SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " earth " 1,729 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
There is as much life left to discover on planet Earth as that which is already known
Around 16,000 new species are described each year, but most animals and plants are listed as threatened as soon as they are brought to light
An Engineer Says He’s Found a Way to Overcome Earth’s Gravity
This new propulsion system could rewrite the rules of spaceflight—not to mention completely defy conventional physics.
Something hidden deep underground supercharged this Chile earthquake
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck northern Chile in July 2024—and it wasn’t supposed to be that strong. Unlike Chile’s infamous shallow “megathrust” quakes, this one ruptured deep inside the Earth, where shaking is usually weaker at the surface. Researchers discovered that the quake broke long-held assumptions by tearing through hotter rock layers than expected, fueled by a rare chain reaction that accelerated the rupture.
Did an exploding comet wipe out the mammoths?
Scientists are uncovering new clues that a cosmic explosion may have rocked Earth at the end of the last ice age. At major Clovis-era sites, researchers found shocked quartz—evidence of intense heat and pressure consistent with a comet airburst rather than volcanism or human activity. The event could have sparked massive fires, blocked sunlight, and triggered a rapid return to ice-age conditions. These harsh changes may explain the sudden loss of megafauna and the disappearance of the Clovis culture.
The Galaxy Next Door
The Large Magellanic Cloud—one of our closest neighboring galaxies—is a hotbed of star formation that is visible to both astronauts and Earth-based stargazers.
University in China Begins Installing World's Strongest Gravity Centrifuge to Compress Space and Time
You can take a scale model to Zhejiang University, where the CHIEF1900 gravitational centrifuge can batter it with 300 times Earth's gravity.
Scientists just found the best places to look for ancient life on Mars
Mars once had sprawling river systems that rivaled major watersheds on Earth, and scientists have now identified the biggest ones for the first time. Researchers mapped 16 massive drainage basins where water likely flowed long enough to support life. Even though these areas cover just 5% of ancient Martian terrain, they account for a huge share of erosion and sediment movement. That makes them some of the most promising places to search for ancient life.
Our Favorite Science Stories of 2025
What Earth and space science stories stood out this year?
US government employee shares photo of shocking scene at workplace: 'Unfortunately, I don't think this is a unique story'
E-waste like this is a major problem for the Earth.
Time runs faster on Mars and scientists just proved it
Thanks to Einstein’s relativity, time flows differently on Mars than on Earth. NIST scientists have now nailed down the difference, showing that Mars clocks tick slightly faster—and fluctuate over the Martian year. These microsecond shifts could play a big role in future Mars navigation, communications, and even a solar-system-wide internet. It’s a small time gap with big consequences for space exploration.
Earth’s worst extinction was followed by a shockingly fast ocean comeback
A spectacular fossil trove on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen shows that marine life made a stunning comeback after Earth’s greatest extinction. Tens of thousands of fossils reveal fully aquatic reptiles and complex food chains thriving just three million years later. Some predators grew over five meters long, challenging the idea of a slow, step-by-step recovery. The find rewrites the early history of ocean ecosystems.
Scientists stunned by a massive hydrothermal field off Greece
Scientists have uncovered an extensive underwater vent system near Milos, Greece, hidden along active fault lines beneath the seafloor. These geological fractures act as pathways for hot, gas-rich fluids to escape, forming clusters of vents with striking visual diversity. The discovery surprised researchers, who observed boiling fluids and vibrant microbial mats during deep-sea dives. Milos now stands out as one of the Mediterranean’s most important sites for studying Earth’s dynamic interior.
The Earth Observer: Offering Perspectives from Space through Time
An Intertwined History: The Earth Observer and EOS
Earth's Core Seems to Be Wrapped in Layers Like an Onion, Study Finds
A mystery wrapped in an enigma.
Trump's Crusade Against 'Woke' Climate Research Threatens Solar Science
The National Center for Atmospheric Research not only investigates weather on Earth, but also in space.
71 Hysterical Fails From This Year That Made Me Laugh So Hard I Forgot 2025 Was Hell on Earth
Feeling like I have a LOT to be grateful for in 2025 after seeing how badly some folks put their feet in their mouths this year.
'Putting the servers in orbit is a stupid idea': Could data centers in space help avoid an AI energy crisis? Experts are torn.
Google’s proposal to explore space-based AI infrastructure raises fundamental questions about energy, physics and feasibility – and whether Earth has really run out of options.
Kosovo's 'political earthquake' election sees Kurti resurgent
An emphatic election victory for Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti marks a resurgence for the nationalist leader, ending a political deadlock in Europe's youngest state and potentially determining its domestic and international agenda for years.
