One such yardang may have inspired the Great Sphinx of Giza.

  4. Planets

    In a first, astronomers spot the aftermath of an exoplanet smashup

    Infrared light from a distant star appears to be leftovers of an impact between a pair of Neptune-sized worlds.

  5. Animals

    Some cockatoos craft drumsticks, then woo mates like a rockstar

    To win over a gal, these flashy males craft and use their signature instruments in a musical display akin to a human rock concert.

  6. Animals

    When it’s hot, echidnas blow snot bubbles to cool off

    These spiky Australian mammals have a trick to moisten their noses, allowing them to survive hot temperatures that should kill them.