Between 1969 and 1971, NCAR scientist John Eddy set out to archive an important part of the history of both photography and astronomy. Eddy collected more than 100 pictures of total solar eclipses taken from the late 1800s into the mid-1900s.

They’ve been called “crop circles in the sky.” Across the world, sightings of oddly circular holes within cloud layers—dubbed hole-punch clouds by scientists—have triggered bemusement and speculation.

New, more interactive and versatile uses of the Web are beginning to enable profound changes in the entire life cycle of scientific publications. Among these developments, one that is currently looming large in many scientists’ minds is open access.