Sundogs are coloured spots of light that develop due to refraction of sunlight through ice crystals and appear approximately 22° to left, right, or on both sides of Sun, depending on the ice crystals' orientation. They are also known as mock suns or parhelia. Their colours usually range from red closest to Sun, to blue on outer edge of sundog.

What are sundogs?                      

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will update the Doomsday Clock today, January 27, amid 2026’s heightening nuclear and AI risks. Currently at 89 seconds to midnight, the update follows escalating wars and lack of arms control. While not a prophecy, the symbolic clock serves as a stark warning, urging global leaders to prioritise cooperation over catastrophe.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to update Doomsday Clock 

NASA's Artemis II mission will carry a one-square-inch muslin fabric swatch used by Wright Brothers in the first powered flight in 1903. The artefact, loaned by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, will fly aboard the Orion spacecraft during the program's first crewed lunar flyby. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will fly on board.

Wright Brothers' fabric from 1903 to fly on NASA's Artemis II mission

NASA will retire the International Space Station within five years, but has not issued detailed requirements for commercial stations meant to replace it, The Indian Express reported. Four private firms, Voyager Technologies, Axiom Space, Blue Origin and Vast Space, are competing to build future orbital platforms. Lack of clarity could create a gap in continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit.

NASA hasn’t given details for new stations even as it retires ISS in 5 yrs: Report

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said the European Union plans to work towards India's association with Horizon Europe. "Backed by funding firepower of €100 billion (around ₹10 lakh crore), Horizon is the world's largest public research programme," she stated. "Europe and India will always choose science. We will always choose progress," she added.

India, EU launch talks on ₹10 lakh cr Horizon Europe research initiative

YouTube star MrBeast visited Upside Foods' $200 million lab to see how chicken meat can be grown from animal cells without raising or slaughtering birds. In his viral video, he tried both lab-grown and conventional chicken and said he couldn't taste a difference. The post has sparked a wide online debate on sustainability, ethics, costs, and future food tech.

MrBeast tours Upside Foods' $200 million lab-grown chicken lab

Archaeologists have discovered the world's oldest wooden tools in Greece's Megalopolis basin, dating back 4,30,000 years. The finds include a 2.5-foot (80 cm) spindly stick likely used for digging and a smaller handheld piece of willow or poplar wood, possibly for shaping stone tools. The research was published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

World's oldest wooden tool found in Greece, dates back 4,30,000 years

Scientists from Nagaland University have discovered a new plant species, Hoya nagaensis, in community-protected high-altitude forests of Nagaland. Found in Phek district, the species is provisionally listed as Critically Endangered. The discovery highlights the region’s rich but under-explored biodiversity and the crucial role of indigenous forest conservation practices.

Nagaland University discovers new plant species in state

Archaeologists have reportedly unearthed India's longest Iron Age spear at Thirumalapuram near Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu. A second spear measuring around 6.5 feet was also recovered. Both spears were placed in an ‘X’ formation. The 8-feet-long weapon has been discovered about 80 kilometres from Sivagalai in Thoothukudi, where the state earlier reported its oldest Iron Age date of 3,345 BCE. 

India’s longest Iron Age spear unearthed in Tamil Nadu: Report

Archaeologists discovered human footprints on Happisburgh's coast in Norfolk, exposed briefly during low tide. Reports confirm the impressions date back around 800,000 years, making them the earliest known human footprints outside Africa. The prints, including those of adults and children, were digitally recorded before the sea, offering rare evidence of early human presence in northern Europe.