Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 28, 2022

'Bomb cyclone' set to bring blizzards and hurricane-force winds to the Northeast on Friday: Here's why.

Meteorologists predict that a bomb cyclone will bring severe, blizzard-like conditions to much of the Northeast U.S., starting Friday night (Jan. 28). But what's behind this explosive weather and why is the storm's path so up in the air? Currently, forecasts show the storm will drop at least a foot...

Jan 29, 2022

1st sighting of 'ball lightning' in England uncovered

On June 7, 1195, a fiery spinning ball emerged from a dark cloud in an erstwhile sunny sky close to the London lodgings of the bishop of Norwich. Witnesses could never have known that the natural phenomenon that they were seeing would defy scientific explanation for more than 800 years....

Feb 1, 2022

Lightning bolt breaks record for longest ever recorded

Two storms in 2020 set two new records for lightning, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced today (Feb. 1). One record was for longest single bolt, a record captured by a flash of lightning that stretched for about 477 miles (168 kilometers) from Texas to Mississippi during a storm on...

Feb 18, 2022

Record-breaking winds blast Europe in the worst storm in decades

Record-breaking gusts of up to 122 mph (196 km/h) were recorded in England Friday (Feb. 18) as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium and parts of the Netherlands and France face their worst storm in over three decades. Trees have collapsed, trucks and cars have toppled on their sides, and thousands...

Mar 16, 2022

Acid rain: Causes, effects and solutions

Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation that contains acidic components, such as sulfuric acid or nitric acid. The precipitation is not necessarily wet or liquid; the definition includes dust, gases, rain, snow, fog and hail. The type of acid rain that...

Apr 4, 2022

What's the longest lightning bolt ever recorded?

Thunder is impressive, Mark Twain wrote, but it is lightning that does the work. Anyone who's watched a lightning storm will understand what he meant: Lightning is one of nature's most awe-inspiring phenomena, illuminating the skies with its fearsome forks. According to the U.K. Met Office, lightning strikes the planet...

May 8, 2022

Earth tells us to 'GO' in weird cloud message seen from space

The Earth is apparently trying to tell us something. A surprising new photo from the GOES East satellite has revealed what appears to be the word Go written in the clouds as seen from space. The Earth view was spotted on Friday (May 6) by GOES East, which is operated...

Jul 13, 2022

Brilliant Red Sprite Lightning Caught on Camera

Amazing new photos and video of the elusive red lightning called sprites are helping researchers understand how the mysterious electric bursts form. Sprites last less than a second as they dance on the tops of thunderstorms. Many viewers say the clusters of charged particles look like jellyfish — big, red...

Jul 13, 2022

Video Reveals 'Sprite' Lightning Secrets

Sprites dance high above thunderstorms, but they’re not furtive mythical creatures. They’re quick bursts of electricity that have left atmospheric scientists in the dark about their origins. New ultra-high-speed video shows sprites form as fast-paced balls of electricity, not streaks or tendrils as previous footage suggested. The discovery challenges current...

Jul 13, 2022

Elusive Sprite Lightning Caught On Film

Sprites are reddish, ultrafast bursts of electricity that are born near the edge of space, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) up in the atmosphere. For a long time, pilots claimed to see them, but few believed them until scientists accidentally captured images of sprites dancing above thunderstorms in 1989. They...

Jul 27, 2022

Mystery of Mongol Retreat from Hungary Solved

In 1241, the Mongol army marched into Hungary, defeating the Polish and Hungarian armies and forcing the Hungarian king to flee. In 1242, despite meeting no significant military resistance, the Mongols abruptly packed up and left. Now, a new study of the climate in Eastern Europe that year suggests a...

Oct 14, 2022

Scientist Reading the Leaves to Predict Violent Weather

When meteorologist Edward Lorenz set up his computer to model the weather in 1960, he had no idea what a complex problem he was taking on. After a while, he realized that any small change in the starting conditions of his program had a huge impact on the outcome of...

Jan 30, 2023

What is a squall?

If you've ever been warned that a squall is on the way, it may sound ominous. But what, exactly, is a squall? In the early 20th century, a squall was a sudden windy cold front. The term can still refer to a sudden strong wind that increases by 16 knots...

Jan 31, 2023

Ultra-rare 'rainbow clouds' light up the Arctic Circle like auroras in stunning new photos

The dark skies in the Arctic Circle recently shone with ethereal multi-colored light. But this jaw-dropping spectacle was not caused by auroras. Instead, the iridescent rainbows were caused by clouds of tiny ice crystals floating higher in the atmosphere than is normally possible. The clouds, known as polar stratospheric clouds...

Mar 23, 2023

Gigantic 'solar tornado' taller than 14 Earths raged for 3 days. What caused it?

An enormous solar tornado the size of 14 Earths stacked on top of each other recently raged on the sun's surface for three whole days. The enormous plasma twister may be one of the largest ever recorded. The solar tornado emerged near the sun's north pole on March 15 and...