What geology reveals about North Korea's nuclear weapons — and what it leaves...
Science and technology provide a lot of tools for assessing the nuclear capabilities of countries like North Korea.But Pyongyang tightly guards the nature of its development efforts, and scientific...
View ArticleScientists have discovered a mysterious lump on the moon's far side, and it's...
Earth's moon may be hiding a giant metallic lump beneath an impact crater called the South Pole-Aitken Basin.The feature may be the core of an asteroid or planetary chunk, or possibly a frozen ocean of...
View ArticleIncredible videos show California's biggest earthquake in 20 years rippling...
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck near Ridgecrest, California on July 4.It was the state's biggest earthquake since the Loma Prieta temblor of 1989.Hundreds of seismometers— sensors embedded into the...
View ArticleA lost 8th continent is hidden nearly 1,000 miles under Europe, new research...
Hundreds of millions of years ago, Earth had one giant supercontinent named Pangea.Pangea eventually broke up into smaller land masses, which then fragmented further and became our modern-day...
View ArticleEarth had life 3.5 billion years ago, a new study confirms — making a set of...
Scientists discovered what they thought were 3.5 billion-year-old fossils in western Australia almost 40 years ago. A new study reveals that these rocks did indeed contain organic life — making them...
View ArticleThe biggest volcano eruptions in recorded history
The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) ranks volcano eruptions by size and power. The scale goes from VEI-0 to VEI-8 and measures ash, lava, and rock ejected.VEI-1 is a gentle eruption that can happen...
View ArticleAt least 16 people are dead after a New Zealand volcano erupted. Experts say...
At least 16 people have died, two are still missing, and two dozen were injured after one of New Zealand's most active volcanoes erupted on December 9. Over the last month, New Zealand's geological...
View ArticleOne of the biggest meteorite crashes in Earth's history flung debris across 3...
A 1.2-mile-wide meteorite struck Earth 800,000 years ago.Scientists have long known when the space rock hit and how far debris scattered, but they couldn't find the spot where the meteorite made...
View ArticleScientists pinpointed the oldest meteor crater ever found. When the space...
A meteorite hit Western Australia 2.2 billion years ago, leaving a 40-mile-wide crater.In a study, scientists determined that crater was the oldest on record.Researchers think that when the meteorite...
View ArticleThe most detailed map of the moon's geology ever released may help astronauts...
The US Geologic Survey (USGS) just released the most detailed map ever of moon's surface features and geology as a spinning 3D moon.The map shows brightly colored spots on the lunar surface,...
View ArticleA chunk of the Earth's magnetic field is weakening, which could wreak havoc...
Earth's magnetic field protects the planet from deadly solar radiation, but it isn't static.It has gotten 9% weaker, on average, in the last 200 years.Satellites that keep tabs on the field show that...
View ArticleEarth's magnetic field first formed thanks to a magma ocean, research shows....
Our planet's magnetic field, which protects our atmosphere from deadly solar winds, has been in place for at least 3.4 billion years.For the last 1 billion years, a swirling layer of liquid metal has...
View ArticleNew maps reveal details about the size and shape of Earth's lost 8th...
Scientists confirmed the existence of an eighth continent, called Zealandia, under New Zealand and the surrounding ocean in 2017.Because 94% of Zealandia's 2 million square miles are underwater,...
View ArticleEarth's protective magnetic field may change direction 10 times faster than...
Earth's magnetic field protects the planet from solar radiation, but it isn't static.The field's strength, direction, and magnetic north and south poles fluctuate over time.A new study suggests the...
View ArticleArchaeologists have solved a longstanding mystery about Stonehenge: the...
Stonehenge, a 5,000-year-old monument in the UK, was erected using two types of stones.Archaeologists traced one stone type — the smaller bluestones — to a site in Wales. But the origins of...
View ArticleA growing dent in Earth's magnetic field could wreak havoc on satellites and...
Earth's magnetic field protects the planet from deadly solar radiation, but it has weakened over the last few centuries.Researchers are particularly focused on one weak spot that's growing and...
View ArticleMysterious, 20-million-year-old tunnels in the ancient ocean floor came from...
Summary List PlacementScientists in Taiwan noticed odd, L-shaped burrows in a set of rocks eight years ago. Since the rocks once sat on the Pacific Ocean floor, they thought the tunnels had been made...
View ArticleThe Atlantic Ocean is getting mysteriously wider every year. Researchers have...
Summary List PlacementThe Atlantic Ocean grows 1.5 inches wider every year.That's because the tectonic plates undergirding the Americas are separating from those beneath Europe and Africa. But...
View ArticleWatch the last billion years of Earth's tectonic plate movement in just 40...
Summary List PlacementThe land mass that became Antarctica once sat along the Equator. Over Earth's history, several supercontinents have broken up and come back together like the Backstreet Boys.Our...
View ArticleRemnants of an ancient planet buried inside the Earth may be the cause of a...
Summary List PlacementEarth's suit of geomagnetic armor has a chink, and it's growing.A weak spot in our planet's magnetic field, located above the southern Atlantic Ocean, has been increasing in size...
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