Earth
Scientists Have Been Underestimating the Asteroid That Created the Biggest Known Crater on Earth
Ancient impacts played a powerful role in Earth's complex history. On other Solar System bodies like the Moon or Mercury,…
The Tonga Eruption Produced a 90-Meter Tsunami
The gigantic underwater Tonga volcano eruption event captured the world's attention in January of this year. People from around the…
This is What a Robotic Explorer Might See When it Reaches Europa’s Oceans
For decades, evidence has been mounting that beneath the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa, a vast ocean exists that…
Would We Have Continents Without Asteroid Impacts?
Early Earth was a wild and wooly place. In its first billion years, during a period called the Archean, our…
Earth’s Magnetic Field Almost Completely Collapsed 550 Million Years Ago
More than half a billion years ago, Earth experienced an almost-complete collapse of its magnetic field. It began in the…
A New Instrument is Going to the ISS to Study the Climate Impact of Dust in Earth’s Upper Atmosphere
People often seem surprised when they learn that NASA doesn't just look out to the other planets, stars, and galaxies.…
The Rapid Changes We’re Seeing With the Earth’s Magnetic Field Don’t Mean the Poles are About to Flip. This is Normal
One of the most interesting discoveries about Earth in the past few decades concerns the Earth's magnetic poles. Paleomagnetic records…
Antarctica Lost an Ice Shelf, but Gained an Island
Collapsing ice shelves on the eastern coast of Antarctica has revealed something never seen before: a landform that might be…
Because of Extreme Drought, Lake Powell is Barely a Lake Anymore
The two largest reservoirs in the United States are now at their lowest levels since they were first created. After…
Primordial Helium, Left Over From the Big Bang, is Leaking Out of the Earth
Something ancient and primordial lurks in Earth's core. Helium 3 (3He) was created in the first minutes after the Big…