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The Latest Breaking News from Rapa Nui

Drones, physics and rats: Studies show how the people of Rapa Nui made and moved the giant statues – and what caused the island’s deforestation

Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is often portrayed in popular culture as an enigma. The rationale is clear: The tiny, remote island in the Pacific features nearly 1,000 enormous statues – the moai. The magnitude and number of these monuments defy easy explanation.

The Conversation

‘The last plant left’: can Rapa Nui’s extinct tree be resurrected?

Seeds from the last toromiro, unique to remote Easter Island, were taken away in the 1960s. Now, after a crucial discovery gave hope for its survival, it is making a return

The Guardian - UK

In Disney’s ‘Moana,’ the characters navigate using the stars, just like real Polynesian explorers − an astronomer explains how these methods work

If you have visited an island like one of the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti or Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, you may have noticed how small these land masses appear against the vast Pacific Ocean. If you’re on Hawaii, the nearest island to you is more than 1,000 miles…

The Conversation

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Norwegian Museum Returns Artifacts To Easter Island

The Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway, returns artifacts taken by Thor Heyerdahl to Easter Island, emphasizing collaboration and cultural sensitivity in the ...

Top News

Norway's Kon-Tiki Museum returns artifacts to Chile's remote Easter Island

Artifacts and human remains taken by a Norwegian explorer and anthropologist in the late 1940s are being returned by a museum in Norway to Chile's remote territory of Easter Island in the mid-Pacific

The Independent UK

Astrophotographer captures stunning shot of "dramatic" Annular Solar Eclipse

Josh Dury captured these stunning shots of the incredible rare Annular Solar Eclipse from Easter Island, or Rapa Nui

Digital Camera World

What it was like to experience the 'ring of fire' solar eclipse on Easter Island

A few hundred eclipse chasers flocked to Chile's Rapa Nui to see annularity from the home of the mysterious moai.

Space

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'Ring of fire' solar eclipse blazes over Easter Island in incredible new image

On Oct. 2, a partial "ring of fire" solar eclipse was visible from the remote island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, where around 1,000 stone moai statues stand. You can see the whole celestial event play out in this incredible composite image.

LiveScience

In photos: Annular solar eclipse 2024 delights with stunning 'ring of fire' display

On Oct. 2, an annular solar eclipse turned the sun into an impressive "ring of fire." Here are some of the best photos of the dramatic display.

Space

Watch live: A 'ring of fire' solar eclipse has begun over Easter Island

The Oct. 2 partial solar eclipse, known as an annular or "ring of fire" eclipse, is about to begin over Easter Island and South America. Watch it for free right here.

LiveScience

Easter Island's population never collapsed, but it did have contact with Native Americans, DNA study suggests

A DNA analysis of 15 Rapa Nui individuals revealed that there was never a population collapse on Easter Island and that the inhabitants commingled with Native Americans.

LiveScience

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and its famous Moai statues

The island of Rapa Nui, the most isolated inhabited landmass on Earth, is known for its massive Moai statues.

LiveScience

Rocks on Rapa Nui tell the story of a small, resilient population − countering the notion of a doomed overpopulated island

Conventional wisdom holds that the island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, once had a large population that crashed after living beyond its means and stripping the island of resources. A new research study my colleagues and I conducted has struck another blow to this notion by using…

The Conversation

A New Study Debunks A Long-Standing Myth About the Inhabitants of Easter Island

Satellite data shows the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island built their iconic moai statues with less people than previous estimates suggested.

Inverse

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LiveScience

Easter Island's population never collapsed because it never got that big, researchers suggest

Easter Island never had a catastrophic population collapse, researchers propose in a new study that looks at archaeological rock gardens.

The Guardian - UK

‘Moai designs are getting lost’: extreme weather chips away at Easter Island statues

Experts call for conservation action as the features on Rapa Nui’s famous monoliths are eroded by fire and rain

Space

Where can I see the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 2, 2024?

The path of annularity on Oct. 2, 2024, passes through the Pacific Ocean and South America. View detailed maps of where the eclipse will be visible here.

Space

16 best places to see the annular 'ring of fire' solar eclipse 2024

Explore the top 16 places to witness the breathtaking annular 'ring of fire' solar eclipse on Oct. 2, 2024. Plan an unforgettable eclipse experience with these expert recommendations.

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LiveScience

Underwater mountain range off Easter Island hosts creatures unknown to science, expedition reveals

An expedition to the Salas y Gómez Ridge off Rapa Nui in the Pacific Ocean documented 160 species that were not previously known to inhabit the region, including 50 that are new to science.

LiveScience

Obsidian blades with food traces reveal 1st settlers of Rapa Nui had regular contact with South Americans 1,000 years ago

The earliest settlers of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, appear to have had some sort of contact with people from South America as early as 1,000 years ago, a new plant study finds.

The Guardian - UK

British Museum’s Instagram flooded with calls to return Easter Island statue

Chilean social media users target institution, forcing it at one point to close comments on posts

The Independent UK

New maoi statue discovered in Easter Island dry lake

Researchers have found a new moai statue in a dry lake on the Chilean island of Rapa Nui, joining the approximately 1,000 other iconic monolithic sculptures on what is internationally known as Easter Island

The Independent UK

Easter Island rebounds from wildfire that singed its statues

Rapa Nui, the Chilean territory widely known as Easter Island, is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth

Reuters

On Easter Island, burned Moai statues are a symbol of growing tensions

Charred Moai stone statues on Easter Island, singed in a wildfire earlier this year, are signs of a growing tension between landowners and conservationists in this tiny, remote island in the middle of the Pacific.

WEKU

The iconic Easter Island statues have been damaged in a fire, authorities say

The sculpted figures on Rapa Nui, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, suffered "irreparable" damage. The municipality's mayor said he believed the fire was not an accident.

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