YOUR WEEKLY ESCAPE: The country that doesn't exist

Plus: A map to guide aliens to Earth, dogs vs. cats, and an ancient mystery solved  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌    ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  

 

ARE DOGS SMARTER THAN CATS? VIEW ONLINE

ARE DOGS SMARTER THAN CATS?

Your Weekly Escape

Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places in a time of turmoil

PHOTOGRAPH BY F. FERRARO, EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY NASA sent a map to space to help aliens find Earth. Now it needs an update. It was first sent into space in 1972 attached to Pioneer 10, but time and space are taking a toll on the cosmic coordinates it carries. An updated map provides even better directions. Explore the galactic map here. SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE SHARE ICYMI: Possible sign of life detected on Venus +

PHOTOGRAPH BY THOMAS VANDEN DRIESSCHE, INSTITUTE Welcome to Transdniestria, the country that doesn't exist Life here—in a sliver of terrain between Moldova and Ukraine—is a constant search for identity. One photographer took a closer look. SEE THE PHOTOS SHARE

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO ARK Are dogs smarter than cats? Science has an answer A team of researchers counted the number of neurons in dog and cat brains and found one had twice as many as the other. CAT LOVERS BEWARE SHARE

PHOTOGRAPH BY WERNER FORMAN, UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY Ancient Egyptian 'head cone mystery' solved by archaeologists Researchers have long speculated about the purpose and meaning of pointy "head cones" depicted in Egyptian art. Now they've actually found the real thing. READ ON SHARE

Life is a very bad novelist. It is chaotic and ludicrous. Javier Marías Spanish novelist, columnist, translator; from The Art of Fiction

ALBUM This mighty Medieval woman outwitted and outlasted her rivals Ruler of two nations, mother to kings and queens, leader of a crusade: Eleanor of Aquitaine was a savvy power player in medieval France and England. SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE SHARE

PHOTOGRAPH BY GERD LUDWIG These photos of fossils capture the mystery and beauty of dinosaurs More dinosaur fossils are being discovered than at any point in history, with about one new species named by scientists around the world every week. SEE 23 PHOTOS SHARE FOR SUBSCRIBERS: See how science has changed what we know about dinosaurs +

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL NICKLEN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION 30 mesmerizing photos from our archives These vintage National Geographic photos remind us what we're fighting to get back to. SEE THE IMAGES SHARE

Need a distraction? Is there a black hole in our backyard? (New York Times)  ›› The remarkable ways animals understand numbers (BBC)  ››

This newsletter was edited and curated by Janey Adams and David Beard. Sign up here to receive Your Weekly Escape and/or our daily newsletters—covering History, Travel, Science, Animals, and Photography news. See you next week. Blue skies, green lights!

SHOP DONATE SUBSCRIBE TRAVEL

READ OUR LATEST STORIES

SHOP

DONATE

SUBSCRIBE

TRAVEL

Clicking on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply. This email was sent to: agaogroups@gmail.com. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored. This email contains an advertisement from: National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036 You are receiving this email because you elected to receive marketing communications from National Geographic under the terms of our Privacy Policy. Manage all types of email preferences with National Geographic Partners. Unsubscribe from this type of email. If you reside in the EU/European Economic Area and wish to exercise all other data subject rights, click here. © 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.