Planet Earth news, feature and articles

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A collage with an illustration of DNA
Invisible DNA lurks everywhere in the environment — and we're on the verge of decoding its secrets Environments are littered with the DNA of the creatures that inhabit them. Analyzing it could provide a real-time view of how our planet is changing.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.
Incredible places: A window onto extraordinary landscapes on Earth Every week, we open a window onto an incredible place and highlight the fantastic history and science behind it.
A composite image of various photos of planet Earth taken from space by satellites or astronauts.
Earth from space — Incredible images of our planet from above Satellite imagery and astronaut photos provide a unique perspective of our planet. These aerial snaps can also highlight rare phenomena from a wide range of scientific disciplines including climate change, meteorology, animal behavior, volcanology, marine science and many more. Every week, we take a bird's eye view of Earth and explain what's really happening in these incredible images.

Latest about Planet Earth

A photo of the doomsday clock with its hands near midnight and the text "It is 89 seconds to midnight"

Doomsday Clock is now 89 seconds to midnight, the closest yet to catastrophe

By Stephanie Pappas published

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved its Doomsday Clock closer to Armageddon than ever before.

Planet Earth
A rendering of a woolly mammoth walking through a snowy landscape

Last ice age quiz: How much do you know about Earth's frosty past?

By Sascha Pare published

How did woolly mammoths survive the last ice age? And how thick was the ice over New York City? Test your knowledge by taking our quiz.

Planet Earth
A satellite photo of thick clouds with a gap showing Mount Vesuvius below

Italy's 'ticking time bomb' plays peek-a-boo through a mysterious hole in the clouds

By Harry Baker published

Earth from space This 2022 satellite photo shows the summit of "one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes," Mount Vesuvius, peering up through a strange gap in the clouds.

Earth from space
Firefighters work to put out the Palisades fire

'We are creating the fire equivalent of an ice age': Humans have plunged Earth into the 'Pyrocene'

By Stephen Pyne published

Humans have become a geologic force by cooking the planet — using fire on a scale that is altering land, water, air and ecosystems.

Wildfires
Melting icebergs are seen on Horseshoe Island as Turkish scientists conduct fieldwork on Horseshoe Island within 7th National Antarctic Science Expedition

How is the ocean melting Antarctica? We're starting to figure it out

By Madelaine Gamble Rosevear, Ben Galton-Fenzi, Bishakhdatta Gayen, Catherine Vreugdenhil published

Antarctica is melting, and crucial details are beginning to come into focus of exactly how it's happening.

Antarctica
3D background with part of surreal alien planet earth with stone rock mountain structure inside with scratched damaged rough surface and big gap between cliffs with neon azure blue light inside.

Mariana Trench quiz: How deep is your knowledge?

By Christina Hughes published

How much do you know about one of the most mysterious places on Earth?

Rivers & Oceans
A photo of pink and green auroras

Earth's elusive 'ignorosphere' could shed new light on auroras

By Tereza Pultarova published

We know very little about some parts of Earth's atmosphere.

Planet Earth
A whitebark pine subfossil revealed beneath a melting ice patch in the Yellowstone region.

Scientists discover pristine ancient forest frozen in time in Rocky Mountains

By K.R. Callaway published

A melting ice patch in the Rocky Mountains uncovered an ancient forest, and these trees have stories to tell about dynamic landscapes and climate change.

Plants
A lake with brown water

Catastrophic tipping point in Greenland reached as crystal blue lakes turn brown, belch out carbon dioxide

By Patrick Pester published

Record heat and rain turned thousands of Greenland lakes brown in 2022 as they hit a tipping point and began emitting carbon dioxide.

Climate Change
View of the Pamukkale travertines in orange-pink light. We see rocky mountains in the background and pools of spring water in the foreground.

Pamukkale: Turkey's 'cotton castle' of white limestone that inspired an ancient cult

By Sascha Pare published

The Pamukkale travertines are limestone slopes and thermal water pools that have attracted visitors since before the days of Ancient Greece, when the spa town of Hierapolis was founded at the top.

Geology
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