How It Works

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? •...