Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2019

How Do Compasses Tell Which Way Is North at the South Pole?

Imagine you're packing for the trip of a lifetime: Antarctica! You're going to see the South Pole and maybe hang out with some penguins. But how are you going to find the actual South Pole? You might think that you would reach for a compass first. Compasses — navigation instruments...

Sep 30, 2019

This Microbe Is Spreading Antibiotic Resistance to Other Bacteria

Antibiotic resistance is spreading fast all over the world. When infectious bacteria mutate in a certain way and then multiply, they can become resistant to even the most powerful drugs. But research has revealed a worrying alternative way that antibiotic resistance can spread: an organism that passes on its resistance...

Sep 30, 2019

Oobleck's Weird Properties Demystified

A slurry of cornstarch and water is far weirder than the sum of its parts. Move it slowly, and it flows like a liquid; hit it or sheer it quickly, and it locks up like a solid. The goo is so weird that it gained Seussian fame (and a name)...

Sep 30, 2019

The World's Largest Geode Formed When the Mediterranean Sea Disappeared, New Study Reveals

In an abandoned mine in southern Spain, there is a room of pure crystal. To get there, you'll have to descend deep into tunnels, climb a ladder into an inconspicuous hole in the rocks and squeeze through a jagged tube of gypsum crystals barely wide enough for one person. If...

Aug 31, 2019

Another Tropical Storm Could Hit Parts of Mexico and Texas This Week

A second, smaller tropical storm may make landfall in North America this week, following Hurricane Dorian's devastation of the northwest Bahamas. Tropical Storm Fernand formed in the Gulf of Mexico and has triggered tropical storm warnings across the northeast Mexican coastline, from Barra del Tordo to the mouth of the...

Aug 31, 2019

Explorer Becomes the First to Reach Deepest Point in All 5 Oceans

Hidden beneath the Fram Strait, a passage that separates Greenland and Svalbard, lies the deepest point in the Arctic Ocean, where the seafloor plunges some 18,209 feet (5,550 meters) down. And now, explorer Victor Vescovo has become the first person to ever reach it. The diving feat also makes him...

Aug 31, 2019

Texas Is Drowning Under One of the Wettest Storms in US History

Record-breaking rainfall from the tropical storm Imelda is soaking southeastern Texas. Some areas have been swamped with 20 to 42 inches (51 to 107 centimeters) of rain over just three days, causing catastrophic flooding that is among the worst in U.S. history. Imelda, the first named storm to strike this...

Jul 31, 2019

Greenland Lost 217 Billion Tons of Ice Last Month

A staggering 217 billion tons (197 billion metric tons) of meltwater flowed off of Greenland's ice sheet into the Atlantic Ocean this July. The worst day of melting was July 31, when 11 billion tons (10 billion metric tons) of melted ice poured into the ocean. This massive thaw represents...

Jul 31, 2019

Trump Administration Guts Endangered Species Act

Back in May, the United Nations warned that 1 million species are at risk of extinction, and that time is running out to save them — posing a severe risk to human life. Now, the Trump administration has significantly weakened the Endangered Species Act, a bipartisan 1973 law designed to...

Jul 31, 2019

Smoke from Burning Amazon Turns São Paulo Afternoon into Midnight

There's so much smoke from wildfires in the Amazon rainforest that São Paulo plunged into darkness on Monday afternoon (Aug. 19), with day turning into night. The atmosphere, reminiscent of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings, was a reminder that forest fires in the Amazon have surged 82% this...

Jul 31, 2019

We'd Better Retreat from the Coasts While We Still Can, Scientists Urge Amid Climate Crisis

As many as 1 billion people are expected to be forced out of their homes by the droughts, floods, fires and famines associated with runaway climate change over the next 30 years — and they all have to go somewhere. This massive global exodus can go one of two ways:...

Jul 31, 2019

Watch a Noxious Cloud of Carbon Monoxide Pollution Spill Out of the Burning Amazon

The Amazon rainforest is burning, thanks to hundreds of wildfires set by people. Now, NASA has detected a gargantuan cloud of noxious carbon monoxide (CO) rising from the blaze into the atmosphere. In frightening new imagery on NASA's website, you can watch the cloud evolve between Aug. 8 and 22....

Jul 31, 2019

6.3-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Oregon Coast

A strong earthquake struck off the coast of Oregon today (Aug. 29), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The 6.3-magnitude earthquake occurred at 8:07 a.m. local time (11:07 a.m. ET) about 176 miles (284 kilometers) west-northwest of Bandon, Oregon, the USGS reported. So far, there have been no reports...

Jul 31, 2019

'Extremely Dangerous' Dorian Is Now a Category 3 Storm

Hurricane Dorian has strengthened to a Category 3 storm as of 2 p.m. EST on Friday (Aug. 3). Data from a reconnaissance plane indicate that... maximum sustained winds have increased to near 115 mph (185 km/h) with higher gusts, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an update. Additional strengthening...

Jun 30, 2019

Want to Fight Climate Change? Plant 1 Trillion Trees.

Want to help save the world from climate change? Then grab some seeds, or some seedlings, and start planting trees like there's no tomorrow. At least 1 trillion of them, and fast. That may sound like a lot of trees, but the Earth has room for their gnarled bows and...