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Cloud-9 is a new type of object: a failed galaxy

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Wednesday, January 7, 2026

This image shows the location of Cloud-9, which is 14 million light-years from Earth. The diffuse magenta is radio data from the ground-based Very Large Array (VLA), showing the presence of the cloud. The dashed circle marks the peak of radio emission, where researchers focused their search for stars. Follow-up observations by the Hubble Space Telescope found no stars within the cloud. The few objects that appear within its boundaries are background galaxies. Before the Hubble observations, scientists could argue that Cloud-9 is a faint dwarf galaxy whose stars could not be seen with ground-based telescopes due to the lack of sensitivity. Image via NASA/ ESA/ G. Anand (STScI)/ and A. Benitez-Llambay (Univ. of Milan-Bicocca). Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI). Cloud-9 is a new kind of object. Astronomers have identified the first-known starless, gas-rich, dark-matter-dominated cloud. They believe it’s a relic from the early universe. It’s a failed galaxy. Cloud-9 contains abundant neutral hydrogen but no stars. Its existence suggests there are many other small, dark matter-dominated structures in the universe. The lack of stars in Cloud-9 provides a unique window into the intrinsic properties of dark-matter clouds. Future surveys should help discover more of these relics. ESA published this original article on January 5, 2026. Edits by EarthSky. EarthSky’s 2026 lunar calendar is available now. Get yours today! Makes a great gift. Cloud-9 is a new type of object: a failed galaxy A team using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object. It’s a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud that astronomers consider a relic or remnant of early galaxy formation. Nicknamed Cloud-9, this is the first confirmed detection of an object of its type in the universe. The finding furthers the understanding of galaxy formation, the early universe and the nature of dark matter itself. Principal investigator Alejandro Benitez-Llambay of the Milano-Bicocca University in Milan, Italy, said: This is a tale of a failed galaxy. In science, we usually learn more from the failures than from the successes. In this case, seeing no stars is what proves the theory right. It tells us that we have found in the local universe a primordial building block of a galaxy that hasn’t formed. Team member Andrew Fox of AURA/STScI for the European Space Agency added: This cloud is a window into the dark universe. We know from theory that most of the mass in the universe is expected to be dark matter, but it’s difficult to detect this dark material because it doesn’t emit light. Cloud-9 gives us a rare look at a dark-matter-dominated cloud. The Astrophysical Journal Letters published the peer-reviewed result on November 10, 2025. And the team presented the results at a press conference at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January 5, 2026. The relic is a RELHIC Astronomers call the object a Reionization-Limited H I Cloud, or RELHIC. The term H I refers to neutral hydrogen. And RELHIC describes a natal hydrogen cloud from the universe’s early days, a fossil leftover that has not formed stars. For years, scientists have looked for evidence of such a theoretical phantom object. It wasn’t until they turned Hubble toward the cloud, confirming that it is indeed starless, that they found support for the theory. Lead author Gagandeep Anand of STScI said: Before we used Hubble, you could argue that this is a faint dwarf galaxy that we could not see with ground-based telescopes. They just didn’t go deep enough in sensitivity to uncover stars. But with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, we’re able to nail down that there’s nothing there. The discovery of this relic cloud was a surprise. Team member Rachael Beaton of STScI said: Among our galactic neighbors, there might be a few abandoned houses out there. RELHICs are thought to be dark-matter clouds that were not able to accumulate enough gas to form stars. They represent a window into the early stages of galaxy formation. Cloud-9 suggests the existence of many other small, dark matter-dominated structures in the universe … other failed galaxies. This discovery provides new insights into the dark components of the universe that are difficult to study through traditional observations, which focus on bright objects like stars and galaxies. Cloud-9 is different from other hydrogen clouds Scientists have been studying hydrogen clouds near the Milky Way for many years. These clouds tend to be much bigger and irregular than Cloud-9. Compared with other observed clouds, Cloud-9 is smaller, more compact and highly spherical. That makes it look very different from other clouds. The core of this object is composed of neutral hydrogen and is about 4,900 light-years in diameter. The hydrogen gas in Cloud-9 is approximately 1 million times the mass of the sun. But if the pressure of the gas is balancing the gravity of the dark matter cloud, which it appears to be, Cloud-9 must be heavily dominated by dark matter, at about 5 billion solar masses. Cloud-9 is an example of the structures and the mysteries that don’t involve stars. Just looking at stars doesn’t give the full picture. Studying the gas and dark matter helps provide a more complete understanding of what’s going on in these systems in a way we wouldn’t otherwise know. Observationally, identifying these failed galaxies is challenging because nearby objects outshine them. Such systems are also vulnerable to environmental effects like ram-pressure stripping, which can remove gas as the cloud moves through intergalactic space. These factors further reduce their expected numbers. Cloud-9 is a faint and dark failed galaxy. This image, without the overlay of radio data from the Very Large Array, shows how it remains hidden in visible light alone. Image via NASA/ ESA/ G. Anand (STScI)/ and A. Benitez-Llambay (Univ. of Milan-Bicocca). Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI). The discovery of this unique object The starless relic was discovered three years ago as part of a radio survey by the Five-hundred-meter (1,640 feet) Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in Guizhou, China. The Green Bank Telescope and the Very Large Array facilities in the United States later confirmed the finding. But only with Hubble could researchers definitively determine that the failed galaxy contains no stars. Cloud-9 was simply named sequentially, having been the ninth gas cloud identified on the outskirts of a nearby spiral galaxy, Messier 94 (M94). The cloud is close to M94 and appears to have a physical association with the galaxy. High-resolution radio data show slight gas distortions, possibly indicating interaction between the cloud and galaxy. The cloud may eventually form a galaxy in the future, provided it grows more massive. Although astronomers are still speculating how that would occur. If it were much bigger – say, more than 5 billion times the mass of our sun – it would have collapsed, formed stars and become a galaxy that would be no different than any other galaxy we see. If it were much smaller than that, the gas could have been dispersed and ionized and there wouldn’t be much left. But it’s in a sweet spot where it could remain as a RELHIC. The lack of stars in this object provides a unique window into the intrinsic properties of dark matter clouds. The rarity of such objects and the potential for future surveys is expected to enhance the discovery of more of these failed galaxies, resulting in insights into the early universe and the physics of dark matter. Bottom line: Cloud-9 is the first example astronomers have found of a failed galaxy. It contains no stars but is home to dark matter. Source: The First RELHIC? Cloud-9 is a Starless Gas Cloud Via ESA Read more: Did we just see dark matter? Scientists express skepticism Read more: Dark matter might leave a colorful ‘fingerprint’ on lightThe post Cloud-9 is a new type of object: a failed galaxy first appeared on EarthSky.