Wild things we learned about Earth in 2025
With findings on Earth’s polar extremes and its innermost core, scientists shaped how we look at the planet in 2025 in surprising and fascinating ways.
Thinking through what may be on tap in 2026
When the three-million-year-old bones of Lucy were unearthed in an Ethiopian valley in 1974, paleoanthropologists anointed her as the Eve to all of us. Though her skull was not big enough to accommodate our larger, homo sapiens’ brain, she was a genetic hominid. Although a few bone fragments of a greater age have been discovered […]
2025: The science stories that stopped us in our tracks
From ancient footprints to planet parades, 2025 science amazed us with discoveries on Earth and beyond.
Blue Earth business doing a major expansion
BLUE EARTH— The local area received some good news ahead of the holiday season when Winnebago Manufacturing shared information that they plan on expanding their plant and workforce in the coming year. “One of the reasons for the expansion is that two of our largest customers are growing significantly,” office manager Janet Hassing said. “They […]
Perseverance continues science mission amid uncertainty about Mars Sample Return
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is continuing its mission to collect samples despite uncertainty about when or if those samples will be returned to Earth.
Mysterious State of Matter Discovered Flowing Inside Earth's Core
The 'superionic phase' is real.
What are asteroids really made of? New analysis brings space mining closer to reality
Scientists are digging into the hidden makeup of carbon-rich asteroids to see whether they could one day fuel space exploration—or even be mined for valuable resources. By analyzing rare meteorites that naturally fall to Earth, researchers have uncovered clues about the chemistry, history, and potential usefulness of these ancient space rocks. While large-scale asteroid mining is still far off, the study highlights specific asteroid types that may be promising targets, especially for water extraction.
Scientists say evolution works differently than we thought
A major evolutionary theory says most genetic changes don’t really matter, but new evidence suggests that’s not true. Researchers found that helpful mutations happen surprisingly often. The twist is that changing environments prevent these mutations from spreading widely before they become useless or harmful. Evolution, it turns out, is less about reaching perfection and more about endlessly chasing a moving target.
Belmont Lanterns: Depression-era business promotion unearthed after 90 years
Local history buffs attended a news conference held at The Archive on Kern last Friday for answers to the mystery of the Belmont Lanterns. A contractor on the high-speed rail project discovered 82 large painted
All Animals, Plants, And Fungi On Earth Can Be Traced Back To A Common Ancestor: The "Asgardians"
From humans and dinosaurs to starfish and seagrass, we are all Asgardian.
Breakthrough Listen Searched Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS For Technosignatures During Its Closest Approach To Earth
The team found nine "events" that they investigated further. Meanwhile, another team looked at the "non-gravitational" acceleration of the comet, finally pinning down a better estimate of its size.
We are living in a golden age of species discovery
The search for life on Earth is speeding up, not slowing down. Scientists are now identifying more than 16,000 new species each year, revealing far more biodiversity than expected across animals, plants, fungi, and beyond. Many species remain undiscovered, especially insects and microbes, and future advances could unlock millions more. Each new find also opens doors to conservation and medical breakthroughs.
Scientists warn: We are witnessing multiple irreversible changes in Antarctica
Antarctica faces abrupt, irreversible climate changes as warming nears 1.5 °C, threatening ice, oceans, ecosystems, and coasts worldwide.
Earth's seasons vary wildly, even at the same latitude, new research finds
Earth's seasons look very different at locations not far from each other, 20 years' worth of satellite data reveals.
Hubble spots massive sandwich shaped blob in deep-space
Nicknamed Dracula’s Chivito, the disk is 1,000 light-years away from Earth.
Video: Why Scientists Are Performing Brain Surgery on Monarchs
Scientists in Texas are studying monarch butterflies to understand how they navigate thousands of miles, possibly by sensing Earth’s magnetic field. Alexa Robles-Gil explains how researchers are examining the butterflies’ brains to find answers.
The Metadata Mission: How the ARC Project's Legacy Enriches Earth Science Data
The Analysis and Review of the Common Metadata Repository (ARC) project is transitioning to ESDIS management and will continue to ensure that NASA’s Earth observation metadata records are correct, complete, and consistent.
Caltech pulls off a trick that scientists thought was impossible
Engineers manage to intertwine several qubits at once, taking the biggest leap yet toward a functional quantum internet.
Deep sampling recovers a species forgotten by science since 1906
Researchers rediscover tiny tropical land snails, reclassifying lost species and reshaping the tree of life in Central America.
