Nov 25th, 2025 - A rigid ice shell over a shrinking interior makes for pressures low enough to boil. Our exploration of the outer Solar System has revealed a host of icy moons, many with surface features that suggest a complex geology. In some cases, these features—most notably the geysers of Enceladus—hint at the presence of oceans beneath the icy surfaces. These oceans have been ascribed to gravitational interactions that cause flexing and friction within the moon, creating enough heat to melt the body's interior. Something that has received a bit less attention is that some of these orbital ... [Read More]

Nov 24th, 2025 - A long-dormant volcano in northern Ethiopia has erupted, sending plumes of ash across the Red Sea towards Yemen and Oman. The Hayli Gubbi volcano in the Afar region of Ethiopia, located about 800 kilometres (500 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa, erupted for several hours on Sunday morning, leaving the nearby village of Afdera covered in ash. There were no casualties from the eruption, which sent thick plumes of smoke up to 14km (nine miles) into the sky, sending ash clouds to Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan, according to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in France. ... [Read More]

Nov 24th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google About 4.5 billion years ago, a world the size of Mars crashed into Earth and scattered debris that became the Moon. New measurements of subtle chemical fingerprints in ancient rocks now tie that lost world, known as Theia, to the inner Solar System where Earth formed. A team of planetary scientists compared tiny differences in the makeup of Moon rocks, Earth rocks, and meteorites to track where Theia began. The results point to a birthplace close to the Sun instead of the outer Solar System, changing ideas about the stages of planet growth. A collision of worlds The ... [Read More]

Nov 24th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google Volcanic blast power has long been pinned on one main driver: bubbles. As magma rises and outside pressure drops, dissolved gases come out of solution, nucleate bubbles, make the melt more buoyant, and accelerate it upward – much like popping a champagne cork. Enough bubbles, fast enough, and the magma can shred itself into ash, triggering an explosive eruption. But that explanation leaves some awkward exceptions. Several eruptions driven by viscous, gas-rich magma – seemingly perfect candidates for explosive fireworks – have instead oozed out ... [Read More]

Nov 24th, 2025 - Reading time 2 minutes What would happen if you got hit by a primordial black hole? In a study published this summer in the International Journal of Modern Physics D, Vanderbilt University physicist and sole author Robert Scherrer took this question seriously. The bad news is that a large primordial black hole might cause serious injury to the human body—the good news is that there's probably not enough of them for this to ever happen. Primordial black holes are theoretical black holes that came to life potentially within a second of the Big Bang. Some researchers suggest that the ... [Read More]

Nov 24th, 2025 - The Smithsonian National Zoo in D.C. is preparing for the birth of a large "charismatic and charming" animal: an Asian elephant calf. Zoo officials announced Monday morning that an Asian elephant is expected to give birth between mid-January and early March 2026. Elephant pregnancies typically last between 18 and 22 months. It would be the first elephant birth at the National Zoo in nearly 25 years and a first-time pregnancy for Nhi Linh, 12-year-old elephant. Brandie Smith, the zoo's director, said the birth represents hope for the species' future. "The first step to saving any species is ... [Read More]

Nov 24th, 2025 - Scientists dedicate countless years exploring mysteries that few ever notice. Near Baja California, their persistence brought results when a group following an unusual sonar sound encountered a live ginkgo-toothed beaked whale. Until that moment, experts had learned about this species by studying dead specimens. After five years of searching the open ocean, spotting a living one surfacing left the team stunned. Amid the excitement, someone grabbed a crossbow and took a shot. Marine Mammal Science study details how the discovery ties back to 2020, when researchers recorded an unfamiliar ... [Read More]

Nov 24th, 2025 - Megalithic monuments in the otherworldly Orkney Islands remain a fundamental part of the landscape. The Stones of Stenness, a brood of lichen-encrusted megaliths in the far north of the British Isles, could be mistaken for a latter-day work of land art, one with ominous overtones. The stones stand between two lochs on the largest of the Orkney Islands, off the northeastern tip of mainland Scotland. Three colossal planks of sandstone, ranging in height from fifteen feet nine inches to eighteen feet eight inches, rise from the grass, along with a smaller stone that has the bent shape of a ... [Read More]