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Earth Science
Out of the four rocky planets in our Solar System, only Earth presently has plate tectonics. But billions of years ago, Venus had them, too.
A combination of factors make the weather at New Hampshire's Mount Washington arguably the most brutal in the world.
This minimalist map unties Asia’s mountainous geography, centered on the “Pamir Knot.”
Seventy-five years after the anomaly's discovery, scientists have finally figured out why sea levels are so much lower here.
Chemical changes inside Mars' core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?
McDermitt Caldera, the site of an ancient volcanic eruption, straddles the border of Oregon and Nevada.
The mountain can generate lenticular clouds, which may contribute to its supernatural reputation.
To this day, one cult believes that Lemuria was real, and that its people left us the sacred wisdom to revive their advanced civilization.
Never mind.
A clock, designed and built in Europe, ran hopelessly at the wrong rate when brought to America. The physics of gravity explains why.
Fossil Cycad National Monument held America’s richest deposit of petrified cycadeoid plants, until it didn’t.
If we're going to discuss oceanography and climate change, we should at least identify the currents correctly.
Rocks and minerals don’t simply reflect light. They play with it and interact with light as both a wave and a particle.
The divers spend their waking hours either under hundreds of feet of water on the ocean floor or squeezed into an area the size of a restaurant booth.
A Harvard astronomer went to the bottom of the ocean, claiming he recovered alien technology. But what does the science actually indicate?
The crisis of the Anthropocene challenges our traditional narratives and myths about humanity's place in the world. Citizen science can help.
John Templeton Foundation
There's an entire Universe out there. So, with all that space, all those planets, and all those chances at life, why do we all live here?
Despite the enormous mass of the Earth, simply depleting our groundwater is changing our axial tilt. Simple Newtonian physics explains why.
Origin of life studies have always focused on a set of strict environments that could give rise to life. Ante-life opens new possibilities.
There may be more energy in methane hydrates than in all the world’s oil, coal, and gas combined. It could be the perfect "bridge fuel" to a clean energy future.
"Superhabitable" planets might be real, but Earth is probably as good as it gets.
The cycles of life all rely on the dynamism of the Earth's crust.
Stone buildings in northern India reveal secrets of old structures that could save lives.
Wind farms seem less productive when scientists incorporate more realistic atmospheric models into their output predictions.
Laser-guided lightning isn't the only manmade way to create lightning.
The acceptance of our cosmic loneliness and the rarity of our planet is a wakeup call.
John Templeton Foundation
Nearly 2000 years ago, Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii but incinerating Herculaneum. The most lethal volcanic phenomenon is at fault.
An un-crewed sailing drone discovered the unusually shaped, slumbering seamount.
Frozen adversity set the stage for an explosion of diversity.
From up close, the cracking sound of a thunderclap dominates. From far away, it's more like a drawn-out rumble. Can science explain why?