What is the winter solstice? Storm Team4 Meteorologist explains
Storm Team4 Meteorologist Ryan Miller explains how the Earth's rotation around the sun contributes to the winter solstice and other seasons.
Global warming could trigger the next ice age
Scientists have uncovered a missing feedback in Earth’s carbon cycle that could cause global warming to overshoot into an ice age. As the planet warms, nutrient-rich runoff fuels plankton blooms that bury huge amounts of carbon in the ocean. In low-oxygen conditions, this process can spiral out of control, cooling Earth far beyond its original state. While this won’t save us from modern climate change, it may explain Earth’s most extreme ancient ice ages.
Scientists build a device that pulls electricity directly from Earth's rotation
Physicists at NASA and Princeton generate electricity from the Earth's rotation: could wind energy be our energy source of the future?
Turning plastic waste into valuable chemicals with single-atom catalysts
The rapid accumulation of plastic waste is currently posing significant risks for both human health and the environment on Earth. A possible solution to this problem would be to recycle plastic waste, ...
Earth's Seasons Are Strangely Out of Sync, Scientists Discover From Space
These mismatches have surprising consequences.
This Week in Science: 3I/ATLAS Passes Earth, a Runaway Black Hole, And More!
Our weekly science news roundup.
Science with Stevie: Winter Solstice
Meteorologist Stevie Daniels explains what the winter solstice is and how it impacts various areas on planet earth in this Science with Stevie segment!
Weak ants conquered Earth using sheer numbers
Ant evolution favored large colonies over individual strength.
A Somber Mood at Science Meeting as Trump Budget Cuts Continue
News of the breakup of a leading science institution rippled through an annual gathering of Earth, ocean and space scientists. Many say American science is suffering under the Trump administration.
2 of Earth's rarest lightning phenomena captured simultaneously in once-in-a-lifetime photo
A photographer in Italy captured an ultra-rare elve and red sprite flashing above the Alps in a single breathtaking moment.
An asteroid could hit the moon in 2032, scattering debris toward Earth
Researchers are keeping an eye on the building-sized asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon seven years from now.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is rapidly moving away from us. Can we 'intercept' it before it leaves us forever?
3I/ATLAS has passed its closest point to Earth, meaning we will soon lose sight of it for good. Some scientists want to send a spacecraft to chase down the alien comet — or the next interstellar object.
Five Takeaways From the World’s Biggest Earth Science Meeting
The world’s biggest Earth science conference had a shocking backdrop this year, with the Trump administration announcing that it plans to close an iconic climate research lab. Suffice to say, that changed the tone of the gathering.
Comet 3I/ATLAS reaches its closest point to Earth tonight: How to see it in the sky and online
Comet 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever detected, will swing closest to Earth overnight from Thursday to Friday (Dec. 18 to 19). Here’s how to see it.
Dr. Ed Nowottnick
Ed Nowottnick serves as the program scientist for the Radiation Sciences Program for the Atmosphere within NASA’s Earth Science Division’s Research and
‘Kast’s victory is a political and ethical earthquake’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
Za’atar isn't your average spice blend. Here are a few surprising health perks.
Za'atar adds an earthy depth of flavor to food, but it also comes with a few health perks. Here's what dietitians want you to know.
Life beyond Earth? Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock on the mysteries of space
Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist and science educator who has worked on a number of instruments that are revolutionising our view of the cosmos, including the James Webb Space Telescope. This year she will be giving the Royal Institution Christmas lectures, Britain’s most prestigious public science lectures, in which she will be exploring some of the big questions space science still has to answer.
Science in 2026: the events to watch for in the coming year
Nature - The rise of AI scientists, missions to explore the moons of Earth and Mars and a massive ocean-floor drill are among the developments set to shape research in 2026.
Saturn's moon Titan may not have a buried ocean as suspected, study suggests
New research suggests Titan instead may hold deep layers of ice and slush more akin to Earth's polar seas instead of a buried ocean as long suspected.
A new hunt for an Earth analog begins
The Terra Hunting Experiment will track the wobbles of dozens of stars nightly for years in the most focused hunt yet for an Earth twin.
New Landsat Science Team Announced
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with NASA, has named the new Landsat Science Team that will support the world’s longest-running Earth observation mission for a planned 2026-2030 term.
Fowler in his pomp - on this day in 1995
This was the year when Frank Bruno finally became a boxing world champion, when Oasis let (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Michael Jackson's Earth Song was topping the charts, usurping Robson & Jerome, and Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise had left its musical mark weeks earlier. Curly Watts was marrying Raquel in Corrie, there were footballers serving bans for kicking fans and there were grey kits that were soon to become a thing of controversy.
