Earth

Most of us have in our busy lives wished there were more hours in the day. That wish actually came true billions of years ago – and that might be why we have so much oxygen now, as photosynthesizing microbes took advantage of the productivity boost.

Around 66 million years ago, a gigantic asteroid smashed into the Earth and ended the reign of the dinosaurs. Now, researchers have discovered direct evidence of this cataclysm – fossilized “megaripples” from the tsunamis that immediately followed.

Double star systems may be hiding masses of potentially habitable Earth-sized planets in their combined glare. Roughly half of all stars are thought to exist in binary systems, in which two massive stellar bodies orbit around a common centre of mass.

Most earthquakes last seconds to minutes, but others rumble along slowly for weeks or months, at low frequencies that may not be felt at the surface. Now researchers in Singapore have discovered the slowest earthquake ever found, lasting 32 years.

It could take Earth’s freshwater ecosystems millions of years to recover from the damage inflicted upon them by human interference, according to a new study that compared the modern day rate of extinction to the event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

A new study has revealed that crewed missions launching to Earth’s moon and beyond may soon be facing a new challenge. Just five years from now, such ventures could be at an increased risk of extreme space weather events emanating from the Sun.

Geologists have studied tiny fluid impurities in diamonds to figure out how old humanity’s favorite rocks might be. They identified three periods of diamond formation in Africa over billions of years, with intriguing implications for ancient Earth.

Scientists have mapped ‘atmospheric rivers’ in Earth’s atmosphere that are responsible for transporting huge quantities of potentially dangerous aerosols around the planet, which eventually descend and impact air quality.

A new study has revealed that Earth’s glaciers have lost a staggering amount of ice over the last two decades, and the rate of loss is accelerating. The global effort used satellite data to track the deteriorating condition of some 220,000 glaciers.

One of the main goals of NASA’s Perseverance rover is to scour the surface of Mars for signs of ancient microbial life. But a new study of the geochemistry of the Red Planet suggests that life could still be thriving below its surface today.

Scientists have developed a new satellite data based early warning technique that could one day be used to predict volcanic eruptions years before they take place, and help decide which volcanoes should be fitted with sensitive monitoring equipment.

Geologists have pieced together an uncertain part of Earth’s ancient history. A team in Australia has found new evidence that suggests the cycle of supercontinents forming and breaking up only started about two billion years ago.