Scientists reveal secrets of lost continent Zealandia. In February, scientists were discussing whether a submerged realm called Zealandia should be recognized as a full-fledged Earth continent. In October, a team of researchers returned from an expedition to Zealandia and reported their results.
Close shave from an undetected asteroid. Whoosh! Astronomers discovered a small asteroid – now designated as asteroid 2017 OO1 – on July 23. That was 3 days after it passed 1/3 the moon’s distance from Earth. More.
When’s the next U.S. total solar eclipse? After 2017’s awesome total solar eclipse on August 21, the next total solar eclipse visible from North America will be April 8, 2024. More.
Biblical signs in the sky on September 23, 2017? A mirror in the sky to “signs” from the Bible’s Book of Revelation? Possibly. But this same sky scene has been seen 4 other times in the past 1,000 years. An astronomer explains.
Mysterious rock-comet 3200 Phaethon. This asteroid-comet hybrid was closest to Earth December 16. Its presence near Earth may be why the Geminid meteors put on a good show in 2017. Info and images of the rock-comet here.
History of global temperature 1880-2016. Take 14 seconds to watch the change in Earth’s surface temperature from 1880 through 2016. More.
And, lastly, the ever-popular … Betelgeuse will explode someday. Someday, the star Betelgeuse will run out of fuel, collapse under its own weight, and then rebound in a spectacular supernova explosion. Someday … but probably not soon. More.
Bottom line: EarthSky’s 7 most-viewed news and feature stories of 2017. Happy new year to our readers, and thank you for visiting EarthSky!
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