Earth
Mars Once had Enough Water for a Planet-Wide Ocean 300 Meters Deep
New research has shown that Mars may have been covered in a worldwide ocean when Earth was still covered in…
What’s the Best Mix of Oceans to Land for a Habitable Planet?
Earth is about 29% land and 71% oceans. How significant is that mix for habitability? What does it tell us…
Volcanoes are the worst. They’ve caused extinctions on Earth, and probably killed Venus
Is there anything good about volcanoes? They can be violent, dangerous, and unpredictable. For modern humans, volcanoes are mostly an…
Three New Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Discovered, Including a big one That Measures 1.5 km Across
An asteroid 1.5 km across is no joke. Even a much smaller one, about the size of a house, can…
The Most Devastating Solar Storms in History are Scoured Into Tree Rings
Trees are like sentinels that preserve a record of shifting climates. Their growth rings hold that history and dendrochronology studies…
How Dangerous are Nearby Supernovae to Life on Earth?
Life and supernovae don't mix. From a distance, supernovae explosions are fascinating. A star more massive than our Sun runs…
Lucy Took This Picture of Earth as it was Making its Gravity Assist Maneuver
We may take it for granted, but every day we receive picture postcards from the robotic travelers we have sent…
Scientists Discover a New Way Exoplanets Could Make Oxygen; Unfortunately, it Doesn’t Require Life
Finding oxygen in an exoplanet's atmosphere is a clue that life may be at work. On Earth, photosynthetic organisms absorb…
If Earth Were an Exoplanet, it Would Still be Tricky to Figure Out if There’s Life Here
How would Earth appear to alien astronomers? What would their observations tell them about Earth if they searched the heavens…
The Methane Released From the Damaged Nord Stream Pipeline is Visible From Space
On September 26, 2022, leaks were discovered in the underwater Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, located near Denmark…