Enigmas of the Cosmos, Part 3: Telescopes, Egyptian Mummy Cats and Toxic Maya Waters

From the invisible architecture of the universe to the hidden lives of ancient Egyptian cats and the toxic legacy of the Maya

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.
November 12, 2026
Sources: ESA, Reuters, AP

1. Euclid: The Telescope That Is Mapping the Invisible Universe

The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope is beginning to transform our understanding of the universe, producing an enormous cosmic map that could help scientists answer some of the most fundamental questions in modern physics.

Launched on July 1, 2023, Euclid was designed to create the largest and most detailed three-dimensional map of the universe ever assembled. Its wide-field camera captures more than 100 times as much sky in a single image as the Hubble or James Webb Space Telescope. It produces approximately 20 images every day and, over its planned six-year mission, is expected to map roughly one-third of the entire sky.

Its first major data release already contains an extraordinary amount of information: observations covering an area nearly 10,000 times larger than the apparent size of the full Moon, approximately 900 million galaxies and 60 million quasars. The collection contains around 2.5 trillion pixels and occupies 1.7 million gigabytes of storage.

These observations also offer astronomers a window into the distant past. Some of the galaxies recorded existed when the universe was only about 700 million years old, approximately five percent of its present age.

But Euclid's greatest scientific contribution may be what it can reveal about everything we cannot see.

Ordinary matter — the stars, planets, galaxies and everything familiar to us — represents only about five percent of the universe. The remaining 95 percent consists of two poorly understood components: dark matter and dark energy.

Dark matter accounts for approximately 27 percent of the universe. Although invisible to conventional observation, its gravitational influence helps galaxies form and holds large cosmic structures together. Dark energy accounts for roughly 68 percent and is associated with the accelerated expansion of the universe.

Euclid is designed to investigate both phenomena by mapping the distribution of galaxies and measuring the subtle distortions in their shapes caused by gravity. This effect, known as gravitational lensing, allows scientists to trace the distribution of matter, including dark matter that cannot be observed directly.

By examining billions of galaxies rather than isolated objects, researchers hope to reconstruct how cosmic structures developed over billions of years and determine whether our existing theories of gravity remain valid on the largest scales.

Leiden University astronomer Koen Kuijken describes the telescope's extraordinary observational capacity, while professor Alessandra Silvestri emphasizes its potential to investigate the fundamental physics governing the universe.

One particularly important question remains: are the laws of gravity as we understand them complete, or does our current theory require revision when applied to cosmic distances?

The first major cosmological analyses of Euclid's observations are expected in June 2027. Its initial data release is only the beginning of a much longer scientific investigation.

As Silvestri puts it, the real scientific adventure is just getting started.

2. Ancient Egypt's Sacrificial Cats: The Hidden Cost of Mummification

Ancient Egyptians revered cats, associating them with protection, fertility and the goddess Bastet. But a new examination of 131 cat skulls from an Egyptian burial site suggests that many animals raised for religious sacrifice and mummification experienced lives marked by disease, confinement and sometimes violence.

The skulls, originally recovered from Beni Hassan along the Nile, were examined by researchers from Belgium and Italy. They had been unwrapped from mummies during the nineteenth century and eventually entered the collection of Vienna's Natural History Museum, which purchased them in 1883.

The collection remained largely unknown to scientific researchers until now. Its documented archaeological origin makes it particularly valuable for studying how ancient Egyptians managed animals intended for religious offerings.

The researchers identified 131 skulls, including seven belonging to jungle cats, a larger wild feline species. Most of the remaining specimens belonged to domestic cats, although some may have been African wildcats or hybrids.

The evidence of physical suffering was considerable.

Eighty-one skulls, approximately 62 percent of the collection, showed at least one pathological condition. Twenty-six animals had signs of gum disease, 24 had lost teeth and 22 displayed significant tartar accumulation.

Other skulls showed pitting and roughened bone surfaces. The researchers suggest that some of these conditions may have resulted from skin infections and scratching, potentially associated with animals living in crowded and confined conditions.

More disturbing were the signs of physical injuries

Fourteen skulls, approximately 11 percent of the collection, showed evidence of trauma. Eight had puncture marks consistent with bites from other cats, and three of those injuries had healed.

