Today (June 18), a global team of researchers using lidar technology discovered the lost city of Mahendraparvata underneath the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The unobtrusive scanning method allowed researchers to unearth an entire network of streets and city blocks without harming the priceless structures above.

Although lidar uses sophisticated technology, there's nothing mysterious about how it works, or why it presents so many opportunities for researchers of all stripes.