Resonac CEO on Business Outlook
Hidehito Takahashi, President and CEO of Resonac, discusses his outlook for demand and business growth for the Japanese semiconductor materials supplier, and says the company will seek to procure rare earths from Australia and Europe. He speaks with Annabelle Droulers and Avril Hong on "Bloomberg: The Asia Trade". (Source: Bloomberg)
‘Living rocks’ suck up a lot of carbon
Super tough microbialites are some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth.
Jane Goodall Earth medal to recognise people working to improve the world
Organisers of award in honour of late primatologist hope it will inspire and encourage people to take action
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory Reveals ‘First Light’ Images
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has captured its first images from space, revealing rare views of Earth and the Moon in ultraviolet light. Taken on
Northwest researchers find 6-million-year-old ice — the oldest on Earth
To find the oldest ice on the planet researchers had to go somewhere that’s been cold for a long time — where the ice builds up in layers instead of melting away.
Roundtable: Did COP30 do enough for health?
As the world heats up, human health needs to be much more firmly on the climate negotiations agenda, say four experts
Digging up Shreveport’s past, one small find at a time in privy pits and beyond
History isn’t just taught — it’s unearthed. Meet the curator who finds Shreveport’s past in drawers, dirt and old outhouse pits.
Book Review: ‘Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature’
'Free Gifts' is a book for deep thinkers wishing to delve into the ideas that formed our society and are now remaking the physical planet.
AI Is Getting Dangerously Good at Political Persuasion
For a while last year, scientists offered a glimmer of hope that artificial intelligence would make a positive contribution to democracy. They showed that chatbots could address conspiracy theories racing across social media, challenging misinformation around beliefs in issues such as chemtrails and the flat Earth with a stream of reasonable facts in conversation. But two new studies suggest a disturbing flipside: The latest AI models are getting even better at persuading people at the expense o
People and planet: How human and planetary health are deeply connected
The health of people and the planet are inextricably intertwined, with time spent in nature positively improving our lives and inspiring us to help keep Earth healthy.
Scientists Find the Strongest Evidence Yet of an Atmosphere on a Molten Rocky Exoplanet
Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected the strongest evidence yet for an atmosphere on a rocky planet outside our solar system. Observations of the ultra-hot super-Earth TOI-561 b suggest that the exoplanet is surrounded by a thick blanket of gases above a global magma ocean.
Supernova immersion model suggests Earth-like planets are more common in the universe
Rocky planets like our Earth may be far more common than previously thought, according to new research published in the journal Science Advances. It suggests that when our solar system formed, a nearby ...
Beneath the icy face of Alaska, a long theorized ‘connector fault’ may be revealed in the wake of major earthquake
After a magnitude 7 earthquake ripped under Hubbard Glacier earlier this month, scientists believe a “connector fault” may exist between established cuts in the thick planetary crust.
Comet 3I/ATLAS is getting greener and brighter as it approaches Earth, new images reveal
New images taken with the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii confirm that the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has gotten brighter and greener since its close flyby of the sun in October.
Giant structure discovered deep beneath Bermuda is unlike anything else on Earth
A thick layer of more than 12 miles of rock may explain why Bermuda seems to float above the surrounding ocean.
Ghost particles slip through Earth and spark a hidden atomic reaction
Scientists have managed to observe solar neutrinos carrying out a rare atomic transformation deep underground, converting carbon-13 into nitrogen-13 inside the SNO+ detector. By tracking two faint flashes of light separated by several minutes, researchers confirmed one of the lowest-energy neutrino interactions ever detected.
Scientists have been studying the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e. Could it harbor alien life? : Short Wave
Want to be a top notch candidate for hosting alien life? Then there's a few key requirements you should be aware of: Ideally, you're a large object like a moon or a planet; scientists suspect you also have an atmosphere and water; plus, you should orbit your star from a nice mid-range distance — in the "Goldilocks Zone" of habitability. Until recently, you would be competing against TRAPPIST-1 e. It's a planet outside of our solar system. TRAPPIST-1 e is also only 40 light years away, rocky and the same size as Earth, which prompted researchers to investigate whether it also has an atmosphere — and the potential for alien life. A team of researchers has been investigating TRAPPIST-1 e to learn more about its potential. Their answers, recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, say a lot not just about this exoplanet, but about how scientists should refocus their hunt for alien life.Interested in more space science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Lurie expands inpatient psychiatric unit amid ongoing youth mental health care shortage
The four new beds and 20 new staffers are designed for kids with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities. The $4.5 million addition is a first for the state but can't fill the major dearth in youth psychiatric beds across Illinois.
