Planet Earth

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Illustration of diamonds erupting from volcano.
Fountains of diamonds that erupt from Earth's center are revealing the lost history of supercontinents Diamonds seem to reach Earth's surface in massive volcanic eruptions when supercontinents break up, and they form when continents come together.
The Ross Ice Shelf, an expanse of ice, with a blue sky and clouds above
Where is the coldest place on Earth? There are some bone-chilling places on Earth, but what is the lowest temperature ever recorded and where was it?
An illustration of Earth 200 million years ago as Pangaea, the last supercontinent, began to break apart.
Columbia, Rodinia and Pangaea: A history of Earth's supercontinents Scientists have identified three definitive supercontinents in Earth's history and predict the landmasses we live on today will come together again in the future.

Latest about Planet Earth

An illustration of Earth 200 million years ago as Pangaea, the last supercontinent, began to break apart.

Columbia, Rodinia and Pangaea: A history of Earth's supercontinents

By Patrick Pester published

Scientists have identified three definitive supercontinents in Earth's history and predict the landmasses we live on today will come together again in the future.

Geology
Rough diamond, precious stone in mine.

Listen to diamonds erupting from deep within Earth in striking animation

By Stephanie Pappas published

Diamonds erupt from the deep as supercontinents break up. Now you can listen to the "song" of these kimberlite eruptions.

Geology
Aerial view photograph of small islands in the Solomon Islands.

'Superstructure' bigger than Idaho has been growing on the seafloor by Fiji since the dinosaur age

By Stephanie Pappas published

Scientists pieced together the history of a huge Pacific plateau and found a complicated story.

Planet Earth
One of the fossilized wood samples discovered on Barro Colorado Island in Panama.

23 million-year-old petrified mangrove forest discovered hiding in plain sight in Panama

By Sascha Pare published

Fossils discovered on Barro Colorado Island suggest central Panama was once home to a vast mangrove forest that was preserved when a volcanic mudflow buried it 23 million years ago.

Plants
The sun shines brightly under a forest canopy that highlights the many leaves and plants underneath.

Fossils locked away for 1.75 billion years hold clues about key moment in Earth's history

By Jacklin Kwan published

Fossils from Australia provide the first direct evidence that photosynthesis was happening at least 1.75 billion years ago.

Plants
Clear night sky with a moon surrounded by a ring or halo with a house, tree and bracken in the foreground

Why does the moon sometimes have a 'halo'?

By Ashley Hamer published

The moon's halo is always 22 degrees wide in the night sky when it appears. So what causes it?

Planet Earth
(Right) A map of vertical land motion on the East Coast; (Left) Primary, secondary, and interstate roads on Hampton Roads, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia with red and yellow indicating areas of sinking.

Satellite images reveal just how much cities on the US East Coast are sinking

By Robert Lea published

"Continuous unmitigated subsidence on the U.S. East Coast should cause concern."

Climate Change
A reconstruction of the pelagic ecosystem and the organisms fossilised in Sirius Passet, revealing how Timorebestia was one of the largest predators in the water column more than 518 million years ago.

'Terror beast' fossils unearthed in Greenland are more than half a billion years old

By Kiley Price published

Enormous for its time period, this newly discovered marine worm likely ruled the seas at the top of the food chain.

Fossils
Cross-sectional illustration of Earth's layers, down to molten core

Earth's core wobbles every 8.5 years, new study suggests

By Kiley Price published

Earth's core isn't exactly aligned with its mantle, which results in a cyclical wobble, new research finds.

Geology
Green northern lights over Sukakpak Mountain in Alaska, USA.

Northern lights photographer of the year winners

By Annie Corinne Shaink published

The winners for the 2023 "Northern lights photographer of the year" include locations from which the northern lights have never been photographed before.

Arctic
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