extinction

Ammonites Were Doing Fine Until the Asteroid Hit

I must confess, I think asteroids and I think of movies like Deep Impact or Armageddon! Scientists think that an…

3 months ago

Earth’s Atmosphere is Our Best Defence Against Nearby Supernovae

Earth's protective atmosphere has sheltered life for billions of years, creating a haven where evolution produced complex lifeforms like us.…

4 months ago

41,000 Years Ago Earth’s Shield Went Down

Earth is naked without its protective barrier. The planet's magnetic shield surrounds Earth and shelters it from the natural onslaught…

5 months ago

Does the Rise of AI Explain the Great Silence in the Universe?

Artificial Intelligence is making its presence felt in thousands of different ways. It helps scientists make sense of vast troves…

6 months ago

DART Showed We Can Move an Asteroid. Can We Do It More Efficiently?

Like many of you, I loved Deep Impact and Armageddon. Great films, loads of action and of course, an asteroid…

10 months ago

Did a Comet Wipe out the Dinosaurs?

About 66 million years ago a massive chunk of rock slammed into Earth in what is the modern-day Yucatan Peninsula.…

4 years ago

Scientists Think They Know What Caused the Deadliest Mass Extinction in the History of the Earth

Humanity can have a love/hate relationship with itself, but there's no denying that we're the pinnacle of evolution on Earth…

4 years ago

A Supernova Exploded Dangerously Close to Earth 2.5 Million Years Ago

In its 4.5 billion year history, Earth has had to run the gauntlet. Numerous catastrophes have imperilled the planet, from…

4 years ago

A New Mass Extinction has been Discovered, Wiping Out Life 233 Million Years Ago, and Leading to the Rise of the Dinosaurs

Most everybody knows that the dinosaurs perished rapidly in a tumultuous extinction, caused by an asteroid strike about 66 million…

4 years ago

Did Snowball Earth Happen Because of a Sudden Drop in Sunlight?

Hundreds of millions of years ago, Earth went through two episodes of severe glaciation. These two episodes—the Sturtian and the…

4 years ago