Welcome to How It Works, the magazine that explains everything you never knew you wanted to know about the world we live in. Loaded with fully illustrated guides and expert knowledge, and with sections dedicated to science, technology, transportation, space, history and the environment, no subject is too big or small for How It Works to explain.
WELCOME • Issue 158
MEET THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS
AR ZONE • Bring the pages to life
Dragon skin
Landsat liftoff
Mighty man o’ war
Stellar cluster
Condor chicks have ‘virgin births’ • Showcasing the incredible world we live in
WILDFIRES BURNED ANTARCTICA 75 MILLION YEARS AGO
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is over 200 miles deep
Your pupils can count… sort of
GODZILLA NEBULA LOOKS LIKE A SPACE LIZARD
Great white sharks mistakenly identify humans as prey
Huge hole discovered in Arctic’s ‘last ice’
SKELETON OF MAN FLEEING VESUVIUS ERUPTION DISCOVERED
Alien planet ‘aurorae’ may send signals towards Earth
Ultrahot, ultrafast explosion has astronomers puzzled
LIFE LOCKED INSIDE A RUBY
‘Hidden world’ discovered in Earth’s core
WISH LIST • Christmas gift guide
Christmas reading list
The Perfect Christmas Gift for just £21.50 plus FREE HIW BOOKAZINE BUNDLE
EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE • NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will be the most powerful in history, giving us the deepest ever view into space
How WEBB works • The telescope has some unique design features, like a segmented mirror and a huge sunshield
Launch and DEPLOYMENT • There’s a perfect spot in space for an infrared telescope, and Webb is heading there
Mission OBJECTIVES • Webb’s science goals are organised into four themes, addressing some of astronomy’s biggest questions
JWST SCIENCE Q&A • We ask NASA’s Dr Mike McElwain about his hopes for the new telescope
JWST by number
HOW THE PLANETS ORBIT • Why do the eight planets of the Solar System orbit on the same plane?
WHAT IS GRAVITY? • This natural phenomenon keeps planets in orbit and our feet on the ground
The Perfect Christmas Gift from just £6
MEET THE POISON DART FROGS • These tiny amphibians are both colourful killers and dedicated parents
THE MOST POLLUTED PLACES ON EARTH • Discover the areas smothered by smog, poisoned by plastic and recovering from radiation
GLOBAL POLLUTION BY NUMBERS
POLLUTION HOTSPOTS • Here are some of the most polluted places on Earth
CAMEL ANATOMY: HUMPS TO HOOVES • This mammal’s unique features allow it to thrive in desolate lands
WHAT’S ON A DESERT MENU?
SUPER TRACTORS • From the greatest in size and speed to the latest autonomous tech, could these tractors change the way we farm?
FREE 2 eBooks FOR EVERY READER! • Grab yourself two fascinating, fact-packed How It Works specials for your digital device. Simply use the links below or scan the QR code to download
Who were the Knights Templar? • This holy Christian order was a powerful military and financial group for over two centuries
WHY THE Maya CIVILISATION COLLAPSED • What went wrong for this ancient South American nation?
INSIDE BATH’S ROYAL CRESCENT • Discover the history and architecture of this beautiful Georgian street
HOW BITCOIN MINING WORKS • Discover the tools that Bitcoin miners use to gain valuable cryptocurrency
FOLDING ELECTRIC BIKE TEARDOWN • How It Works takes apart the Xiaomi MiJia QiCycle
WHAT IF EARTH WAS FLAT? • Eight ways our world would get weird if we really lived on a disc
WHAT ARE ANTIOXIDANTS? •...