A new scan of the Titanic reveals details about its final hours

Using over 700,000 images captured by underwater robots, researchers created a highly detailed 3D "digital twin" of the Titanic. The analysis gives us new insights into the life of the ship that lays 3,800m down in the icy waters of the Atlantic. Emerging details from close-up images, such as a smashed porthole likely caused by the iceberg, match the eye-witness accounts of what happened. Read for more insights into the devastating wreck.

Watch footage from the moments the Titanic wreck was discovered by a joint US-French research team in 1985.

An eyewitness account of the sinking of the Titanic

One of the most famous modern disasters, the Titanic sank in April, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg, killing an estimated 1,500 passengers and crew. One survivor, Washington Dodge, recorded his events just days after returning to land, offering one of the most immediate first-hand accounts of the ship's sinking.

See images of shipwrecks from WWII's Battle of Midway

Deep-sea explorers have captured detailed images of three iconic shipwrecks from World War II's Battle of Midway, including the first up-close photos of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi since its sinking in 1942.

Some of the oldest photographs in the world

Scholar and artist Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey ventured around the Mediterranean with some of the earliest photographic equipment in tow. He captured hundreds of images during his tour of Rome, Venice, Cairo, and more, in what would become...

Disappointment Island

A shipwreck. A freezing island. No trees. No help. Just 16 sailors, stranded for 8 months on Disappointment Island in 1907.

Explore a photo gallery of underwater shipwrecks taken by Tobias Friedrich, a German scuba diver specializing in underwater photography.

The wife and mother of two of the Titan submersible victims shares her life since the tragic accident

The loss of the Titan submersible amid its June 2023 dive to explore the wreckage of the Titanic captured headlines worldwide. Christine Dawood had given up her seat on the trip of a lifetime to her 19-year-old son, Suleman, so he could experience the dive with his father. She has since written a book about her experience of the tragedy and about life in its aftermath.

An archive of some of America's most significant shipwrecks

From The Portland—known as New England's "Titanic"—to the Civil War's USS Monitor, this archive from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides overviews of some of the most well-known shipwrecks in US history.

Explore a database of more than 220,000 shipwrecks, the largest compilation to date.

See a collection of LIFE's most iconic photos in history

Famous images, like a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square to celebrate the end of World War II, are each shared with context in this article. See some of history's most famous moments from a unique point of view, including photos of Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, and Muhammad Ali.

Photographer catches stunning shot of an aurora over an Icelandic waterfall

Photographer Cari Letelier captured a stunning shot of the aurora borealis over the Godafoss waterfall in Iceland, a composite image pulled from nearly three dozen exposures. The aurora phenomenon is typically visible in Earth's northern latitudes...

Mapping the Tongan eruption impact

A team of scientists—with the help of an uncrewed boat remotely controlled from the UK—join forces to produce one of the clearest pictures to date of what took place underneath the water as an enormous volcano erupted near the Tongan mainland.

The 1915 sinking of the Lusitania precipitated World War I

In 1915, the British RMS Lusitania sank after being torpedoed by a German submarine. The Germans claimed the ocean liner was transporting munitions. Almost 1,200 civilians were killed in the disaster, which became a symbol of German aggression in the lead-up to World War I.

The weather time machine

A fun interactive on how old ships’ logs are giving scientists new insights into the past and future of the Earth’s changing climate (w/maps and pictures).

An in-depth account of the image of 'The Falling Man' whose final seconds capture the visceral horrors of 9/11

Do you remember the photograph above? In the US, people have taken pains to banish it from the record of Sept. 11, 2001. Here's a detailed account of the story behind it, the search for the man pictured in it, and its impact on those who lived through the tragic day.

Advanced forensic science has helped identify killed sailors decades later

When the USS Oklahoma capsized amid the attacks, hundreds of sailors were buried within the ship's hull. Officials have used advances in forensic science to analyze DNA and dental evidence to help identify nearly 400 sailors decades after the fact.

Fascinating photos of abandoned Italian churches

Whether cloaked in thick moss and debris or almost entirely preserved, the abandoned churches photographed by Roman Robroek document the effects of a changing landscape. At least 1,000 of the religious spaces are left unoccupied in both small towns and cities throughout Italy and stand in varying stages of decay.

