Earth

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Scientists Pitch Massive Mirror Sun Shade to Save Earth

Mastermind convinced $350T project will get off ground in some 20 years

(Newser) - Scientists are proposing a stunning rescue project right out of a science fiction movie to save the earth from global warming: a massive 100,000-square-mile mirrored "sun shade." Trillions of tiny mirrors would be blasted by a cannon into space a million miles above earth to deflect the...

Alien Life 'Inevitable': Astronomer

Countless Earth-like planets likely in universe

(Newser) - Scientists now believe there could be as many habitable planets in the cosmos as there are stars, and that makes life’s existence elsewhere “inevitable” over billions of years, says one. “It is sort of like running an experiment in your refrigerator—turn it off and something will...

Volcano Showers Tokyo With Ash

Residents warned larger explosion may follow

(Newser) - Powdery ash showered Tokyo this morning as Japan's Mount Asama volcano erupted 90 miles away, Reuters reports. Smoke burst a mile into the air and rocks flew onto sparse neighboring towns, but there was little damage and no visible lava from the explosion. Scientists have warned people not to approach...

Did Volcanoes Drive Dinos to Extinction?

Scientists question 30-year-old crater theory

(Newser) - Colossal, repeated volcanic eruptions in India 65 million years ago released sulfuric gases that sent the dinosaurs, well, the way of the dinosaurs, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. A group of scientists at a Bay Area conference this week is questioning the decades-held theory that a meteor killed off dinosaurs....

Huge Holes Found in Earth's Magnetic Shield

The Earth is in for a wild geomagnetic ride

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered two large and unexpected holes in the magnetic field that protects the Earth from solar winds, reports Space.com. The leaks won't pose any risk to health, but increased disruption to satellites and electrical systems can be expected when the cycle of solar storms reaches its next...

$100M Shield Needed to Protect Earth: Scientists

(Newser) - Scientists told the UN today that the world needs a $100 million system to seek and destroy incoming asteroids, the Guardian reports. Asteroids large enough to cause significant damage strike Earth two or three times every thousand years, they said, and the effects can be catastrophic. "We cannot shirk...

Pixar's Lovable Robot Has Important Lessons For Us

Wall-E warns about our over-consumption

(Newser) - Yes, Wall-E has environmental themes, but its main point is a moral one, writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post. Not simply a critique of capitalism, as some conservatives have suggested, the movie sets its satirical sights on our self-imprisoning culture of consumption—and the snacking, reclining consumers in the...

Mercury Is Shrinking
 Mercury Is Shrinking   
Jul 3, 2008 6:35 PM CDT

Mercury Is Shrinking

Messenger spacecraft reveals planets core still molten

(Newser) - The planet Mercury is shrinking, the LA Times reports. Data from NASA’s Mercury Messenger spacecraft reveal that the planet’s diameter has shrunk by a mile over its history, probably because its core is cooling. Messenger flew in for a close-up in January, and scientists are now piecing together...

Earth Hits Cosmic Pitch
 Earth Hits Cosmic Pitch 
Jul 1, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Earth Hits Cosmic Pitch

Cacophonous radiation beamed from planet could easily be intercepted by aliens

(Newser) - Earth’s atmosphere produces a natural sound and beams it off into the universe, Space.com reports. The sound—a painful series of chirps and whistles—is made by the collision of charged particles from the solar wind with Earth’s magnetic field.

There's a Huge Moon on the Rise

Solstice makes heavenly body look bigger tonight, tomorrow—but it's an illusion

(Newser) - Northern Hemisphere residents, check out the night sky tomorrow for an extra-large-looking moon. The moon illusion—a trick our brain plays on us—is enhanced by the summer solstice, and when Earth's satellite rises close to the horizon, conditions are perfect, LiveScience notes.

'Incredible' Final Walk for Shuttle Astronauts

Mundane tasks, spectacular views

(Newser) - Two shuttle astronauts completed their third and final spacewalk yesterday outside the International Space Station, racking up more than 20 hours floating in space. The pair completed maintenance on the station's cooling system and Japanese lab, taking time out to admire spectacular views, reports Space.com.

