Kids News - Science Articles

Jackie, the beloved bald eagle from Big Bear Valley, California, died on August 10, 2026. She was about 14 years old. Jackie's troubles began in mid-July, when she was apparently involved in a fight with two young bald eagles. She was later found on the ground, unable to fly. A rescue team took her to the Ojai Raptor Center for treatment....

August has already treated skywatchers to the Perseid meteor shower and a total solar eclipse. Now, they will be able to enjoy another spectacular celestial event — a deep partial lunar eclipse that will occur overnight from August 27 to 28, 2026....

On August 10, 2026, a powerful earthquake shook western Colombia. The magnitude 7.4 tremor was the largest recorded in the country this century. It was felt across neighboring Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela....

NASA's Swift Observatory, which was launched in 2004, was designed to last just two years. Yet more than two decades later, the orbiting space telescope is still helping scientists study gamma-ray bursts. These powerful flashes of energy occur when stars die or collide. They help scientists learn about the history of the universe....

There are numerous meteor showers throughout the year. However, few are as popular, or as reliable, as the Perseids. The shower has been producing about a dozen meteors an hour since mid-July. But the best time to see them will be on the night of August 12 into the morning of August 13, 2026. That is when the number of meteors will increase sharply to between 50 and 100 an hour. This year, the peak of the shower coincides with a new moon. This means the meteors will be easier to spot in the dark skies....

On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, and narrow parts of northern Spain and Portugal. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999....

Thousands of firefighters across France and Spain are working to contain historic wildfires that have forced more than 300,000 people to evacuate. The blazes have been fueled by extreme heat, dry conditions, and powerful winds. They have burned hundreds of thousands of acres of forests and other vegetation across both nations....

For decades, people in The Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa have reported seeing tiny shellear fish climb the steep walls of Luvilombo Falls. In 2009, a local scientist even captured the fish on video, but the recordings were later lost. Now, 17 years later, a new study published in Scientific Reports on April 2, 2026, finally provides evidence of the remarkable feat....

On May 15, 2026 — nearly three years after its launch in October 2023 — NASA's Psyche space probe used Mars' gravity to slingshot itself toward its final destination. Traveling at over 12,300 mph, the spacecraft flew just 2,864 miles above the surface of Mars. The planet's gravity helped it change direction and speed up without using extra fuel. This flyby was a key step in the probe's 2.2-billion-mile (3.5-billion-km) journey to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. There, it will study a unique, metal-rich asteroid named 16 Psyche....