Solar calendar. Place of worship. UFO Landing site. Many uses have been theorized for Stonehenge. Researchers have now added another: monument to unity, they propose in an Archaeology International article.Because the stones making up different aspects of the mysterious structure were moved from many parts of the British Isles, there must have been a reason for it. After all, its not the only henge in town. Hundreds of other stone circles have been found in Britain. But almost all of them have used locally sourced building materials.The Significance of Distant StonesStonehenge is unique in that regard. Its building blocks were gathered from both near and far. The most recentand perhaps most famous example is the "Altar Stone." That dominant crosspiece was somehow transported from Scotland, about 700 miles to the north. The fact that all of its stones originated from distant regions, making it unique among over 900 stone circles in Britain, suggests that the stone circle may have had a political as well as a religious purpose as a monument of unification for the peoples of Britain, celebrating their eternal links with their ancestors and the cosmos, Mike Parker Pearson, a University of College London archaeologist and author of the paper, said in a press release. But the Altar Stone is not a one-off. The article provides a comprehensive list of where each stone likely originated and when it was probably moved. For instance, its 43 bluestones were transported from West Wales about 140 miles away, while the larger sarsen stones originated about 15 miles northwest of Stonehenges site on the Salisbury Plain.Cultural Significance of Stonehenge Both the Altar Stones provenance and placement hint that it was moved such a great distance, not just because it is an exceptionally cool rock. The paper highlights how Stonehenges horizontal Altar Stone matches the size and placement of similar stones from circles of northeast Scotland, where the Altar Stone originated.Megalithic stones had ancestral significance, the authors write. They represent a peoples origins. So, the Altar Stone may have been offered by the people of northern Scotland to represent an alliance.Stonehenge was also built in two phases. The first one appeared to involve more local material on the site. The second phase included stones from farther away, including Scotland and Wales. The succession of stones could somehow mark the area of Stonehenge as increasingly cosmopolitan at least in the Neolithic sense.The distant origin of the Altar Stone confirms Stonehenges unique status as the one stone circle built entirely from non-local stone, a material microcosm projecting at an enormous scale, the paper concludes. It is consistent with recent interpretations of Stonehenge as a monument whose builders attempted ultimately unsuccessfully to establish some form of political unification and shared identity across much or even all of Britain, bringing together these extraordinary and alien rocks which symbolized and embodied far and distant communities within a complex material and monumental expression of unity between people, land, ancestors and the heavens.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:University College London. Stonehenge may have been built to unify the people of ancient BritainBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

NASAs Parker Solar Probe has now marked itself safe from its closest-ever encounter with the sun.The probe sent a signal just before midnight on Dec. 26, saying it was alive and doing fine. This should come as a relief to NASA scientists since communication with the probe went dark Christmas Eve when it made its record-breaking closest ever pass a mere 3.8 million miles from the suns surface, according to a NASA blog. That might seem like a big distance, but in the universe, everything is relative. If the Earth and sun marked opposite end zones of an American football field, the probes latest pass took it to the suns four-yard line. Read More: How Old Is the Sun?Better Understanding the SunThe probe is collecting data that will help researchers better understand how the sun works. Scientists hope the information will help solve some solar mysteries, like why is the corona 300 times hotter than the suns actual surface, which is 300 miles below it? What powers the supersonic solar wind that blows charged particles into the solar system? And what makes those particles move at up to half the speed of light?This is one example of NASAs bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer longstanding questions about our universe, Arik Posner, Parker Solar Probe program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in another blog before the probe broke its record. We cant wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks.That data will help scientists better understand the Northern Lights because they are generated when the space weather driven by the suns supersonic winds interacts with Earths atmosphere. But there are practical concerns and reasons to understand these forces better as well. Geomagnetic storms can impair GPS satellites and could disable electricity grids.Scientists expect the probes first data transmissions from its close pass around January. This moment has been a long time coming, according to a Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory timeline. Long Time ComingWhen Eugene N. Parker was a professor at the University of Chicago in the mid-1950s, he predicted the solar wind with mathematical theory. In the 1970s, NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory proposed a flyby mission but they didnt yet have the technology especially the means to protect an instrument from the suns heat.That changed in the 2000s. Scientists developed a carbon composite heat shield that can withstand temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit while holding the probes electronics and instruments to 85 F. They also created a cooling system for the spacecrafts solar panels by pumping pressurized water through titanium radiators, keeping their temps to 320 F while collecting energy to power the crafts instruments.Parker was present when the probe launched on August 12, 2018. He died on March 15, 2022, at age 94. The probe holds a plaque with a quote from its namesake: Lets see what lies ahead.As data begins flowing back from the probe after this and the next two passes, it should provide some answers.Read More: The Aurora Borealis Like You've Never Seen ItArticle SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:John's Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. A Star ExploredBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Our Experts Written by Mike Sorrentino Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement Why You Can Trust CNET 16171819202122232425+ Years of Experience 14151617181920212223 Hands-on Product Reviewers 6,0007,0008,0009,00010,00011,00012,00013,00014,00015,000 Sq. Feet of Lab Space How we test CNETs expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. What to Consider iOS or Android If your family and friends are on Apple services like iMessage and FaceTime, stick with an iPhone. If youve been deep on Samsung, stay on Android. Know that switching between the two has never been easier. Size Phones are big in general with the smallest ones having a 6.1-inch screen and large models topping out at 6.8 inches. That makes visiting a store and trying a phone out before you buy it quite important. Cameras Phone cameras have gotten better over the past five years. Dont be fooled by how many cameras a phone has; more is not necessarily better. Software support Phone makers promise varying lengths of long-term software and security support ranging from just one year to as many as seven. These updates not only ensure you get many of the latest features but also keep your phone secure. Table of Contents Our Picks Best phone under $300 Motorola Moto G Power (2024) View details $100 at Best Buy View details Best cheap phone for long-term use Samsung Galaxy A25 5G View details $300 at Best Buy View details Best phone for fast charging OnePlus Nord N30 5G View details $230 at Amazon View details Best phone to get on sale Google Pixel 6A View details $337 at Walmart View details SMARTPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK Google Pixel 9 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian): $649 (save $150) Apple iPhone 12 64GB Straight Talk Phone (Prepaid, Black): $199 (save $50) Apple iPhone 14 128GB Unlocked Phone (Refurbished, Midnight): $394 (save $236) Motorola Edge Plus 512GB Unlocked Phone (Intersteller Black): $450 (save $350) Moto G Power 5G 128GB Unlocked Phone (2024 Model, Midnight Blue): $200 (save $100) Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article. Table of Contents Phones that cost $300 or less, like Motorola's Moto G Power 5G (2024) and Samsung's Galaxy A25 5G, offer a lot more features and functionality than you might expect. Sub-$300 phones have NFC for contactless payments, 120Hz high refresh rate displays for gaming and smooth animations, support for wireless charging and years of software updates, making them more versatile than ever.That doesnt mean that every phone in this category is perfect. Cameras are a mixed bag across all of these phones. And when buying a cheap phone, you have a major choice: Do you want a phone thats fun or one that lasts a long time? Unfortunately, you cant have both. Luckily for you, there are a number of great smartphones that cost $300 or less to choose from. We tested and reviewed every phone on this list.If you're looking to save money on your next phone purchase, check out our roundup of the best Cyber Monday deals. Keep in mind that you may find some Cyber Monday phone deals this holiday season that bring these affordable models down to an even lower price. What is the best phone under $300? The best phone you can buy for under $300 is Motorolas Moto G Power 5G for 2024. It comes with a colorful vegan leather back that adds to an eye-catching design that we dont typically see in lower-cost phones the Pale Lilac color is definitely something to behold. The Moto G Power 5G also has standout features like support for Google Pay contactless payments, 30W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. We were able to take some decent photos with the Moto G Power, and its multitasking capabilities make it a great choice for most daily tasks. We just wish that Motorola overhauled its software and security update promises alongside its design, as the phone will receive only one OS update to Android 15 and three years of security updates. Best phones under $300 Photo Gallery 1/1 Pros NFC/Google