Evolution of Earth’s First Animals Caused Global Warming
The evolution of Earth’s first animals more than 500 million years ago caused global warming, new research shows. Some 520-540 million years ago, animal life…
Earth News
Microbial Continental Ecosystems Helped Seed Ancient Seas
Like our oceans, today’s continents are brimming with life. Yet billions of years ago, before the advent of plants, continents would have appeared barren. These…
Scientists Reveal How And Why Antarctica’s Glaciers Are Changing
New research review provides insights into the continent’s response to climate warming. Scientists from the University of Maryland, the University of Leeds and the University…
NASA’s Worldview Puts 20 Years of Earth Data at Your Fingertips
Powerful Earth-observing instruments aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites, launched in 1999 and 2002, respectively, have observed nearly two decades of planetary change. Now, for…
Deep-Sea Volcanic Springs Aid the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Off the coast of Hawaii’s Big Island and more than 3,000 feet beneath the ocean surface lie the warm, bubbling springs of a volcano —…
Space Storm Hunter Captures First Images and Data
As the International Space Station flew over the Indonesian coast of Sumatra on an April night, lightning from a thunderstorm reached the upper layers of…
How Energy Dissipates Outside Earth’s Magnetic Field
Earth’s magnetic field provides an invisible but crucial barrier that protects Earth from the solar wind–a stream of charged particles launched from the sun’s outer…
International Space Station Image of Mount Rainier
NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold captured this clear view of Mount Rainier National Park as the International Space Station orbited above at about 17,500 miles per…
Suomi NPP Satellite Views Aurora Borealis Over North America
Our Sun provides the light and heat that energizes our plants, our solar panels and our weather, among other things. But its influence stretches over…
23 Stunning Specimens of California Gold on Display
The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History is having a gold rush — one in which prospectors can gaze at glittering specimens of radiating golden…
International Space Station Investigates Thunderstorms in Earth’s Upper Atmosphere
Thunderstorms in Earth’s upper atmosphere remain something of a mystery. Scientists cannot reach them directly with instruments; they are too high for balloons and too…
Scientists Believe Tiny Sea Creatures Hold Secrets to Earth’s Climate
Each new season brings change. Seasonal change on land is something that we’re familiar with and adjust to regularly. But what happens to billions of…
Lunar Rocks Reveal a Different Story About Earth’s Early Days
Up until about ten years ago, scientists thought they had a pretty good picture of how the moon and Earth came to co-exist. Then more…
Scientists Identify Key Ingredients When First Organisms Appeared on Earth
Large concentrations of sulfites and bisulfites in shallow lakes may have set the stage for Earth’s first biological molecules. Around 4 billion years ago, Earth…
Scientists Discover Bits of the Solar System in an Antarctic Glacier
On rare calm days, the most striking thing you notice at an altitude of more than 8,000 feet on an Antarctic glacier is the silence….
New Research Details the Net Retreat of Antarctic Glacier Grounding Lines
Antarctica’s great ice sheet is losing ground as it is eroded by warm ocean water circulating beneath its floating edge, a new study has found….
Arctic Sea Ice a Spring Hazard for North Atlantic Ships
More Arctic sea ice is entering the North Atlantic Ocean than before, making it increasingly dangerous for ships to navigate those waters in late spring,…
Scientists May Have to Reinterpret Seismic Maps of the Earth’s Interior
When an earthquake strikes, nearby seismometers pick up its vibrations in the form of seismic waves. In addition to revealing the epicenter of a quake,…