The 1975 sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald spurred a number of maritime changes

One of the worst Great Lakes shipwrecks in modern history, the freighter sank during an intense storm on Lake Superior that reportedly produced 50-foot waves. The exact cause remains unknown, and the disaster remains in public consciousness today.

The story behind the iconic flag-raising photo on Iwo Jima (1945)

The iconic image captured by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal went viral, as far as it could in the 1940s, showing six marines raising a flag atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi. The shot was used for public relations by the military, but it would later be shrouded by controversy when it was revealed it was the second flag raising that day, inviting accusations it was staged.

The iconic photo of the Wright brothers' first flight was the photographer’s first

Using a then-state-of-the-art Korona V, rescue member John T. Daniels was tasked with squeezing the device’s rubber bulb the moment the plane left the wooden track on the sand. The camera produced negatives on 5 by 7 sheets of glass.

Researchers discover a massive Lake Superior shipwreck

A 292-foot Whaleback ship, Barge 129, was found in Lake Superior 120 years after a storm sank it, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society said.

Explore an interactive time-lapse of reported tsunami events since 1850, with identified cause, recorded observations, known deaths, and other information available for each.

Some people smash Champagne bottles on ships for good luck

Long before Champagne existed, people performed good-luck rituals before setting sail. But since animal sacrifice is generally frowned upon these days, a new tradition developed before a ship’s maiden voyage: smashing a bottle of Champagne against the hull.

See photos from the day Havana fell

When news broke that Batista had fled on New Year’s Eve 1958, photographer Burt Glinn rushed from Miami to Havana without an assignment. His iconic images—tanks in Old Havana and tearful reunions—captured a nation celebrating, uncertain, and on the brink of radical change.

The final shots of the Civil War were fired in the Arctic over 2 months after the South's surrender.

Historians estimate that only 1% of shipwrecks have been discovered.

Watch how engineers salvaged almost every sunken ship at Pearl Harbor

This four-part video series explains the massive effort to raise, repair, and refloat the Pacific Fleet—detailing the engineering challenges, diving operations, and months of around-the-clock work that restored all but three damaged ships to active service.

The claims that Jesus was buried in the Shroud of Turin, preserved since 1578

The 14-foot linen cloth bears a faint image of a crucified man and is the most scientifically studied relic in history. The core dispute hasn't moved much: 1988 radiocarbon dating placed it in the 13th-14th century, while defenders argue the sample was contaminated by medieval repairs. No one disputes that scientists can't explain how the image was formed, which acts like a photographic negative and has no trace of paint or dye.

An illustrated guide to constructing a Viking ship

Using saga descriptions, museum consultations, and physical evidence, this guide tries to imagine what kind of ship Harald Hardrada would have sailed into Constantinople in 1034. The contemporary illustrations suggest technically precise craftsmanship.

The Foolkiller: the mysterious submarine at the bottom of the Chicago River.

In November 1915, a submarine was found at the bottom of the Chicago River. It had been there for at least 10 years, was 40 feet long, and contained the remains of a man and his dog. To this day, no one knows who built it.

An image of a shark swimming on the freeway repeatedly fools viewers during natural disasters

The long-running joke traces back to 2011, following Hurricane Irene in Puerto Rico. Since then, pranksters have spread the image after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and Hurricane Laura in 2020. The image is photo-edited, combining a 2005 photo of a kayaker being followed by a great white shark and a photo of a flooded street.

Watch a 4K time-lapse of auroras seen from the International Space Station

The video was created from 711 photos taken by European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli on Sept. 15, 2017, as part of the Vitality, Innovation, Technology, and Ability mission.

Deadliest maritime disaster

In the final months of World War II, 75 years ago, German citizens and soldiers fleeing the Soviet army died when the “Wilhelm Gustloff” sank

Grosse Île, the quarantine island of the Port of Quebec

As tens of thousands of Irish emigrated to North America to escape the Great Famine in the mid-19th century, many port cities set up quarantine areas amid an epidemic of cholera. In Quebec City on the St. Lawrence River, one island became a mass graveyard where over 3,000 Irish immigrants died over a decade as they waited in quarantine. Listen to the history here.

See February 2026's best science images, including raining iguanas.

Scientists discover what looks like an underwater road

Crew aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus discvered a “yellow brick road” that looks it leads to Atlantis. Climage change may affect future ocean studies.