Pay Good battery life Wireless charging Moto shortcuts Cons Short software support timeline Screen is too dim in sunlight Lacks IP rating for dust and water resistance Screen size 6.7 inchesProcessor Mediatek Dimensity 7020Cameras 50-megapixel (main), 8-megapixel (ultrawide), 16-megapixel (selfie)Colors Pale lilac, midnight blue The Motorola Moto G Power 5G is the most versatile option in this roundup, offering wireless charging, a 120Hz high refresh rate screen, Google Pay for contactless payments and a fantastic vegan leather design. Combine that with a camera that takes decent photos in bright environments, and a processor that is capable for most daily tasks, and you have a phone thats both fun to use without cramming itself with the extra bells and whistles we see in higher priced phones.Even though this phone does suffer from having a shorter software and security support timeline (1 year of major Android OS, three years of security updates) than Samsungs Galaxy A25 5G, it is a more useful device. And it's this appeal that makes the Moto G Power 5G our top recommendation for a phone that costs $300 or less.

Data Breach Concept. Digital Binary Code on Dark Red BG. gettyData breaches are like digital pickpockets, striking when you least expect itleaving your identity, finances, and peace of mind exposed. With breaches happening daily, no one is immune. This guide equips you with a clever, foolproof recovery plan to outsmart cybercriminals and safeguard what is yours.Before we dive in, here is the first and most critical tip: do not panic. Panicking clouds your judgment and leads to rash decisions. Stay calm, as a clear mind is your sharpest tool against cyberattacks.At the same time, you should act swiftly and avoid falling for common myths about data breaches. One myth is thinking, "If nothing has happened yet, I am safe," when in reality, breached data can be misused months or even years later. Another misconception is believing, "A single data breach will not affect me," ignoring the cumulative risks of multiple breaches exposing more of your personal information. With that in mind, let's walk through the essential steps to take.1) Confirm The Breach And Understand Its ScopeIt is important to first verify that the breach is real. Check credible news sources, official company statements, or tools like Have I Been Pwned to confirm if your data is exposed.Determine the type of data exposedwas it email addresses, passwords, financial details, or Social Security numbers? Use FTC resources to guide your response. Act swiftly based on the sensitivity of the exposed information to minimize potential harm.MORE FOR YOU2) Secure Your AccountsChange your passwords immediately, using strong, unique passwords for each account. Consider using password managers like 1Password or Bitwarden to generate and store them securely. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) wherever possible.Place a credit freeze with major bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). Credit freezes are free and can be temporarily lifted when needed.Set up fraud alerts and regularly review your bank and credit card statements. Notify your bank or credit card provider about the breach to ensure they are aware of potential fraudulent activity.3) Address Email And Phone RisksYou should be able to distinguish legitimate data breach notifications from phishing attempts, as hackers often exploit data breach news to deceive users. Be cautious of emails requesting sensitive information, and avoid clicking on suspicious links.Check for SIM swap threats by contacting your mobile carrier to secure your account with a PIN or setting up a PIN manually.4) Protect Your IdentityFile a report with IdentityTheft.gov. More people are considering paid identity theft protection services. Keep in mind that paid identity theft services offer comprehensive monitoring, alerts, restoration support, and insurance, but they can be costly, may overlap with free options, provide limited coverage, and could create a false sense of security.5) Review Your Online PresenceLimit the information you share online by avoiding personal details like your phone number or address. Regularly review and update the privacy settings on your social media, email, and other accounts to ensure your profiles are not publicly accessible. Be careful about connecting with people you do not know online.6) Legal and Financial RecourseIf you have been affected by a data breach, you may be eligible for compensation through class action lawsuits or settlements. To determine eligibility, check if the breached company has announced a settlement or if lawsuits have been filed. Websites like ClassAction.org and official company statements can provide information.If compensation is offered, follow the steps outlined by the company to file a claim. This may involve proving your data was exposed and submitting the necessary documentation. Be aware of your legal rights under consumer protection laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which safeguard your ability to seek compensation.Final ThoughtsWhile companies that store your data are frequent targets for hackers, individual users are also at risk. Remember, prevention is always better than cure. To better protect yourself, check out my other article on preventing personal cyberattacks.