Turkey’s Largest City Is Threatened by a Lurking Earthquake
Escalating activity along a fault line in the Sea of Marmara is moving closer to Istanbul, seismologists warn.
Early Earth's belly held onto its water
When the early Earth’s magma ocean crystallized 4.4 billion years ago, the deep mantle trapped an ocean’s worth of water, scientists say.
Einstein was right: Time ticks faster on Mars, posing new challenges for future missions
Clocks on Mars tick faster by about 477 microseconds each Earth day, a new study suggests. This difference is significantly more than that for our moon, posing potential challenges for future crewed missions.
Scientists find a massive hidden CO2 sponge beneath the ocean floor
Researchers found that eroded lava rubble beneath the South Atlantic can trap enormous amounts of CO2 for tens of millions of years. These porous breccia deposits store far more carbon than previously sampled ocean crust. The discovery reshapes how scientists view the long-term balance of carbon between the ocean, rocks, and atmosphere. It also reveals a hidden mechanism that helps stabilize Earth’s climate over geological timescales.
Station Trio Back on Earth; Expedition 74 Keeps Up Science, Maintains Systems
Expedition 73 has ended and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim has returned to Houston and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky have returned to Moscow. Expedition 74 is now underway with veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke as commander.
Weather Classroom: Earth Science classes at Merrimack HS
Kevin Skarupa recently spoke to the students in the earth science classes at Merrimack High School.
Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire in a 400,000-year-old hearth
A new archaeological find pushes back the timeline on when humans mastered the ability to make fires, a transformative technology.
Scientists discover a new state of matter at Earth’s center
New research reveals that Earth’s solid inner core is actually in a superionic state, where carbon atoms flow freely through a solid iron lattice. This unusual behavior makes the core soft, matching seismic observations that have puzzled scientists for decades. The mobility of these light elements may also contribute energy to Earth’s magnetic field. The findings reshape models of Earth’s interior and could apply to other rocky planets.
Earthquake Science and Fiction Collide in Tilt
On our Best Fiction of 2025 list, Emma Pattee imagines Portland’s worst Earthquake in her debut novel Tilt
Scientists have calculated just how much faster clocks tick on Mars
Clocks tick faster on Mars than they do on Earth, in part because Mars experiences less gravitational pull from the Sun. Now scientists have calculated just how much faster -- 477 microseconds, on average.
NASA Teams Work MAVEN Spacecraft Signal Loss
NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft, in orbit around Mars, experienced a loss of signal with ground stations on Earth on Dec. 6.
Galleries - Ames Earth Science
Earth Science (SG) Landing – Menu BarHomeWho We AreWho We AreEarth Science Division (SG)Biospheric Science Branch (SGE)Atmospheric Science Branch (SGG)Project Management Branch (SGP)Airborne Science Branch (ASP)What We DoResearch TopicsMissionsStoriesFeaturesHighlights & NuggetsAwards & RecognitionVisiting ScienceContact Us Ames Earth Science Galleries Researchers from Ames’ Earth Science division travel all over the country – and the globe – to study the planet and the processes within. Take a look through the galleries below to get a peak into the aircraft and labs our scientists study in, and the oceans, fires, and volcanoes they are looking at. Complete Ames Earth Science Story/Gallery Repository about Ames Earth Science Galleries Galleries Calibration at the Airborne Sensor Facility Gallery13 ImagesFireSense Fort Stewart Prescribed Burn Campaign Gallery131 ImagesCRATER Gallery112 ImagesSARP East 2025 Gallery30 ImagesSARP West 2025 Gallery33 ImagesOCEANOS 2024 Gallery92 ImagesCoral Reef Gallery53 ImagesFireSense Missoula Deployment Gallery78 Images2023 SARP West Gallery67 Images
Earth's crust hides enough 'gold' hydrogen to power the world for tens of thousands of years, emerging research suggests
Reservoirs of hydrogen gas that form naturally in Earth's crust could help humans decarbonize. The challenge now is finding these accumulations and working out how best to mine them, experts say.
STEM Students Blend Science and Policy in New Capitol Campus Fellowship
Ella Camp (C'26) has always loved science but wanted to pivot from a career focused solely on research. In a new Earth Commons fellowship, she found an opportunity to dig into environmental public policy.
New images show an interstellar comet that will soon make its closest approach to Earth
New images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and a Jupiter-bound mission showcase interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS ahead of its close pass by Earth.
3.0 magnitude earthquake shakes East Bay
A 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck near San Ramon, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.