New research challenges the long-held idea of “geomagnetic saturation,” suggesting Earth’s response to powerful solar storms ...

Here are some ways the world might end in ice, according to science fiction. Earth freezes. Humankind’s remnants huddle in ice caves, fending off giant alien monsters (Snowball Earth). Or people ...

Science has a funny way of humbling certainty. Most of us carry a mental picture of how Earth works that was assembled in school, reinforced by documentaries, and rarely questioned afterward. The ...

Asteroid impacts may have helped kick-start life on Earth by creating hot, chemical-rich environments ideal for early biology. These impact-generated hydrothermal systems could have lasted thousands ...

High-energy particles called galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) bombard unprotected objects in space, often causing damage. Earth, however, is protected by its magnetic field, which creates a protective ...

Planetary scientists have long debated where the material that formed Earth comes from. Despite its location in the inner solar system, they consider it likely that 6–40% of this material must have ...

For the first time, scientists have watched a subduction zone literally fall apart beneath the ocean floor. Using advanced seismic imaging, they found the Juan de Fuca plate splitting into fragments ...