One domestic cat had puncture wounds matching the size and spacing of a jungle cat's canine teeth.

Other injuries appeared to have been inflicted by humans. Researchers identified marks consistent with sharp metal instruments, as well as fractures and dents that may have resulted from blows with a blunt object, possibly a thick wooden stick.

Two cats appear to have died from their injuries, while three or four others survived blows to the head.

The researchers suggest that some injuries may have occurred when handlers attempted to discipline animals or separate fighting cats. However, the fatal wounds indicate that at least some animals were deliberately killed.

The evidence also suggests that domestic cats and jungle cats may have shared similarly stressful living conditions.

Radiocarbon dating placed eight of the nine tested skulls between approximately 380 and 40 BCE, during the Late Period and Ptolemaic era. One specimen was considerably older, dating to approximately 980–820 BCE.

That earlier date is particularly interesting because there are no known historical texts documenting cat mummies at Beni Hassan from that period. It raises the possibility that the practice began there earlier than previously believed, although the researchers cannot exclude the possibility that the specimen originated elsewhere.

Chemical analysis provided another important discovery. The jungle cats displayed a carbon isotope signature consistent with having lived in wetland or river environments. The researchers conclude that these animals were captured in the wild rather than bred in captivity.

The findings offer a more complicated picture of ancient Egyptian religious practices. Cats occupied an important place in Egyptian culture, but the animals prepared for religious offerings did not necessarily enjoy the privileged status their symbolism might suggest.

The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science in 2026, provides new archaeological evidence about the treatment, breeding and sacrifice of cats in ancient Egypt.

3. The Maya's Toxic Legacy: Mercury Contaminated Their Cities for Centuries

The ancient Maya left behind extraordinary cities, temples, monuments and works of art. But new archaeological research is revealing another aspect of their civilization: centuries of mercury pollution that may have contaminated water systems and entered the food chain.

Researchers from Auburn University have identified significant mercury contamination in sediment samples taken from lakes near two ancient Maya settlements on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula: Coba and Xcach.

The discovery expands earlier research that had already identified mercury contamination at Tikal, one of the most important ancient Maya cities in present-day Guatemala.

The source of much of this contamination appears to have been cinnabar, a naturally occurring red mineral containing mercury that the Maya used extensively as a pigment.

Its striking red colour made it valuable for religious ceremonies, funerary practices, murals and the decoration of temples and other important structures.

However, the material also introduced mercury into the surrounding environment.

By examining sediment cores taken from ancient lake beds, researchers Matt Waters and Savanna Wooten reconstructed changes in mercury concentrations over long periods.

Their findings revealed several distinct contamination episodes. At Coba, mercury levels began rising around 250 CE, remaining elevated for approximately 150 years. At Xcach, researchers identified an earlier spike between approximately 125 and 200 CE, followed by another around 250 CE.

A further increase occurred between approximately 535 and 820 CE, coinciding with the later centuries of the Maya Classic period, when several important Maya cities experienced major political and demographic transformations.

The contamination was not simply a matter of mineral deposits remaining in the soil.

Researchers also examined biological indicators preserved in the lake sediments, including evidence from bacteria, algae, cyanobacteria, shelled organisms and aquatic insect larvae.

Several of these biological groups declined or disappeared during periods of elevated mercury contamination.

This suggests that mercury had entered the lakes' ecosystems and affected multiple levels of the food chain.

The implications for people living in these settlements are significant. Residents may have been exposed to mercury through contaminated drinking water and fish, although the study does not establish the extent of human exposure or demonstrate specific health consequences.

The researchers warn that contamination levels at their highest exceeded modern pollution and toxicology standards by substantial margins.

The discovery illustrates how a material valued for its religious and artistic significance could also leave a long-lasting environmental legacy.

The Maya were sophisticated builders, astronomers and artists, but their use of cinnabar came with consequences that may have persisted for centuries.

The research, published in Science Advances, adds another dimension to the study of ancient Maya civilization and demonstrates how modern environmental science can uncover problems that remained hidden beneath archaeological landscapes for generations.