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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The ancient earth was a much more hostile place than it is today. About 42,000 years ago, the Earth saw its magnetic poles flip. Scientists have known that the magnetic poles of the earth flipped since the late 1960s. The magnetic poles aren't static. The poles are generated by electrical currents from the planet's liquid outer core that is constantly in motion.
NASA has analyzed the Earth's global average surface temperature during 2020 and found that the year tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record. NASA says the planet's long-term warming trend continued with 2020s global average temperature 1.84 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the baseline 1951 through 1980 mean. NASA says that 2020 edged out 2016 by a tiny amount within the margin of error for the analysis, effectively tying 2020 and 2016 for the warmest year on record.
Scientists at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan recently created a new map of the Milky Way galaxy. The map of the galaxy found that the Earth is 2000 light-years closer to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy than previously believed. Researchers also found that the Earth is orbiting the black hole faster than previous estimates.