Cloud-9 is the 1st example astronomers have found of a failed galaxy. Hubble found the galaxy contains no stars, but it is home to dark matter. The post Cloud-9 is a new type of object: a failed galaxy first appeared on EarthSky.

Cloud-9: A purplish glow with a dotted circle near the center of the concentration on a background of galaxies.
This image shows the location of Cloud-9, which is 14 million light-years from Earth. The diffuse magenta is radio data from the ground-based Very Large Array (VLA), showing the presence of the cloud. The dashed circle marks the peak of radio emission, where researchers focused their search for stars. Follow-up observations by the Hubble Space Telescope found no stars within the cloud. The few objects that appear within its boundaries are background galaxies. Before the Hubble observations, scientists could argue that Cloud-9 is a faint dwarf galaxy whose stars could not be seen with ground-based telescopes due to the lack of sensitivity. Image via NASA/ ESA/ G. Anand (STScI)/ and A. Benitez-Llambay (Univ. of Milan-Bicocca). Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI).
  • Cloud-9 is a new kind of object. Astronomers have identified the first-known starless, gas-rich, dark-matter-dominated cloud. They believe it’s a relic from the early universe.
  • It’s a failed galaxy. Cloud-9 contains abundant neutral hydrogen but no stars. Its existence suggests there are many other small, dark matter-dominated structures in the universe.
  • The lack of stars in Cloud-9 provides a unique window into the intrinsic properties of dark-matter clouds. Future surveys should help discover more of these relics.

ESA published this original article on January 5, 2026. Edits by EarthSky.

EarthSky’s 2026 lunar calendar is available now. Get yours today! Makes a great gift.

Cloud-9 is a new type of object: a failed galaxy

A team using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object. It’s a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud that astronomers consider a relic or remnant of early galaxy formation. Nicknamed Cloud-9, this is the first confirmed detection of an object of its type in the universe. The finding furthers the understanding of galaxy formation, the early universe and the nature of dark matter itself.

Principal investigator Alejandro Benitez-Llambay of the Milano-Bicocca University in Milan, Italy, said:

This is a tale of a failed galaxy. In science, we usually learn more from the failures than from the successes. In this case, seeing no stars is what proves the theory right. It tells us that we have found in the local universe a primordial building block of a galaxy that hasn’t formed.

