CATEGORIES

WICCA'S WORLD

Claire Slack reveals how a new magical movement flourished in the 20th century

PENTAGON LAUNCHES NEW UFO OFFICE

A new office in the Pentagon will investigate sightings of unidentified flying objects – but longtime extraterrestrial enthusiasts are sceptical

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE : WHAT DISTURBED A DISTANT STAR SYSTEM?

Astronomers are a step closer to understanding how our Solar System formed, all thanks to a chance encounter

HOW TO SPOT THE INTERNATIONAL

The International Space Station can be seen from Earth; You just need to know where and when to look

GALAXY PROFILE THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD

This nearby dwarf galaxy is a satellite in orbit around our own

FINDING AND DEFINING EXOMOONS

As our catalogue of exoplanets grows, the hunt is on for moons around distant worlds

COMPLETE GUIDE TO NASA

IT’S AN ORGANISATION KNOWN THE WORLD OVER, WITH ITS AMBITIOUS GOALS INSPIRING OTHERS TO DREAM OF TRAVELLING AMONG THE STARS. HERE’S YOUR DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE HISTORY OF NASA

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SATURN

With its moon system, rings of dust and ice and occasionally tempestuous atmosphere, there’s more to this gas giant than meets the eye

NASA ASTRONAUT VICTOR GLOVER “BEING IN SPACE IS LIKE LIVING A DREAM”

Serving as a pilot on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, the astronaut reveals the most scary thought that’s entered his head, his thoughts on spacewalking and returning to Earth during a pandemic

COLD, DAMP MARS MAY HAVE HOSTED AN ANCIENT OCEAN

Northern parts of the Red Planet could have supported bodies of liquid 3 billion years ago

“We have believed the Normans' view of themselves for too long”

JUDITH A GREEN talks to David Musgrove about her new book, which takes readers far beyond the familiar story of 1066, and provides a richer understanding of the Normans’ complex place in the wider history of Europe

“THE WEEK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD”

Following years of icy silence between the US and China, on 21 February 1972 president Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing for an unprecedented diplomatic mission. Rana Mitter explores how the two sides viewed an encounter that augured China’s entrance onto the global stage

The secrets of the stones

Where did Stonehenge’s megaliths come from? Were they transported to Wiltshire by glacier or human hand? And how long did this Neolithic building project take? As a major exhibition on Stonehenge opens at the British Museum, Mike Pitts uses the latest research to answer the big questions about the construction of this ancient wonder

MY HISTORY HERO

Actor, comedian and BBC DJ Craig Charles chooses

A SPACE MENAGERIE

During the space race, animals pavedthe way for humans to travel beyond Earth. Stephen Walker shines a light on these largely forgotten creatures and their often fatal journeys

What Drove the Witch-Hunters' Cruel Crusade?

They tortured, tricked and terrorised suspects into confessions - often with undisguised relish. So, asks Marion Gibson, should the witchfinders of 16th and 17th-century Europe be dismissed as sadists and charlatans?

Digging for Victory

When war broke out in 1939, food shortages posed just as grave a threat to Britons as a German invasion. From Dig for Victory to the land girls, John Martin charts a nation’s battle with starvation

The Magic of Wild Words

In 2017, a children’s book was published to treasure the disappearing language of nature. It became a worldwide hit that has now spawned two musical albums. Annabel Ross met author Robert Macfarlane to explore the phenomenal power of The Lost Words

WHAT IS DARK MATTER MADE OF?

The phenomena may have come from quantum bags that got squished together in the early universe

MILLIONAIRE MOON TOURISM

Fancy a trip around the Moon? That’s what Space Adventures is offering to anyone able to afford the multimillion-dollar price tag

GOING BACK TO THE MOON

This year, NASA will take the first step in returning astronauts to the lunar surface

Who is Britain's greatest monarch?

This year marks the platinum jubilee of Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-serving monarch. But which of the kings and queens since 1066 made the biggest mark on history? We asked 12 experts to offer their nominations - and to explain what made each one truly great

GENERAL RELATIVITY PASSES ITS TOUGHEST TEST YET

The theory, which Albert Einstein published in 1915, remains undefeated

Cursed lives

MARION GIBSON recommends an evocative deep-dive into a witchcraft trial that rocked 17th-century New England

WHAT IS A LIGHT YEAR?

How we measure vast distances across the universe

A very ordinary king

HEATHER JONES is impressed by a new biography that reveals insights about the wartime monarch’s impressive political achievements, complex personal life and family failings

THE BIG BANG THEORY

It’s our best model of how the universe works, but where did it come from?

MATT ONDLER: 'WE WILL SEE IDEAS AND PRODUCTS WE CAN'T IMAGINE TODAY'

Axiom Space’s chief technology officer Matt Ondler on life after the International Space Station

A timber-framed Tardis

Incongruously sandwiched between shops and pubs in a Norfolk market town stands a Tudor building crammed with stories spanning more than two millennia of local history. PRIYA ATWAL explores Ancient House Museum of Thetford Life

ERUPTION SEEN ON ALIEN STAR FOR FIRST TIME

The outburst is about ten times more powerful than anything similar seen from our Sun