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January 31 lunar eclipse: What scientists can learn
The lunar eclipse January 31 offers scientists a chance to see what happens when the surface of the moon cools quickly.
January 25, 2018
Tsunami warnings issued – later canceled – after powerful Alaska quake
A powerful earthquake struck 174 miles (280 km) southeast of Kodiak, Alaska, early on January 23. Tsunami watches or warnings were issued - later canceled - for western North America and Hawaii.
January 23, 2018
50 years ago: Thule incident
On January 21, 1968, in what came to be known as the Thule incident, a U.S. jet carrying 4 nuclear bombs crashed in Greenland, spreading radioactive wreckage across 3 square miles of a frozen fjord.
January 21, 2018
NASA and NOAA: 2017 was record-setting for warmth
NASA says 2nd-warmest year on record. NOAA says 3rd-warmest. Their methodologies differ slightly, but - by both standards - the 2017 results make the past 4 years the hottest yet recorded.
January 18, 2018
Why did passenger pigeons die out?
In the 19th century, passenger pigeons were so numerous that hunters competed to shoot as many as possible. But the last passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo over 100 years ago. How did it all go so wrong?
January 18, 2018
Meteor lit up Michigan night skies
A brilliant fireball lit up skies in the U.S. state of Michigan Tuesday night and caused the equivalent of a magnitude 2.0 earthquake.
January 17, 2018
Supercomputer insights on mysterious black hole jets
Scientists used the Blue Waters supercomputer to show that a black hole's relativistic jets and accretion disk both may be spinning - and precessing over time - around an axis separate from the black hole itself.
January 17, 2018
Drone recon finds ancient Silk Road irrigation system
Scientists used drones to map a previously-unknown, 1,600-year-old irrigation system that allowed farming in arid northwest China, one of world’s driest climates.
January 16, 2018
Is Arctic warming behind year’s crazy winter weather?
An atmospheric scientist who studies the Arctic explains why – because of global warming – the U.S. may be in for longer cold spells in the winter.
January 13, 2018
What was that bright flash over Russia?
A flash seen over a wide swath of Russia on January 7 at first caused fears of a U.S. air strike on North Korea. For now, the flash is unexplained.
January 10, 2018