Team member Andrew Fox of AURA/STScI for the European Space Agency added:

This cloud is a window into the dark universe. We know from theory that most of the mass in the universe is expected to be dark matter, but it’s difficult to detect this dark material because it doesn’t emit light. Cloud-9 gives us a rare look at a dark-matter-dominated cloud.

The Astrophysical Journal Letters published the peer-reviewed result on November 10, 2025. And the team presented the results at a press conference at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January 5, 2026.

The relic is a RELHIC

Astronomers call the object a Reionization-Limited H I Cloud, or RELHIC. The term H I refers to neutral hydrogen. And RELHIC describes a natal hydrogen cloud from the universe’s early days, a fossil leftover that has not formed stars. For years, scientists have looked for evidence of such a theoretical phantom object. It wasn’t until they turned Hubble toward the cloud, confirming that it is indeed starless, that they found support for the theory.

Lead author Gagandeep Anand of STScI said:

Before we used Hubble, you could argue that this is a faint dwarf galaxy that we could not see with ground-based telescopes. They just didn’t go deep enough in sensitivity to uncover stars. But with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, we’re able to nail down that there’s nothing there.

The discovery of this relic cloud was a surprise. Team member Rachael Beaton of STScI said:

Among our galactic neighbors, there might be a few abandoned houses out there.

RELHICs are thought to be dark-matter clouds that were not able to accumulate enough gas to form stars. They represent a window into the early stages of galaxy formation. Cloud-9 suggests the existence of many other small, dark matter-dominated structures in the universe … other failed galaxies. This discovery provides new insights into the dark components of the universe that are difficult to study through traditional observations, which focus on bright objects like stars and galaxies.

Cloud-9 is different from other hydrogen clouds

Scientists have been studying hydrogen clouds near the Milky Way for many years. These clouds tend to be much bigger and irregular than Cloud-9. Compared with other observed clouds, Cloud-9 is smaller, more compact and highly spherical. That makes it look very different from other clouds.

The core of this object is composed of neutral hydrogen and is about 4,900 light-years in diameter. The hydrogen gas in Cloud-9 is approximately 1 million times the mass of the sun. But if the pressure of the gas is balancing the gravity of the dark matter cloud, which it appears to be, Cloud-9 must be heavily dominated by dark matter, at about 5 billion solar masses.

Cloud-9 is an example of the structures and the mysteries that don’t involve stars. Just looking at stars doesn’t give the full picture. Studying the gas and dark matter helps provide a more complete understanding of what’s going on in these systems in a way we wouldn’t otherwise know.

Observationally, identifying these failed galaxies is challenging because nearby objects outshine them. Such systems are also vulnerable to environmental effects like ram-pressure stripping, which can remove gas as the cloud moves through intergalactic space. These factors further reduce their expected numbers.

Star field showing distant galaxies and mostly blackness.
Cloud-9 is a faint and dark failed galaxy. This image, without the overlay of radio data from the Very Large Array, shows how it remains hidden in visible light alone. Image via NASA/ ESA/ G. Anand (STScI)/ and A. Benitez-Llambay (Univ. of Milan-Bicocca). Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI).

The discovery of this unique object

The starless relic was discovered three years ago as part of a radio survey by the Five-hundred-meter (1,640 feet) Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in Guizhou, China. The Green Bank Telescope and the Very Large Array facilities in the United States later confirmed the finding. But only with Hubble could researchers definitively determine that the failed galaxy contains no stars.

Cloud-9 was simply named sequentially, having been the ninth gas cloud identified on the outskirts of a nearby spiral galaxy, Messier 94 (M94). The cloud is close to M94 and appears to have a physical association with the galaxy. High-resolution radio data show slight gas distortions, possibly indicating interaction between the cloud and galaxy.

The cloud may eventually form a galaxy in the future, provided it grows more massive. Although astronomers are still speculating how that would occur. If it were much bigger – say, more than 5 billion times the mass of our sun – it would have collapsed, formed stars and become a galaxy that would be no different than any other galaxy we see. If it were much smaller than that, the gas could have been dispersed and ionized and there wouldn’t be much left. But it’s in a sweet spot where it could remain as a RELHIC.

The lack of stars in this object provides a unique window into the intrinsic properties of dark matter clouds. The rarity of such objects and the potential for future surveys is expected to enhance the discovery of more of these failed galaxies, resulting in insights into the early universe and the physics of dark matter.

