
ALT Star patterns in Van Gogh’s paintings compared with the real sky. (a) The central cluster of stars in The Starry Night (1889), left, and the Hyades cluster in Taurus, center. At right, the five stars in the painting (orange) are overlaid on the real stars (blue) after matching for size, orientation and position; red dashed lines show the residual differences. (b) The stars in Café Terrace at Night (1888), left, and the stars around the Summer Triangle, center. The panel at right follows the same layout as in (a). Credit: Kim et al., Scientific Reports (2026), Figs. 2, 4 and S1 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

ALT Image 1 Coral reefs rank among Earth's most diverse and productive ecosystems, supporting extraordinary marine biodiversity while sustaining millions of people through food security, coastal protection, and livelihoods. Yet climate change, pollution, and overfishing are driving unprecedented declines. In their global assessment of 892 reef-building coral species, Obura et al. found that 44% are now threatened with extinction, highlighting the growing vulnerability of the very organisms that build coral reefs. Photo by Dr. Tom Shlesinger, Papua New Guinea, 2018

ALT Artist’s impression of the trans-Neptunian object (612533) 2002 XV93 occulting a background star. Observations of a stellar occultation in January 2024 revealed gradual fading and recovery of the starlight, providing evidence for a very thin atmosphere around the object. Credit: NAOJ / Ko Arimatsu































