Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 31, 2012

Fossils Show Surprising Life of Ancient Swimming Mollusks

Fossils found in a South Dakota cliff have revealed that ancient, free-swimming shelled creatures called ammonites were permanent residents around a methane seep at the bottom of the inland sea that divided the North American continent more than 65 million years ago. Methane and other chemicals, such as hydrogen sulfide,...

Mar 31, 2012

Why the East Coast Is Seeing Summer in Spring

Abnormally warm temperatures brought a taste of summer to the eastern part of the United States on Monday (April 16), testing runners resolve in the Boston Marathon and bringing out sunbathers in New York. It's just the extreme warm spring weather pattern continuing, said Mike Pigott, a senior meteorologist at...

Mar 31, 2012

Satellite Image Reveals Beauty & Beast of Rare Earth Mining

A satellite image released by NASA Earth Observatory looks more fine art than mining and radioactive waste. But indeed, the picture tells a story of the expanding industry of mining for rare earth elements. Earth holds 17 of these metallic elements, whose structures and properties make them useful in a...

Feb 29, 2012

Entire Month's Worth of Tornadoes Strike in One Day

In what may be the biggest daily tornado outbreak on record for March, an entire month's worth of twisters struck in a single day. The nation's Storm Prediction Center received 81 reports of tornadoes yesterday (March 2), according to data filtered to remove duplicate reports of tornadoes. For the entire...

Feb 29, 2012

Accurate Weather Forecast For Your Street

Accurate weather forecasts depend on data collected from weather instruments. Lots of 'em. The more data, the higher-resolution the picture of what's going on. But the National Weather Service doesn't have weather instruments on every street. But another place does. Well, almost. The Weather Underground has turned to thousands of...

Feb 29, 2012

Why Much of North America Skipped Winter

For parts of North America, this winter was the winter that nearly wasn't. January ranked as the fourth-warmest for the 48 U.S. states on record since 1895. December, too, was above average, although not as significantly. The final analysis for February is not yet in, but weather watchers expect last...

Feb 29, 2012

Best Earth Images of the Week - March 9, 2012

Lighting, Clouds, Sharks and More (Image credit: Chris Kotsiopoulos / www.greeksky.gr)Hatching eggs, record-setting ocean dives and amazing shows in the sky. These are just a few of the photos we picked for this week. Check these out. Webcast Condor Cam (Image credit: Tammy Spratt, San Diego Zoo Safari Park)A California...

Feb 29, 2012

Giant Stinking Corpse Flower Set to Bloom

A rare corpse flower is expected to roll down its blood-red skirt and unleash an olfactory assault at the Cornell University greenhouse this week. The corpse flower is technically known as an Indonesian titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) plant. Native to the equatorial rain forests of central Sumatra in western Indonesia,...

Feb 29, 2012

How to Fix International Inaction on Climate

Humans have been altering fundamental natural processes on our planet, but the international community has not effectively addressed the mess we've gotten ourselves and the rest of life on this planet into, according to a group of social scientists. They offer seven recommendations — including restructuring within the United Nations...

Feb 29, 2012

Best Earth Images of the Week - March 16, 2012

Cloud Streets, Tiger Momma and Golden Sand (Image credit: European Space Imaging (EUSI))Tiger mommas, cool clouds and sand, and stinky flowers are just the beginning of our picks this week. Take a peak. Camera Traps Score Again (Image credit: ©WWF-India)A few weeks after conservationists spotted tigers crossing a river in...

Feb 29, 2012

Best Earth Images of the Week - March 30, 2012

Stunning Natural Arches, Pandas Taking a Dip, Strang Glowing Clouds (Image credit: ESA/NASA)Stunning arches, pandas splashing and strange glowing clouds are just a few of our picks for this week. Check these out! Arches Shining in the Sun (Image credit: Jim Karczewski, National Park Service)The beauty of the unusual rock...

Feb 29, 2012

Washington Monument Surveyed for Quake Effects

Teams of surveyors have descended on the area around the Washington Monument in recent weeks to search for any minute changes in ground level wrought by the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled huge swaths of the East Coast last Aug. 23. The surveyors with the National Geodetic Survey are equipped...

Jan 31, 2012

What's Behind the Wild Winter Around the World

Winter in the United States this year has been mild — except for snow-buried Alaska — but around the world, winter is wreaking havoc. If you're wondering where's winter, don't look to the blizzard in Denver. That weather is more springlike for the area. Instead look to Europe. Cold weather...

Jan 31, 2012

Colorado's Record-Breaking Snow Seen from Space

From NASA's Earth Observatory: A record-breaking snowstorm struck Colorado in early February 2012, closing an interstate highway, grounding flights, and dropping more than a foot of snow on the Denver area. After moving out of northeastern Colorado, the storm left heavy snow across Nebraska. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)...

Jan 31, 2012

Can You Outrun a Natural Disaster? Hint: No (Infographic)

Ice World: Gallery of Awe-Inspiring GlaciersHurricanes from Above: See Nature's Biggest StormsTop 10 Ways to Destroy Earth ...