A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Indonesia’s Aceh province earlier today, leaving 97 dead and hundreds injured. Though the quake did not trigger a tsunami, it triggered memories of the horrific 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake when more than 100,000 were killed in Aceh alone.
Continue reading Nearly 100 Dead as Strong Earthquake Rocks Indonesia
The sixth mass extinction—the one that seven billion humans are doing their darnedest to trigger at this very moment—is shaping up to be like nothing our planet has ever seen. That’s the conclusion of a sweeping new analysis, which compared marine fossil records from Earth’s five previous mass extinction events to what’s happening in the oceans right now.
Continue reading The Sixth Mass Extinction Will Be Like Nothing In Earth’s History
From deep inside a Siberian mine, researchers have catalogued a series of materials unlike any others yet found in the ground. They do, however, bear a startling similarity to certain lab-grown materials that weren’t thought to exist in nature at all—until now.
Continue reading Strange Minerals From Siberian Mine Are Unlike Anything Found in Nature
Two years ago, Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano erupted—and it kept erupting for the next 181 days, forming the largest volcanic depression ever seen. New research reveals the extraordinary processes that transpired beneath the surface, including the formation of a magma-filled canal that measured a whopping 28 miles long.
Something about the planet Mercury doesn’t sit right with astronomers: It’s too dark. Darker than the Moon, despite containing way less iron. But at long last, scientists have solved the mystery—and their discovery is shedding light on the fascinating past of the Solar System’s innermost planet.
Early last week, around 45 megatons of ice and rock plunged down the southeast flank of Mount Steele in Canada’s Yukon Territory. The avalanche, which occurred in a remote and unpopulated area, was so large that it was initially detected by earthquake seismometers.
Continue reading Satellite Images Reveal a Massive 60 Million-Ton Avalanche in Canada
What’s better than a stop motion explainer on asteroids, comets, meteors, and meteorites? Nothing. Nothing is better.
Continue reading This Claymation Video Will Help You Make Sense of Asteroids, Comets and Meteorites
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