Researchers in Australia and Germany have found that many diamonds begin life as sediment on the bottom of the ocean, before being swallowed up by the Earth’s mantle and forged into our favorite shiny stones.
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A bombardment of cosmic rays from ancient supernovae may have triggered a series of events that encouraged early human ancestors to walk upright, according to a new study. The cosmic explosion could have helped trigger a shift in Earth’s environment that forced humanity’s fore bearers to adapt.
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Earth is a famously wet planet, but where all that water came from in the first place remains a mystery. New observations of a comet that whizzed by Earth a few months ago show that it contains “ocean-like” water – and this may apply to other previously-dismissed comets too.
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Another 18 exoplanets have been added to the haul, but the difference this time is that all of them are roughly Earth-sized – much smaller than the Neptune-sized average found so far. The discovery was made in old data, using a new and more sensitive algorithm.
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Observations have shown that the “back” of the Moon has a thicker crust and an extra layer of material compared to the side that faces Earth. Now, simulations have revealed one possible, explosive explanation – an impact with a huge object early on in the Moon’s life.
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Earth’s closest natural satellite could be producing powerful moonquakes as it cools and shrinks, according to a newly-published study. The scientists behind the research analyzed data from instruments placed by Apollo-era astronauts and more recent data collected by a NASA spacecraft.
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The Japanese probe Hayabusa collected samples from the asteroid Itokawa and returned them to Earth in 2010. Now researchers from Arizona State University have discovered traces of water in those samples, adding weight to the idea that much of Earth’s water may have come from asteroid impacts.
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It might be hard to believed that a phenomenon as eye-catching as aurora could go undocumented, but in 2016 a new type of sky light was discovered, and given the strange name of STEVE. Exactly how the phenomenon worked was unknown, but a new study has now found some answers.
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It takes millions of years for life to fully recover from a catastrophic extinction event, according to a new study that examined the aftermath of the asteroid strike that wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
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Magnetoreception, or the ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field, pops up throughout the animal kingdom, but it’s generally thought to be something humans missed out on. But new research has found changes in human brain wave activity that seems to be in response to a changing magnetic field.
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