Bottom line: Cloud-9 is the first example astronomers have found of a failed galaxy. It contains no stars but is home to dark matter.

Source: The First RELHIC? Cloud-9 is a Starless Gas Cloud

Via ESA

Read more: Did we just see dark matter? Scientists express skepticism

Read more: Dark matter might leave a colorful ‘fingerprint’ on light

The post Cloud-9 is a new type of object: a failed galaxy first appeared on EarthSky.

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This state had the most lightning strikes last year, says a new report

Florida has long been regarded as the lightning capital of the U.S. Not last year.

Florida has long been regarded as the lightning capital of the United States — but it may have competition. A new report by environmental consulting firm AEM found that Oklahoma was the nation’s lightning hot spot last year, with approximately 73 flashes per square mile, while Florida was bumped down to second place.The group used data from its lightning detection network, an array of 1,800 sensors, counting more than 88.4 million lightning flashes across the United States in 2025. Most of the flashes featured multiple pulses, or flickers of charge — with about 430 million lightning pulses in 2025.Behind Oklahoma and Florida, Louisiana and Kansas came in third and fourth place, respectively.Part of the reason Oklahoma took the top spot came down to a high number of mesoscale convective systems. Those are large, sprawling thunderstorm complexes and squall lines that are often as wide as 100 miles or more. A wider storm means a more expansive and dynamic horizontal electric field, which tend to be prolific producers of lightning. Florida, meanwhile, gets a seemingly nonstop barrage of summertime pulse-type storms, or individual storm cells that usually bubble up in the afternoon. Each one delivers a few hundred lightning strikes before dissipating an hour or two later, but they add up over time.This year, severe weather over the central and southern Plains drove more lightning to eke out Florida’s long-standing top spot. Last year, Florida was drier than average during the summer, whereas Oklahoma saw its 11th-wettest summer in the past 131 years. That same busy pattern meant lots of lightning.Kay County, Oklahoma, also proved to be the nation’s most lightning-prone county in 2025. The county, which borders Kansas along Interstate 35, averaged 123.4 flashes per square mile, according to the new report.Texas, meanwhile, tallied the greatest sheer number of strikes — partly due to its large size, but it’s also an indicator of its storm-prone nature. The state logged 13 million flashes (bolts of lightning — not pulses). That’s about 1.3 million more than average.As a whole, nation ran about 9.8 percent lightning flashes above last year.The report also focused on specific tourist-sites and airports. Chicago’s Millennium Park was exposed to more than 11,000 lightning flashes, according to the report. And Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport — the busiest airport in the world — dealt with 10,000 flashes.Tiger Stadium (Detroit), Kyle Field (College Station, Texas) and the Cotton Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth) were also the three most lightning-prone stadiums, according to the report.AEM also found a strong correlation between expansive, high-impact severe weather and lightning activity.The report pointed to a devastating tornado outbreak in Arkansas that coincided with the state’s highest lightning activity in April. In Wisconsin, a May 15 peak of lightning activity “marked the start of a billion-dollar tornado and storm event.” And in Texas, its peak lightning day on May 26 coincided with disastrous storms.There were 21 known lightning fatalities in the United States in 2025. That’s on par with the annual average of 20, according to John Jensenius, a meteorologist who operates the National Lightning Safety Council.“Florida led the nation with 4 fatalities followed by North Carolina, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Jersey, and Colorado, each with 2 fatalities,” Jensenius wrote in an email. “The remaining lightning deaths occurred in Mississippi, Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico.”

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California's longest-tenured wildlife department chief steps down after 15 years

Charlton "Chuck" Bonham is leaving the top post at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at the end of the month to join the Nature Conservancy. He departs as the state contends with mounting human-wildlife conflict and disputes over water policy.

