Famously, the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944/45 was one of the largest and bloodiest armed conflict of the Second World War. Taking place in densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg, it was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. Researchers have used drone-mounted LiDAR – which emits pulses of light to create 3D models and maps – to'see through' the thick forest canopy. They found nearly 1,000 features within the landscape, including dugouts, bomb craters and even artillery emplacements where troops positioned their guns. Pictured are LiDAR images from the study.

Old school, new school: The Tampa Bay Rays have two pitchers who have started 20 games this year. One is their ace, Blake Snell, whose 2.03 earned-run average ranks second in the American League. The other is Ryne Stanek, a reliever turned “opener” — in his case, a right-hander who works the first inning or so, followed by a left-hander. In a year in which the Rays lost starters Anthony Banda, Jose DeLeon and Brent Honeywell to Tommy John surgery and traded starters Chris Archer and Nathan Eovaldi, the team leads the AL in ERA since May 19, when Sergio Romo debuted as Tampa Bay’s first “opener.” There is no pitching statistic more derided in sabermetrics than wins for a pitcher.