Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2021

Diamonds need an electric zap to crystallize deep inside Earth

Before diamonds can begin growing deep underground in Earth's mantle, they need a little zap from an electric field, a new study finds. In lab-based experiments, scientists mimicked conditions in the mantle — the layer just beneath Earth's crust — and found that diamonds grew only when exposed to an...

Jan 31, 2021

Bermuda's hurricanes are twice as strong as they were six decades ago

Hurricanes are blasting Bermuda with wind speeds that have more than doubled in strength over the last 66 years, due to rising ocean temperatures in the region as a result of climate change, according to a new study. Within a 62-mile (100 kilometers) radius of Bermuda, the average maximum wind...

Jan 31, 2021

Vampire squid fossil 'lost' during the Hungarian Revolution rediscovered

Vampire squid have been lurking in the dark corners of the ocean for 30 million years, a new analysis of a long-lost fossil finds. Modern-day vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) can thrive in deep, oxygen-poor ocean water, unlike many other squid species that require shallower habitat along continental shelves. Few fossil...

Nov 30, 2022

Which is the largest continent? The smallest?

Hundreds of millions of years ago, a supercontinent called Pangaea formed. For about 125 million years, it contained almost all of the dry land on Earth. Since then, chunks of Pangaea have drifted apart and recombined in new ways. So which is the largest continent today? And what about the...

Nov 30, 2022

25 breathtaking images of the northern lights

When the nights grow longer and the days grow cooler, the skies in the most northern and southern latitudes may light up in green and blue. These auroras, also known as the northern lights, occur when charged particles streaming from the sun slam into our atmosphere and interact with nitrogen...

Nov 30, 2022

10 stunning shots of Earth from space in 2022

Earth-orbiting satellites and astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) have provided us with a whole new perspective of our planet in recent decades, and 2022 has been no different. From bizarre blue blobs and a silver swirling sea to undersea volcanoes and wandering icebergs, here are some of...

Aug 31, 2022

Why doesn’t the autumnal equinox fall on the same day each year?

Autumn is right around the corner for everyone in the Northern Hemisphere, while those in the Southern Hemisphere are gearing up for warmer spring weather. Depending on the part of the world in which you live, the season will change on either Sept. 22 or 23. That's because the equinox...

Jul 31, 2022

Walk with dinosaurs in this puzzle-packed edition of Future Genius, now available on Amazon

Dinosaurs are roaming free in a new special edition of Future Genius dedicated to the largest reptiles to ever roam the Earth. From the makers of How It Works magazine, Future Genius is a magazine that's bursting with activities to encourage and maintain children's inquisitive minds. In this special edition,...

Jul 31, 2022

Foot floating in a Yellowstone hot spring leaves more questions than answers

A foot found floating in a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park has been linked to a July 31 death. On Aug. 16, a park employee found the foot, still encased in a shoe, in Abyss Pool, one of the deepest hot springs in Yellowstone. In a statement today (Aug....

Jul 31, 2022

Document supposedly written by Galileo is a fake

A handwritten document thought to have been penned by Galileo Galilei is actually a forgery, the University of Michigan has announced. The single piece of paper was a jewel of the collection of the University of Michigan Library, according to a statement from the library. But an internal investigation by...

Jun 30, 2022

Earth's crust is dripping 'like honey' into its interior under the Andes

Earth's crust is dripping like honey into our planet's hot interior beneath the Andes mountains, scientists have discovered. By setting up a simple experiment in a sandbox and comparing the results to actual geological data, researchers have found compelling evidence that Earth's crust has been avalanched away across hundreds of...

Jun 30, 2022

Video shows raging floods surging in Yellowstone

Water churns in an angry brown torrent, trees collapse as the banks underneath them vanish in the spray, and roads crumble, asphalt carried downriver as if it were driftwood. A newly released video captures the destruction from the historic June 13 flood in Yellowstone National Park, as the raging torrent...

May 31, 2022

'Lost tapes' from Chernobyl show the haunting fallout of the nuclear disaster

Haunting scenes of the death, destruction and sickness that followed the Chernobyl meltdown 36 years ago — the deadliest nuclear accident of all time — were recorded on film and video but remained hidden for decades. Now, these previously unknown stories are finally coming to light, in a new HBO...

May 31, 2022

Which is colder: The North or South Pole?

The North Pole and South Pole are the coldest places on Earth. However, as similar as these areas might seem, one is far icier than the other. So, which pole is colder? Both the North Pole and South Pole are cold because their positions at the top and bottom of...

Apr 30, 2022

Whirlpools: Facts, formation and survival tips

Fast-flowing currents in oceans and rivers constantly change direction. Whirlpools are phenomena that form when water moving in two different directions comes into contact with each other and interact in an unusual way. They can't continue to travel at the same speed and direction through each other, so they are...