Earth
In 250 Million Years, a Single Supercontinent will Form, Wiping Out Nearly all Mammals
A recent study published in Nature Geoscience uses supercomputer climate models to examine how a supercontinent, dubbed Pangea Ultima (also…
How Do Lava Worlds Become Earth-Like, Living Planets?
Earth was once entirely molten. Planetary scientists call this phase in a planet's evolution a magma ocean, and Earth may…
Gaia is Now Finding Planets. Could it Find Another Earth?
The ESA launched Gaia in 2013 with one overarching goal: to map more than one billion stars in the Milky…
Engineers Want to Make Methanol by Pulling Carbon Right Out of the Air
Methanol is one of our most extensively used raw materials. It's used as a solvent, a pesticide, and in combination…
Mini-Subs Could One Day Ply the Seas Under Europa’s Ice
The most promising places to look for life in the Solar System are in the ocean moons Europa and Enceladus.…
Interpreting Dune Patterns: Insights from Earth and Mars
A recent study published in the journal Geology attempts to interpret the patterns of dunes, which are sand mounds frequently…
Light Pollution from Skyglow Changes Bird Behavior
In the astronomy community, we typically this of light pollution as an overall negative. Much research points out its negative…
Light Pollution is Out of Control
Concern over global light pollution is growing. Astronomers are noticing its growing effect on astronomical observations, just as predicted in…
The Earth’s Rotational Pole has Shifted from All the Groundwater We’ve Pumped Out
Earth is, in many ways, a water world. Around two-thirds of its surface is covered in water, and the oceans…
The Most Intense Lightning Ever Seen Came From Last Year's Tonga Volcano Eruption
The enormous undersea volcano that erupted in Tonga last year was record-breaking in many regards. It generated the highest-ever recorded…