Spacecraft Witness Explosion in Earth's Magnetic Field
Magnetic fields around the Earth release strong bursts of energy, accelerating particles and feeding the auroras that…
Scientists Weighed the Earth Using Ghostly Particles From Space
Scientists have to use some roundabout methods to weigh the Earth and measure what’s inside it—typically, they’ve used…
Newly Detected Vibrations Show Earth's Inner Core Is Solid
Researchers report that they’ve observed seismic waves traversing the Earth’s inner core, allowing them to figure out…
Memory Week, Amazon, and Seafloor Sludge: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week
It’s September 30th, 2018, and the theme of the last week was memory. Not just at Gizmodo, where we wrapped up Memory…
NASA's New Space Laser Will Track Earth's Vanishing Ice
On September 15, NASA will launch a laser 310 miles above the Earth to scan our planet’s ice sheets like never before,…
Diseased Ocean Microbes Could Be Messing With the Weather
Our oceans are brimming with microscopic phytoplankton—plant-like organisms that contribute significantly to marine…
Is The Earth's Mantle Full of Diamonds?
Parts of the Earth’s mantle might be loaded with diamonds, if a new model turns out to be correct. But no, you can’t…
Experiment Could Help Scientists Predict Avalanches Through Sound
It turns out that 8,000 tiny plastic disks in a rotating drum could help scientists develop a technique to forecast…
Satellite Analysis Shows North Korea’s 2017 Nuclear Test Literally Moved a Mountain
By combining satellite radar with seismic data, an international team of researchers has re-assessed the effects of…
Did a Poem About a Horrific Volcanic Eruption Destroy the Norse Gods of Iceland?
New research connects a powerful volcanic eruption—and a medieval poem that conjured memories of the dreaded event—to…
Citizen Scientists Discover New Feature of the Aurora Borealis
It wasn’t scientists who discovered the thin, purple, east-to-west traveling glow in the northern night sky. It was…
Ice Crystals in Diamonds Reveal Pockets of Water Deep in Earth's Mantle
Diamonds, the super-strong and brilliant crystals of carbon atoms produced under the Earth’s crushing pressures, are…
Strange Pole-Shifting Physics Conjures a Truly Alien World
Perhaps there’s a life-supporting, Earth-like planet orbiting close to a red dwarf star many light years away. Perhaps…
Cyclone Remnant Spawns Horrifying River of Rock in New Zealand
Earlier this week, a storm spawned by the former Cyclone Gita swept across New Zealand, damaging buildings, knocking…
Earth's First Land Plants May Have Sprouted 80 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought
For hundreds of millions of years, life on Earth was a purely aquatic phenomenon. The jump from the oceans to the…
Powerful Earthquake Hits Taiwan, Partially Collapses Hotel
A powerful earthquake struck Taiwan today, causing damage and a partially collapsed hotel building, sources report.
Study With One-Word Abstract Finds Moon Phases Don't Predict Earthquakes
It’s not often that science can answer questions with an easy “yes” or “no.” Usually it’s more of an “evidence…
Visit to Biggest Underwater Volcano in Last 100 Years Reveals Deep Sea Mystery
Scientists knew something strange happened when they heard reports of a raft of floating rock near New Zealand back in…
Scientists Observe Strange Double Whirlpool Effect in Ocean for First Time
Slow waves meander westward out in the deep ocean south of Australia. Sometimes they carry with them carry large…
This Musician Is Turning Fast-Melting Glaciers Into Slow Jams
Even if you’re aware that glaciers are melting and sea levels are climbing, these facts can be difficult to connect…