Recent Articles

A depiction of the Great Comet of 1577 over Prague. In addition to the comet, five zodiac symbols appear in the sky: (L-R) Aries, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Sagittarius. (Public Domain)
Origins

How Ancients Explained Comets and Meteors

To the ancients, the incredible and unfamiliar natural celestial events were interpreted through cultural understandings of the day – which is to say, they were considered divine or damning.
Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen of Ireland
People of History

Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen of Ireland

Grace O'Malley was Queen of Umaill, chieftain of the O Maille clan, a rebel, seafarer, and fearless leader, who challenged the turbulent politics of 16th century England and Ireland.

 
Jephthah’s Daughter by James Tissot, circa 1896, based on the Lady of Elche. (Public Domain)
Artifacts & Tech

The Lady of Elche

In 1897, archaeologists uncovered a stunning artifact on a private estate at L'Alcúdia in Valencia, Spain. This find was a statue – a polychrome bust of a woman’s head.

Loughcrew Megalithic Tomb complex (CC BY SA 4.0), A star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. (CC BY 3.0)/Deriv
Origins

The Astronomical Temples of Loughcrew

It is probably not possible to tell when humans first began to wonder about the stars, the sun, and the moon or tried to understand their motion, though there is evidence of a lunar calendar being used by hunter-gat