Earth

Arts Jul 30

A geologist’s Brief But Spectacular take on calling out harassment and sexism in science

Uncovering the history of Earth’s climate

To understand the history of climate change, researchers are digging underneath the ocean floor where organisms and plants have accumulated in sediment over millennia. Maureen Raymo studies this science of paleoclimatology using a vast collection of materials at Columbia University’s…

By Hari Sreenivasan, Sam Weber, Connie Kargbo, Theresa Lewis

Yosemite Valley, with the world-famous granite monolith of El Capitan (left) and Half Dome (right), is seen in Yosemite National Park in California April 7, 2008. Photo By Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters

Scientists closing in on the dawn of plate tectonics

The massive slabs of Earth’s crust might have started their journey more than 3.5 billion years ago.

By Shannon Hall, Scientific American

Farewell shot of Uranus' crescent as Voyager 2 departed the icy giant on January 25, 1986. Photo by NASA

Uranus’ magnetic forces switch ‘on and off’

Uranus’ weirdness takes a fresh form via a new model of its magnetosphere, just as NASA mulls a return to the icy giant.

By Nsikan Akpan

Stone fruits that have ripened early because of the drought are seen at a farmers market in Los Angeles, California, United States May 10, 2015. California water regulators last week adopted the state's first rules for mandatory cutbacks in urban water use as the region's catastrophic drought enters its fourth year. Urban users will be hardest hit, even though they account for only 20 percent of state water consumption, while the state's massive agricultural sector, which the Public Policy Institute of California says uses 80 percent of human-related consumption, has been exempted. Picture taken May 10, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson - RTX1CI7Q

How to savor a perfect summer day, in verse

Dungy's new collection of poetry asks us, in spite of the pain or difficulty of being human today, to find joy and vibrancy in our experiences.

By Elizabeth Flock

This Earth-like planet orbits the Sun’s nearest neighbor every 11 days

By Lee Billings, Scientific American

Astronomers find an exoplanet that could be habitable—and it’s as close to us as it could possibly be.

7 DIY experiments you and rapper B.o.B can do to prove Earth is round

By Nsikan Akpan

Because apparently it’s still an open debate...?…

Can you spot your ABCs from space?

By Alexandra Sarabia

NASA tracked all 26 letters of the English alphabet using only satellite imagery and astronaut photography.

What else is possible if space and time can change?

By Sean Carroll

Albert Einstein's theories of relativity state nothing in the universe is constant, except light. Sean Carroll, a CalTech theoretical physicist, explores the mind-bending consequences.