Earth and Mars in comparison. Mars has only about 10.7 percent of earth's mass but is roughly half ... [+] its radius.WikipediaMars remains a true puzzle, but not for the reasons most people would think. Sure, there's debate over whether it ever had surface water, oceans and life. But Mars small mass relative to earth and Venus have been a major conundrum that has plagued planetary scientists for decades.Because the red planets mass is roughly only a tenth that of earth, it prompted Carnegie Institution planetary scientist George Wetherill to dub it the small Mars problem. There have been several hypotheses to try and explain why Mars ended up so much smaller than earth and Venus. But when hard pressed, few planetary scientists are willing to go to the mat for any of them.If there is enough material in the disk to grow something the size of earth and Venus, its not clear why there also wasnt the same amount of material near Mars so that it might grow to be the same size, Matthew Clement, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Lab in Maryland, told me via email.Is Mars small mass the key to why the red planet could never hold on to its water and ultimately never remain habitable?Mass is the single most fundamental property of a planet, Sean Raymond, an astrophysicist at the Bordeaux Astrophysical Laboratory in France, told me via email.Mars' geological history and loss of water both stem in large part from its mass, he said.Mass MattersMORE FOR YOUIt certainly is a primary factor, along with its distance from the Sun, Stephen Kane, a planetary geophysicist at the University of California in Riverside, told me via email. Mars small size severely limited both the longevity of its geological and volcanic activity that replenished the atmosphere, he said. Its small mass also made it susceptible to being stripped of its atmosphere by the solar wind, said Kane.Mars reached half its mass very early on in the history of our solar system.Basically, whatever the source of the size difference between the two planets had to be in place very early on in the solar systems history, probably within just a few million years, said Clement.Why is Mars so different in mass than earth?There are three leading hypotheses as to why.The so-called Grand Tack Model features our very early Jupiter migrating inward toward the Sun before - somewhat akin to the movement of a sailboat - tacking back outward in the opposite direction. In the process, our young Jupiter disrupted the planetary building blocks that would have allowed Mars to form a larger mass planet.Without Jupiter (and its migration), Mars may well have been the size of Venus and earth, or even bigger, Kane said.The low-mass Main Asteroid Belt model in which Mars had very little material in its vicinity from which to grow larger in mass.The early instability model in which the early inner solar system was basically such a chaotic, orbital mess that the building blocks for rocky planets beyond the orbit of earth and Venus were too perturbed to coalesce into any larger than Mars.In truth, each of these hypotheses likely played a role in keeping Mars small. But it will likely take much more sampling of our solar systems Main Asteroid Belt to pinpoint which, if any, of these ideas holds the most promise.Why is solving this conundrum important?The inner solar system contains four vastly different planets, and we still dont really understand why, said Clement. Is it that something went wrong for Mars, he asked, or did something just fortuitously go right for the Earth?Forming Planets Out Of DustMars' small mass is just a byproduct of how the Solar System transformed dust into planets, said Raymond. Learning more about this process through both theoretical modeling and continued observations of dust around young stars, where planetesimals are forming right now is the future, he said.The Bottom Line?Our solar systems architecture is rather unusual, particularly as only about 10% of solar type stars have a cold Jupiter, Kane said. It's therefore possible that most systems do allow the formation of numerous Venus and Earth-size planets beyond that which we see in the solar system, he said. This is potentially good for astrobiology since giant planets are relatively rare, said Kane.

