Earth | EarthSky

Two circular maps of the Earth with polar regions in the centers.

Astrophysicists design ‘radically different’ world map

Posted by EarthSky Voices in Earth | Human World | 5 hours ago

You know the old problem of how to portray the round globe of Earth on a flat map? Now a trio of map experts has worked together to solve this problem. Their new map is 2-sided and round.

Planet with neon-colored clouds and city-like on the surface, with barbell-shaped orbiting objects nearby.

Can air pollution help us find alien life?

Posted by Paul Scott Anderson in Earth | Space | 3 days ago

To find alien life in our universe, scientists have considered searches for optical lasers or even giant energy-harvesting structures known as Dyson spheres. Now they’re suggesting a more mundane sort of search, a hunt for air pollution in exoplanet atmospheres.

Green curtains of an aurora in a deep blue starry sky over a rocky hilltop.

Upheaval and extinctions linked to magnetic reversal 42,000 years ago

Posted by Kelly Kizer Whitt in Earth | Human World | 5 days ago

A magnetic reversal 42,000 years ago helped bring about earthly extinctions, scientists said, accompanied by changes in the sky including electrical storms and widespread auroras. “It would have been scary,” they commented.

Sharks swim below and upside down white plastic bag floating in green water.

Hundreds of fish species, including many we eat, are consuming plastic

Posted by EarthSky Voices in Earth | Human World | 1 week ago

As more and more plastic trash permeates the oceans, microplastics are making their way into fish and shellfish, and potentially into humans.

Two galaxies swirling together in a heart shape.

We heart the Earth and sky

Posted by Kelly Kizer Whitt in Earth | Space | 2 weeks ago

This Valentine’s Day, we find so much to love in the many heart-shaped objects created by Mother Nature that can be found right here on Earth or all the way to the deepest reaches of the sky.

A map showing a large earthquake off the east coast of Japan.

Strong earthquake in Japan called ‘aftershock’ of deadly 2011 quake

Posted by Deborah Byrd in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago

No fatalities were reported in the February 13, 2021, strong earthquake in Japan, which occurred off Japan’s east coast, near the epicenter of the 2011 9.0-magnitude Tohoku earthquake.

Mountain slope with snow broken off ridge and tops of trees sticking up through the snow.

A record deadly week for US avalanches in early February

Posted by Kelly Kizer Whitt in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago

2021 has brought a deadly avalanche season. “We’re only halfway through the season and we’re 3/4 of the way to the number of fatalities we’d see in a typical year. The dangerous, record-breaking year keeps avalanche forecasters up at night,” one expert said.

A person scraping snow off a car and a person pushing a snowblower.

Has the polar vortex arrived? What is it?

Posted by EarthSky Voices in Earth | 2 weeks ago

The polar vortex is an enormous, 3-dimensional ring of winds that surrounds the North and South poles during each hemisphere’s winter. The polar vortex influences the jet stream, which can bring cold winter weather to the U.S. and Europe.

Today in science: A spacecraft obliterated a sundog

Posted by Deborah Byrd in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago

On February 11, 2010, a solar observatory launched into space ripped apart a sundog and created a new ice halo that amazed scientists.

Small bird with yellow on top of its head on a partly-eaten yellow apple.

Great Backyard Bird Count begins February 12

Posted by Deanna Conners in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago

Show your love for birds by joining the 2021 Great Backyard Bird Count. It’s free and easy to participate in this 4-day global event. Find out how here.

Dark gray splotches on a light gray background near a long, thin, rugged island.

Is this the end of the A-68A iceberg?

Posted by Eleanor Imster in Earth | 2 weeks ago

Satellite images reveal that the once colossal A-68A iceberg has broken into multiple pieces.

What does Earth look like from outer space?

Posted by Deborah Byrd in Astronomy Essentials | Earth | 3 weeks ago

If you considered only Earth’s brightness, you could still see our world from as far away as the orbit of the 8th planet, Neptune. In practice, though, from that distance, Earth would be lost in the sun’s glare. How does Earth look from space? Spacecraft photos tell the tale.