Charlton “Chuck” Bonham will be stepping down as director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at the end of the month, after contending with a slew of contentious issues during his long tenure, including the resurgence of wolves and plummeting salmon populations.Starting Jan. 26, Bonham will become the California executive director of the Nature Conservancy, one of the country’s major environmental nonprofits.“After 15 years, I just felt like I gave all I could to public service, and it was just the time for change,” Bonham said at a California Fish and Game Commission meeting this month.Initially appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011, Bonham is the longest-serving director of the agency, which has an annual budget of roughly $1 billion and more than 3,000 employees. It’s wasn’t an easy job, Bonham said. Being the state’s top wildlife manager entails balancing the conservation of animals with the needs of people, including public safety and economic pursuits. A decision that delights animal welfare advocates can anger industry stakeholders (and vice versa).Take wolves. The same year Bonham took the reins of the agency, the first gray wolf the state had hosted in nearly a century wandered in from Oregon. Wolves have since recolonized the state — a development hailed by conservationists as an ecological win but derided by many ranchers whose cattle are slaughtered by the skilled pack hunters.Recently, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife made what Bonham described as a “gut-wrenching decision” to euthanize several members of a wolf pack in the Sierra Valley that was responsible for an unprecedented number of livestock attacks.“I feel like it’s affected my health. It’s been miserable, but it is the balance of the two things that are happening,” Bonham said at the recent commission meeting. There’s the “beautiful recovery” and “what our rural communities are going through.”Then there’s salmon. Bonham’s colleagues have publicly praised him for overseeing the removal of four dams along the Klamath River, leading to a salmon renaissance in their historic habitat. While many see that as a major win, it doesn’t represent the bigger, bleaker picture for salmon in the state. The native fish have suffered steep declines amid drought and human development. With the population so low, commercial salmon fishing has been closed for the last three years — earning Bonham scathing criticism. In an interview, Bonham acknowledged the challenges — particularly those that affect people’s livelihoods — have worn him down. The department is involved with water management, housing development and the energy transition. Compounding the difficulty in addressing such complex matters is what Bonham described as waning civility in public discourse. “I don’t think any individual moment or issue or day for me ever became a tipping point, but I will say cumulative impacts, or effects, is real.”At the recent Fish and Game Commission meeting, Samantha Murray, commission vice president, described him as having a “steady, calm, like, sedate presence,” and hailed his long institutional knowledge. “All we see is the even-keeled leadership in the face of an ever-growing suite of novel challenges related to climate, drought, wildfires, human-wildlife conflicts,” she said.Gov. 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With the snow line edging higher, 186 French ski resorts have shut, while global heating threatens dozens moreWhen Céüze 2000 ski resort closed at the end of the season in 2018, the workers assumed they would be back the following winter. Maps of the pistes were left stacked beside a stapler; the staff rota pinned to the wall.Six years on, a yellowing newspaper dated 8 March 2018 sits folded on its side, as if someone has just flicked through it during a quiet spell. A half-drunk bottle of water remains on the table. Continue reading...

