Giant crack frees a massive iceberg in Antarctica By Yasemin Saplakoglu This dramatic breakup comes after a major crack formed on the shelf in November 2020 and continued to grow.
Pirate attacks linked to destructive fishing By Patrick Pester A new study reveals pirate attacks are more common in waters experiencing destructive and illegal fishing, suggesting the two may be linked.
Mysterious stripes spotted over Russia in satellite images — and NASA is perplexed By Brandon Specktor Scientists can't agree on why these hills in the Russian Arctic ripple with stripes.
1st time-lapse of rare moonflower blooming is stunning By Harry Baker The blooming process of a moonflower cactus has been captured on video for the first time and was watched by over 400,000 people online.
Mysterious oil spill covers Israel's coastline in toxic tar balls By Harry Baker Israel's Mediterranean coastline has been littered with tar as the result of an oil spill off the coast, putting marine life and those cleaning it up at risk.
Astrophysicists create the most accurate 'flat map' of Earth ever By Laura Geggel Cartographers have struggled to map Earth accurately in 2D for centuries.
Why do deserts get so cold at night? By Harry Baker Desert temperatures can fluctuate greatly between day and night, due to the poor heat-retaining properties of sand and a lack of humidity.
Disastrous Houston blackouts captured from space By Nicoletta Lanese More than one million people lost power in the Houston area.
Read a free issue of How It Works magazine! By Jeanna Bryner Our sister publication is the action-packed magazine that’s bursting with the answers to your curious questions
Earth's magnetic field flipped 42,000 years ago, creating a climate 'disaster' By Mindy Weisberger Earth's last magnetic flip 42,000 years brought environmental change and extinctions. Could that happen now?
Dinosaur-killing space rock may have originated at the edge of the solar system By Stephanie Pappas The chunk of space rock that killed the nonavian dinosaurs may have been a piece of a comet that Jupiter's gravity kicked onto a collision course with Earth.
Lakes beneath the Antarctic ice could be teeming with microbial life By Nicoletta Lanese Heat from the Earth's interior may help sustain life in this bizarre environment.
Bermuda's hurricanes are twice as strong as they were six decades ago By Harry Baker Hurricanes have more than doubled in strength since 1955, increasing at a rate of 6mph every decade. Now researchers better understand exactly why.
World's largest iceberg disintegrates into 'alphabet soup,' NASA photo shows By Brandon Specktor The world's largest iceberg has disintegrated into an 'alphabet soup' of mini ice island, new NASA imagery shows.
Rare snow covers Acropolis of Athens in dazzling white blanket By Stephanie Pappas Unusual weather blanketed the Acropolis with snow on Tuesday (Feb. 16), turning the iconic UNESCO World Heritage site in Athens into a scene from a holiday card.
Spectacular 45-foot-tall 'ice volcano' appears in Kazakhstan By Patrick Pester An 'ice volcano' has formed above a hot spring in the Almaty region of southeastern Kazakhstan. What is causing this unusual phenomenon?
Snow blankets Hawaii volcanoes in stunning satellite image By Harry Baker Hawaii has seen the second-largest covering of snow on the mountain peaks of Big Island since recordings began.
Earth's mountains disappeared for a billion years, and then life stopped evolving By Brandon Specktor For a billion years Earth's mountains stopped growing, and may have starved the sea of nutrients, new research finds.
'Rivers of gold' rush through the Peruvian Amazon in stunning NASA photo By Brandon Specktor An ISS astronaut got a perfect view of the gold prospecting pits in the Peruvian Amazon.
What is ozone? By Adam Mann Exploring the molecule known as ozone, which can both protect and harm us here on Earth.