Big Tech is investing in nuclear power to meet AI data center energy demands.Nuclear is seen as a clean energy source, but investors are skeptical about scalability and returns.While VC interest in nuclear startups is growing, startups face key bottlenecks.The generative AI boom has made nuclear power a major new obsession for Big Tech.This year, companies at the forefront of AI development have been in a frenzy over nuclear power as they've searched for clean sources of electricity to run the energy-hungry data centers being built to serve their prized AI models.Microsoft made a stunning move in September as it struck a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy to awaken one of two dormant nuclear plants on Three Mile Island the site of one of the most high-profile nuclear accidents in US history.In October, Amazon took a stake in X-energy, a developer of small modular reactors (SMRs) that promise greater efficiency than large nuclear reactors. That same month, Google announced a clean energy agreement with Kairos Power, a company developing SMRs.These deals have emerged at speed for a simple reason. An arms race in the tech sector between companies vying for control of the most powerful AI models is set to drive data center power demand through the roof, with Goldman Sachs estimating a 160% jump by 2030.However, while Big Tech's ambitions to build the world's most potent AI models have invigorated their interest in nuclear power, investors, energy experts, and analysts are feeling split about whether it will help startups scale at pace and deliver fruitful returns.Why nuclear might not be a quick-fix solutionOne issue that skeptics point to is that nuclear reactors won't come online quickly enough or with the scale needed to meet the demands of energy-hungry data centers.Jill McArdle, a campaigner at European nonprofit Beyond Fossil Fuels, told Business Insider that nuclear power is "completely off topic" as a current solution for powering data centers, particularly if tech companies are serious about the looming deadlines they've set to meet emissions targets.Google aims to achieve net-zero emissions across all of its operations by 2030. Microsoft, meanwhile, has committed to being carbon-negative by 2030. "What we are talking about, especially now, is the next five years of how are we going to power this massive boom in data centers," McArdle said.She added that more compact SMRs adopted by Big Tech also remain largely untested. Google's corporate agreement with Kairos Power, for instance, is expected to see the startup's first SMR come online by 2030, with others being added through to 2035.One concern around large nuclear solutions is expense, with the likes of Microsoft's Three Mile Island deal unlikely to be replicated elsewhere. As McArdle put it: "Traditional nuclear just isn't going to be coming online at the scale and in the budget that we need to get it done." Three Mile Island is a nuclear power plant that Microsoft has signed a deal to revive. Wally McNamee/Corbis via Getty Images Venture capitalists have echoed this concern."The length of the investment is not compatible with private equity funds maybe it's one for evergreen funds," said Guillaume Sarlat, partner at France-headquartered VC firm Axeleo Capital, which has deliberately excluded nuclear from its investment policy. "The other problem is, what are the economic conditions going to be when nuclear startups are ready to sell their product? What is going to be the cost of the electricity that they're going to produce in 20 years?"He speculated that funds backing nuclear could aim for an internal rate of return of 15%, but the two main parameters that determine this would be productivity gains and the competitiveness of the nuclear solution. These factors could be affected by the price of gas and photovoltaic materials, making it a risky bet, he said. Startups face key bottlenecksOn the technical side, nuclear startups will have to work hard to differentiate against existing fission technologies and "persuade investors that that marginal improvement is worth waiting another 10 years," said Matthew Blain, principal at climate tech fund Voyager Ventures.While Blain noted an aligned "excitement" for nuclear fusion technology, he added that these startups would first need to demonstrate a believable pathway down the cost curve. "Your first dollars per megawatt of your first fusion plant will be astronomically expensive, and that will be competing on a 20 to 30-year timeframe with the cost of energy and battery storage," he told BI.It's part of the reason investment in nuclear energy startups has fluctuated over the past five years. The industry had a banner year in 2021, with startups raking in $3.57 billion in VC funding, per PitchBook data. Figures subsequently dipped in 2022 and 2023, with VCs pouring $2.67 billion and $1.17 billion into startups, respectively."Nuclear