When Céüze 2000 ski resort closed at the end of the season in 2018, the workers assumed they would be back the following winter. Maps of the pistes were left stacked beside a stapler; the staff rota pinned to the wall.Six years on, a yellowing newspaper dated 8 March 2018 sits folded on its side, as if someone has just flicked through it during a quiet spell. A half-drunk bottle of water remains on the table.The Céüze 2000 resort when snow was plentiful.The Céüze resort in the southern French Alps had been open for 85 years and was one of the oldest in the country. Today, it is one of scores of ski resorts abandoned across France – part of a new landscape of “ghost stations”.More than 186 have been permanently closed already, raising questions about how we leave mountains – among the last wild spaces in Europe – once the lifts stop running.It was costing more to keep it open than closed … We looked into using artificial snow but realised that would delay the inevitableAs global heating pushes the snow line higher across the Alps, thousands of structures are being left to rot – some of them breaking down and contaminating the surrounding earth, driving debate about what should happen to the remnants of old ways of life – and whether to let nature reclaim the mountains.Snowfall at Céüze started becoming unreliable in the 1990s. To be financially viable, the resort needed to be open for at least three months. In that last winter, it only managed a month and a half. For the two years before that it had not been able to operate at all.Opening the resort each season cost the local authority as much as €450,000 (£390,000). As the season got shorter, the numbers no longer added up. To avoid a spiral of debt, the decision was made to close.The resort closed permanently during the 2020 winter due to a lack of snow. Photograph: Thomas Valentin/The Guardian“It was costing us more to keep it open than to keep it closed for the season,” says Michel Ricou-Charles, president of the local Buëch‑Dévoluy community council, which oversees the site. Even under the most optimistic projections, the future looked bleak. “We looked into using artificial snow, but realised that would delay the inevitable,” he says.It was seven years before the trucks and helicopters came in to begin removing the pylons. Still, the local community grieved for the small, family-oriented resort, which was host to generations of memories. As demolitions began, they came to take nuts, bolts and washers as mementoes of what they had lost.Degrading wild terrainIn France, there are today 113 ski lifts totalling nearly 40 miles (63km) in length that have been abandoned, nearly three-quarters of them in protected areas. It is not just ski infrastructure. The Mountain Wilderness association estimates that there are more than 3,000 abandoned structures dotted around French mountains, slowly degrading Europe’s richest wild terrain. This includes military, industrial and forestry waste, such as old cables, bits of barbed wire, fencing and old machinery.There are 113 abandoned ski lifts in France, nearly three-quarters of which are in protected areas. Photograph: Thomas Valentin/The GuardianCéüze ski resort is fast becoming one of these pollutants. The little wooden cabin at the bottom of the first button lift is shedding insulation. Ropes once used to mark out the piste hang in tatters and bits of plastic are falling off a pylon. The old sheds at each end of the ski lifts often still contain transformers, asbestos, motor oils and greases. Over time, these substances seep into the soil and water.Corrosion and rust from metal structures left over from the second world war, such as anti-tank rails and metal spikes, have led to changes in plant species in the surrounding area, potentially offering a vision of what could happen if pylons are left to rust over the coming decades.Don’t think that you are making eternal things; they will end up becoming obsolete … ask yourself: what will remain?Nicolas Masson, Mountain Wilderness“In Latin, we say memento mori – remember that you are mortal. Don’t think that you are making eternal things; they will end up becoming obsolete,” says Nicolas Masson, from Mountain Wilderness, which is campaigning for old ski infrastructure to be dismantled to make space for nature. “When you make them, ask yourself the question: what will remain?”Some believe the resorts should remain memorialised landscapes, honouring generations of people who lived and skied here; others believe they should be returned to wild landscapes with their disintegrating machinery removed.Ecologist Nicolas Masson is part of a campaign to dismantle old ski infrastructure. Photograph: Thomas Valentin/The GuardianNature’s recoveryCéüze’s deconstruction started on 4 November 2025, a month before the ski season would once have kicked off. The resort’s ski lifts were airlifted out using a helicopter to minimise environmental disturbance and compression of the earth.French law requires ski lifts to be removed and dismantled if they are no longer in use. The law only applies to ski lifts built after 2017, however. Most last for 30 years, so no lifts would be considered obsolete until at least 2047. The process is also expensive: dismantling Céüze will cost €123,000. This means most abandoned ski infrastructure is left to disintegrate in situ. What is happening in Céüze is rare. With pylons cleared and the resort already closed for seven years, early signs of ecological recovery are already visible. A red haze floats over the white snow: winter berries of the dog rose are sprouting where the piste is no longer mown.Berries can be see on dog rose shrubs which are starting to flourish now the piste is no longer cleared for skiers. Photograph: Thomas Valentin/The GuardianThe berries are important winter food for birds such as the rare red-billed chough, and their thorny stems are used for nest-building come spring. In the summer, orchids and yellow gentians bloom over these hillsides. The hills surrounding the site are classed as Natura 2000, meaning they are home to Europe’s rarest and most protected wildlife.The trees are coming back too. “I don’t know if it would take 10, 20 or 50 years, but this is becoming a forest,” says Masson.A fraction of a degree changes everything in the mountain environment. It’s the difference between snow and no snowWild boar and roe deer living in these forests will benefit from quieter winters. Birds such as grouse shelter from severe cold in winter by digging into the snow, and prefer deep powdery snow – just like skiers. The species is endangered in all the mountain ranges of France.The dismantling of Céüze comes at a time when many spaces for nature are shrinking. Pierre-Alexandre Métral, a geographer at the University of Grenoble Alpes, who studies abandoned ski resorts, says: “There is a lot of debate about the nature of this dismantling – is it just removing mechanical stuff, or are we attempting to put mountains back into a kind of original state?”Ecological recovery can be filled with surprises, he says, noting that the maintenance of pistes can be beneficial to some alpine flowers. “If we let nature come back spontaneously – in a wild, uncontrolled way – there are also risks that some invasive species that tend to be stronger could colonise faster,” says Métral.The hills around the former resort are home to some of Europe’s rarest and most protected wildlife. Photograph: Thomas Valentin/The GuardianThere is scant research in this area, but studies from the Valcotos ski resort closure in Madrid’s Sierra de Guadarrama in 1999 show it led to significant recovery of native vegetation and cleaner waterways, while reducing soil erosion.“These are laboratories of what the mountain could be like in the future with new closures,” says Métral.On the brinkThe question of what to do with these places will play out across Europe’s mountains, and around the world. Skiing is disappearing from many alpine landscapes. “Many lower ones are already closed,” says Masson. “A fraction of a degree changes everything in the mountain environment. It’s the difference between having snow and no snow.”Richard Klein believes the resort should have been saved. Photograph: Thomas Valentin/The GuardianResearch suggests that with 2C (3.6F) of global heating, more than half of existing resorts risk having too little snow. Higher altitude resorts are vulnerable to the loss of permafrost, threatening pylons that have been drilled into it. Some resorts, such as St-Honoré 1500, were abandoned before construction was even completed. Even bigger resorts, which typically have funds to invest in new pistes and artificial snow, are struggling to survive.For some, the loss of Céüze feels premature. Richard Klein,who lives in Roche des Arnauds, near Céüze, feels the ski resort could – and should – have been saved. “It’s a wonderful place to learn to ski – it’s the best. I think it’s really stupid they closed it,” he says. “There were always loads of people.” Klein believes the local authority should have begun using artificial snow, adding: “Now it’s too late.”Yet life has not disappeared from Céüze. In October 2025, the resort’s Hotel Galliard is being sold to a developer looking to open it for events, according to Ricou-Charles. A property developer has bought the children’s holiday residence, and a carpenter has moved into the building where the old ticket office was. The rooms used as a holiday camp for children have cracks appearing down the side, but might open again in the future.“Céüze will continue to live, despite the loss of the resort,” says Ricou-Charles. “We are not mourning Céüze because it is not dead.”On winter weekends dozens of cars still gather in the car park, with people enjoying quieter activities on the hillside, such as walking, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing and sledging.A poster from the resort’s 80th anniversary celebrations. Photograph: Thomas Valentin/The GuardianMasson does not like the term “ghost resort” because it suggests total abandonment when what is happening in his area is more complicated. “People continue to come,” he says. “We don’t need large machines to make mountains attractive.”What happens at Céüze is a glimpse into a future that faces dozens of other small resorts, and mountain landscapes, across Europe. “What is our heritage that we will want to keep,” asks Masson. “And what is just a ruin we want to dismantle? That is a question we have to ask every time, and it requires some reflection.”

