Earth Archives - SlashGear

A half-mile asteroid will buzz Earth next week: Here’s the good news

Brittany A. Roston | Jan 12, 2022

NASA has announced that another big asteroid will come close to Earth, relatively speaking, during its space travels. The celestial body is being monitored under the space agency's Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) center, which identifies and keeps track of large space rocks that could potentially pose a threat to our planet. Fortunately, and as with other near fly-by events, NASA says we don't have anything to worry about.

This is why Mars is so much smaller than Earth

Georgina Torbet | Dec 16, 2021

The inner planets of our solar system, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, are all similar in some ways. They are rocky planets with a firm surface like Earth's, and they are much smaller than the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. But they differ in many ways too, in terms of their size, mass, and atmospheres. To understand the conditions on each planet, you need to know about their size and how they developed. Here's what I've learned about the formation of Mars over my career, including interviewing scientists and engineers working on current Mars missions.

Department of Energy’s next Earthshot targets cheap CO2 removal

Brittany A. Roston | Nov 6, 2021

The Department of Energy has an initiative it calls "Energy Earthshots," which is a play on the word moonshot in reference to technologies that will help protect Earth from climate change. The initiative aims to usher in cheaper, more reliable, and "abundant" clean energy innovations over the next decade. The latest project announced under the initiative revolves around carbon dioxide (CO2) removal from the atmosphere.

NASA and USGS launch Landsat 9 satellite to monitor Earth from afar

Brittany A. Roston | Sep 27, 2021

NASA and the US Geological Survey have successfully launched a joint mission involving Landsat 9, a satellite that will spend its days in space observing Earth's coastlines and landscapes over time. The mission launched at 2:12 PM ET on September 17 from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg using the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The next Near Earth, Potentially Hazardous Asteroid is the size of a school bus

Chris Burns | Sep 22, 2021

Today is the day NASA predicted the asteroid 2021 NY1 would orbit closest to our own planet Earth. This asteroid is classified as a "very small" asteroid, coming in at between 0.133 to 0.297 kilometers in diameter. Predictions suggest this asteroid will have four relatively close approaches to Earth in the next few decades, the closest of which is today!

Florida has another invasive species and it looks like a giant worm

Brittany A. Roston | Jul 28, 2021

Many non-native creatures can be found living in Florida, including some scary ones like giant pythons. The latest addition to the list is a strange amphibian that resembles a huge worm, one that is found native in places like southeast Asia and central Africa. The discovery was made following the capture of a strange critter in southern Florida, prompting an inquiry with scientists.

Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier ice shelf is crumbling faster than expected

Brittany A. Roston | Jun 11, 2021

A newly published video shows the dramatic increase in ice chunks breaking free from the large ice shelf holding back the Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica. With the rate of icebergs breaking free increasing over the past few years, scientists warn that the time it takes before the glacier falls into the ocean may be significantly reduced.

Galápagos Islands’ iconic Darwin’s Arch rock structure has collapsed

Brittany A. Roston | May 18, 2021

Darwin's Arch, an iconic rock formation in the Pacific Ocean near the Galapagos Islands, has collapsed. The structure was notable for its jutting, squared pillars, and rounded tunnel-like entrance, making it a popular photography attraction and sightseeing destination for tourists. Officials believe the arch collapsed due to natural erosion.

Study shows continental crust emerged 500 million years before previously thought

Shane McGlaun | Apr 29, 2021

Researchers have published a new study that found the continental crust on Earth emerged 500 million years earlier than previously believed. According to the team, the first emergence and persistence of continental crust on Earth during the Archaean between 4 billion and 2.5 billion years ago has implications for plate tectonics, ocean chemistry, and biological evolution. Researchers note that the emergence of the continental crust happened about half a billion years earlier than previously believed.

Researchers believe lightning could have literally sparked life on Earth

Shane McGlaun | Mar 17, 2021

A new study conducted by researchers at Yale and the University of Leeds suggests that lightning could have unlocked the phosphorus necessary for creating biomolecules that eventually led to life on Earth. The lead author of the paper, Benjamin Hess, says that the team's work helps understand how life could've formed on Earth and how it might form on other planets similar to Earth.

A billion years from now the Earth will look very different

Shane McGlaun | Mar 5, 2021

The very distant future, about a billion years from now, scientists say the atmosphere of Earth will contain very little oxygen. That will make the planet uninhabitable for complex aerobic life. Today, our atmosphere is about 21 percent oxygen, and that oxygen-rich nature makes it ideal for large and complex organisms like people.

Breakdown in the Earth’s magnetic field 42,000 years ago caused sudden climate change

Satsuki Then | Feb 25, 2021

Researchers from UNSW Sydney released a study that looks at the last major geomagnetic reversal that occurred on Earth about 42,000 years ago. The team says that the Earth's magnetic field broke down at that time and caused massive and sudden climate change on the planet. All around the world, there were a few centuries of what the team calls apocalyptic conditions triggered by a reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles combined with the behavior of the sun.