Asteroids Could Reseed a Devastated Earth

Rock-dwelling microorganisms would make it back from space

(Newser) - If a comet ever obliterates life on Earth, don't worry—space rocks could later fall in and reseed a few basic life forms. A new study shows that organisms can survive being hit by a meteor, ejected into space, and hurtled back to Earth on the face of a rock—...

New Notes in Earth's Hum
 New Notes in Earth's Hum 
Apr 17, 2008 7:45 PM CDT

New Notes in Earth's Hum

Scientists discover more complex oscillations in planetary symphony

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a new dimension to the sub-aural sound emanating from our planet’s crust, dubbed “Earth’s hum.” Researchers have known about the hum, detectable only by seismometers, for a decade, though its ultimate cause is unclear. They expected to find hidden oscillations, but the amplitude...

Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers
 Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers 
Mar 16, 2008 3:12 PM CDT

Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers

Even basic questions still have scientists scratching their heads

(Newser) - Forget deep-space exploration; even basic questions about Earth still have scientists scratching their heads, LiveScience reports. A panel of geologists and planetary scientists lists its top lingering mysteries.
  1. How did Earth form into such a distinct body?
  2. What happened during Earth's first 500 million years?
  3. How did life start on
...

Saturn Moon Rings Detected
Saturn Moon Rings Detected
Mar 7, 2008 4:20 AM CST

Saturn Moon Rings Detected

Rhea could be be the first known moon with rings

(Newser) - Saturn’s second-largest moon, Rhea, could be the first known moon with rings. The spacecraft Cassini detected apparent evidence of rings when it spotted debris around Rhea as it flew by in 2005, reports space.com. The set of rings has not been directly seen, but scientists inferred that the...

Take a Peek at Lunar Eclipse
Take a Peek at Lunar Eclipse
UPDATED
Feb 20, 2008 8:10 PM CST

Take a Peek at Lunar Eclipse

Celestial show is under way

(Newser) - The sky is putting on a show tonight. The last total eclipse of the moon until 2010 got under way about 8:45pm ET, Space.com reports. The moon went into full eclipse at 10:01, and the show will be over at 12:09. The spectacle should be visible...

Want Oil? Try Saturn's Titan
Want Oil? Try Saturn's Titan
Feb 14, 2008 5:09 PM CST

Want Oil? Try Saturn's Titan

Moon has hundreds of times more oil and natural gas than Earth

(Newser) - Titan, one of Saturn's dozens of moons, has supplies of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons hundreds of times greater than Earth’s oil reserves, Space.com reports. The unmanned Cassini spacecraft has mapped only 20% of Titan’s surface with radar, and has already discovered dozens of bodies of hydrocarbon...

Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed
Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed
Jan 27, 2008 9:32 AM CST

Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed

Japanese geophysicist floats theory of lifecycle for Earth's plates

(Newser) - Climate change has sparked heated debate about the Earth’s surface, but a controversial new theory is directing scientists to its core, Der Spiegel reports. To explain why contintental plates drift on the surface of the Earth's molten mantle, Maruyama Shigenori, a leading geophysicist, argues that continents actually have life...

Old Spy Satellite Falling to Earth
Old Spy Satellite Falling to Earth
Jan 26, 2008 8:27 PM CST

Old Spy Satellite Falling to Earth

Inoperative device could hit in late February, March

(Newser) - A dead US spy satellite will likely tumble out of space and hit Earth late next month or early March, the AP reports. Unnamed officials admitted it may contain toxic material but refused to say where it might land or whether it could be shot from the sky. "We...

Asteroid to Whiz Past Earth
Asteroid to Whiz Past Earth
Jan 25, 2008 9:49 AM CST

Asteroid to Whiz Past Earth

Space rock to be visible Tuesday even through amateur telescopes

(Newser) - A big asteroid is set to speed past Earth on Tuesday night, and those with amateur telescopes will get a peek. NASA discovered the object in October, and scientists believe it's between 500 and 2,000 feet in diameter, LiveScience reports. It won't come closer than 334,000 miles to...

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