Nature
Water
Forests

Lessons on Scaling Gift Economies—and How It Can Help the Planet

From our collaborating partner Living on Earth, public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by Jenni Doering with “The Serviceberry” author Robin Wall Kimmerer.  Robin Wall Kimmerer is perhaps best known as the author of “Braiding Sweetgrass,” a book about living in a reciprocal relationship with other beings and the gifts of the Earth. And […]

Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of “The Serviceberry,” offers ideas rooted in nature for creating sharing economies as a way to bind communities, offer purpose and reduce strain on the Earth.Interview by Jenni Doering, Living on EarthFrom our collaborating partner Living on Earth, public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by Jenni Doering with “The Serviceberry” author Robin Wall Kimmerer. 

Nature

Ministers ‘break word’ on protecting nature after weakening biodiversity planning rule

Housing minister announces exemption to 10% net gain rule in England for smaller developmentsThe government has broken its promise to protect nature by weakening planning rules for housing developers, groups have said.While developers once had to create “biodiversity net gain” (BNG), meaning creating 10% more space for nature on site than there was before the building took place, housing minister Matthew Pennycook announced exemptions to this rule on Tuesday. Continue reading...

The government has broken its promise to protect nature by weakening planning rules for housing developers, groups have said.While developers once had to create “biodiversity net gain” (BNG), meaning creating 10% more space for nature on site than there was before the building took place, housing minister Matthew Pennycook announced exemptions to this rule on Tuesday.Under the new rules developments under 0.2 hectares are exempted from the policy. Analysis from the Wildlife Trusts has found that this means a combined area across England the size of Windsor forest will now not be restored for nature.The move is part of a bigger package to help the government meet its target to build 1.5m homes by the end of this parliament. This includes a default “yes” to suitable homes being built around rail stations, and a possible exemption from the building safety levy for small and medium sized housebuilders.Wildlife Trusts CEO, Craig Bennett, accused the housing secretary, Steve Reed, of breaking a promise to him. He said: “In January of this year when he was environment secretary, Steve Reed made a solemn promise that the government was ‘committed to biodiversity net gain’. Now, as housing secretary, he has broken his word.”Nature groups have also complained the rule change puts private investment in nature at risk. Private firms have already generated £320m into habitat restoration since the BNG rules were put into place in February 2024.Beccy Speight, the chief executive of the RSPB, said: “The decision to exempt sites under 0.2 hectares from BNG flies in the face of the UK government’s promise to be ‘the most nature-positive government this nation has ever had’. It’s a blow for nature, for local communities and for business confidence in the future of BNG.”Wildlife and Countryside Link has warned that exempting so many small sites could still “wreck the policy altogether”, particularly when small developments dominate England’s planning system. About 95% of planning applications are for sites under 1 hectare, 88% under 0.5 hectares, and 77% under 0.2 hectares.Reed said: “Right now we see a planning system that still isn’t working well enough. A system saying ‘no’ more often than it says ‘yes’ and that favours obstructing instead of building.“It has real-world consequences for those aspiring to own a home of their own and those hoping to escape so-called temporary accommodation – we owe it to the people of this country to do everything within our power to build the homes they deserve.”The plans could reduce the need for brownfield sites to deliver BNG. Pennycook announced the government would consult on how to ensure the system supports brownfield-first development, while making it easier and cheaper to deliver biodiverse habitats offsite through simplified rules.The government is currently consulting on whether, and how, nationally significant infrastructure projects such as airports, roads and waste incineration plants, should achieve biodiversity net gain.Nature campaigners have said ministers should hold these projects to a high standard in order to prevent mass habitat destruction.Richard Benwell, the CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “To meet its electoral promise of halting wildlife decline, government should strengthen green economy rules, not shrink them. Rapidly applying net gain to all major infrastructure and stopping developers dodging their environmental responsibilities should be clear priorities, not more carveouts.“So far, this has been a parliament of delay and relentless deregulatory threats to nature. The public outcry in support of net gain must be a last-chance wake-up call that environmental promises weren’t a ballot box bonus. Restoring nature and stopping pollution are a key test of the government’s credibility and it’s time for action.”

Nature
Government
Forests

Suggested Viewing

Salmon Secrets

Fish farming is pushing wild salmon to the brink of extinction. The federal government has promised to remove fish farms from BC waters by 2025, but now industry is pushing back with false solutions. Join Clayoquot Action’s fish farm watchdog program as a team of underwater cinematographers investigates an “experimental” fish farm near Tofino. What they find surprises them, and spells potential disaster for wild salmon. Featuring marine biologist and bestselling author Alexandra Morton, and traditional 'Na̱mg̱is Chief Ernest Alfred, who document the successful resurgence of salmon after the removal of fish farms from the Broughton Area and Discovery Islands.

Land Use
Activism
Nature

In Praise of Insects [Sandbox]

Insects were here before humanity, but often we eliminate them as a nuisance. They are a fundamental element of this world. Without them, most of the plants would not be pollinated and birds would lose their food and become extinct. Despite their vital role, they are silently disappearing at a rapid rate.... without us noticing. ‘In Praise of Insects’ is a project to help us rethink the tiny subtle lives that are so entwined with our own. The common Bluebottle is one of the few butterflies that can be seen in central Tokyo. Even if you occasionally see the butterfly flying between buildings, you can see the miracle of life by closely observing its appearance and growth.

Experimental
Animals
Nature

The Windshield Effect

As a child, Julian and his mother, Sylvie, could spend hours out in nature admiring the soundtrack of the plentiful insects. One day, a grown Julian is out on a run in those same woods and when he takes off his ear buds, realizes he cannot hear anything at all. A trip to the audiologist assures him there is nothing wrong with his ears, but he is still left shaken. Back in the forest, he comes to the realization that the insects themselves have gone silent in a mass die off. Also known as the "Windshield Phenomenon" that documents how bugs no longer splatter on windshields as we drive as insect populations are down more than 45% over the last 4 decades.

Forests
Extinction
Nature

Returning Home

Spoken word poetry short film, written from the Earth's perspective from the beginning of time to present pandemic.

Culture
Nature

Among Giants

Among Giants begins three years into the McKay tree-sit- a response to Green Diamond Resource Company’s clearcutting of redwood forests. Atop his tiny platform a hundred feet up in the ancient redwood canopy, Farmer must battle the elements and avoid isolation as he fights for a sustainable future. The film uses a restrained verite style that reflects the pace of life in the tree village. As Farmer outlasts a vicious storm, counts the rings on a felled tree, and trumps through a recent clear cut, the film asks questions about what it means to follow one’s beliefs and make a difference in the world.

Forests
Activism
Nature

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