By catching glimpses of some of the smallest things in the universe, a team of researchers in Italy says it has finally proven what makes many stars burn.

More than 40 years after the last lunar mission returned moon rocks to the Earth, China’s space agency is on the verge of giving scientists new material. The Chang’e 5 mission blasted off early Nov. 23 local time from a launch site in China’s southernmost Hainan province on a mission to orbit and land on the moon and collect measurements and material.

After nearly 60 years of service, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is pulling the plug on the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

Gray wolves disappeared from Colorado more than 70 years ago, but some packs are returning. On Monday, officers with the state’s Parks and Wildlife Office reported they had spotted tracks, heard howling, and seen some gray wolves on game cameras in the far northwestern corner of the state.

A mysterious metal monolith discovered in a remote area of southeastern Utah is the stuff of fiction. The tall, slim, three-sided metal pillar has baffled state officials, who don’t know who placed it on federal land, how it became embedded in the rock, or how long it has been there.

Two years ago, scientists spotted a strange monkey high atop Mount Popa in Myanmar. At first, they thought it was a common langur native to India. But the monkey with a fright wig of gray hair is now the newest named species on the planet.

A few years ago, John R. Erickson shared some tales of puzzling behaviors he has observed in animals over his years as a rancher. He noted that British scientist Rupert Sheldrake, in his book Dogs that Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals, combined stories from many animal owners suggesting that there’s still much we don’t understand about the creatures who live alongside us—be they domestic or wild.