energy requires a centralized infrastructure that is harder to scale incrementally," said Nicolas Heuz, cofounder and CEO of osmotic energy startup Sweetch Energy. "And investors and governments often favor proven solutions, even though they are not perfect, over novel ones associated with emerging technology."The case for being bullish on nuclearDespite the concerns, certain quarters of the tech sector remain convinced that nuclear is the way forward to support the AI data center boom.A16z, the venture capital firm led by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, named "the resurgence of nuclear" as one of its big ideas for driving its "American dynamism" investment theme in 2025."A perfect storm of regulatory reform, public enthusiasm, capital infusions, and insatiable energy needs particularly from AI data centers will accelerate orders for new reactors for the first time in decades," is how David Ulevitch, a general partner at A16z, put it. X Energy's XE-100 nuclear reactor plants. X Energy A few things still need to be figured out. Blain notes that VCs will need to see if there is profit to be made on a technology that may offer "more of an infrastructure return" typically made through debt investments than the kind of outsized return a VC typically seeks from a bet on a software business. Nuclear startups may also opt to "take the trajectory of companies like SpaceX by staying private for a long period of time," he said.That said, it's clear that money is flowing into the industry again, as VCs have deployed $2.62 billion into nuclear startups this year. Notable raises included X Energy's $500 million round and the $151 million raised by Paris-headquartered Newcleo, which is building SMRs using repurposed radioactive waste.Newcleo's COO, Elisabeth Rizzotti, told BI that a Big Tech-fueled boom in demand for clean energy had made it an "attractive" option for investors. She added that the startup was potentially eyeing an IPO once it met two key milestones: building its first prototype in 2026 and getting pre-authorization to build its first reactor in France by early 2027.Companies trying to sell the world on nuclear power will have to accept a hard reality, however: the clock's ticking on their opportunity to prove their solutions can meet the extraordinary energy demands of the AI industry. The data centers will keep on coming.

Germany's foreign minister urged new European Union sanctions on Russia's dark fleet.As part of a probe into a cut cable, Finland said last week it detained a ship that may be from the dark fleet.The case is being investigated as "aggravated criminal mischief," Finnish police said.Germany's foreign minister has called for further sanctions against Russia's dark fleet of oil tankers following damage to an underwater cable linking Finland and Estonia last week."Ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea almost every month," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Funke media group."Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up," Baerbock said, per an AFP translation."It's more than difficult to still believe in coincidences. This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us," she added.Baerbock urged new European Union sanctions against Russia's dark or shadow fleet of oil tankers that transport sanctioned Russian oil and energy products.The EU has also sanctioned 79 vessels from Russia's shadow fleet. These ships are banned from accessing EU ports and services.Many of these vessels are aging, operating under opaque ownership, and sailing without adequate insurance coverage. They pose environmental and financial risks to coastal countries. A heavy storm earlier this month caused two tankers to spill thousands of tons of low-grade fuel oil into the Kerch Strait, between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia.Baerbock's comments came after Finnish authorities detained the Eagle S oil tanker on Thursday as part of an investigation into the cutting of an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea. The cable transmits electricity from Finland to Estonia.The case is being investigated as "aggravated criminal mischief," Finnish police said in a press release.Finnish customs authorities and the European Union's executive commission said the tanker might be part of Russia's dark fleet of tankers.The Kremlin declined to comment on Finland's seizure of the oil tanker on Friday."I cannot say anything for sure, for this is a highly specialized issue that the presidential administration is hardly in a position to comment on," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question on the Finnish move.On Friday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on X that he had spoken to the Finnish president about the investigation into the "possible sabotage of undersea cables.""#NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea," Rutte added.