Planet Earth news, feature and articles
Earth is one big spinning mystery in a constant state of change. With more than 4.5 billion years of history locked inside a ball of molten rock and iron, our planet is made up of a vast array of geological wonders, carved by the oceans, shaped by the shifting plates beneath our feet and sculpted by weather across the surface. Our team of expert science writers and editors are here to reveal our planet’s secrets — from the deepest depths of the ocean, through the coldest places on Earth to the very edge of space — keeping you up to date with the latest discoveries with planet Earth news, articles and features.
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Latest about Planet Earth
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Mass extinctions make life 'bounce back stronger,' controversial study suggests
By Grace van Deelen Published
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Dramatic NASA images reveal lava coursing near Iceland's Blue Lagoon
By Ben Turner Published
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Hailin impact crater: China's newly discovered meteor pit born from a 'nuclear explosion level' event
By Sascha Pare Published
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'Cryptic carbon' may leak from volcanoes millions of years after eruptions end
By Skyler Ware Published
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Equator quiz: Can you name the 13 countries that sit on Earth's central line?
By Hannah Osborne Published
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'Supergiant' gold deposit discovered in China is one of the largest on Earth — and is worth more than $80 billion
By Harry Baker Published
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Squirting cucumbers thicken and stiffen to eject seeds with 'remarkable speed and precision,' study finds
By Sascha Pare Published
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Explore Planet Earth
Antarctica
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When was the last time Antarctica was ice-free?
By Victoria Atkinson Published
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'Doomsday glacier' won't collapse the way we thought, new study suggests
By Mathieu Morlighem Published
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Earth from space
High winds paint puzzling ice streaks across the sea in Antarctica
By Harry Baker Published
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1st map of Antarctica's green space unveiled. Here's what it shows.
By Claudia Colesie Published
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Never-before-seen shapes up to 1,300 feet long discovered beneath Antarctic ice
By Ben Turner Published
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Giant river system that existed 40 million years ago discovered deep below Antarctic ice
By Kristel Tjandra Published
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Blood Falls: Antarctica's crimson waterfall forged from an ancient hidden heart
By Sascha Pare Published
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Antarctic ice hole the size of Switzerland keeps cracking open. Now scientists finally know why.
By Ben Turner Published
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'We were in disbelief': Antarctica is behaving in a way we've never seen before. Can it recover?
By Ben Turner Published
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Arctic
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Surprised Russian school kids discover Arctic island has vanished after comparing satellite images
By Harry Baker Published
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Earth from space
Massive blue 'melt pond' in Arctic glacier is an eerie sign of things to come
By Harry Baker Published
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Earth from space
4 near-identical glaciers spark new life in Arctic island's 'polar desert'
By Harry Baker Published
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Earth from space
Iconic 'Star Trek' symbol shines brightly in sea of muddy Arctic sea ice
By Harry Baker Published
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Earth from space
Ghostly figure emerges in Greenland ice after underground lake collapses
By Harry Baker Published
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Gateway to the underworld: The enormous permafrost 'megaslump' in Siberia that keeps getting bigger
By Sascha Pare Published
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Earth from space
Trio of ringed ice caps look otherworldly on Russian Arctic islands
By Harry Baker Published
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Siberia's 'gateway to the underworld' is growing a staggering amount each year
By Sascha Pare Published
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Earth from space
Mysterious wave ripples across 'galaxy' of icebergs in Arctic fjord
By Harry Baker Published
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Climate Change
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'Cryptic carbon' may leak from volcanoes millions of years after eruptions end
By Skyler Ware Published
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Global carbon emissions reach new record high in 2024, with no end in sight, scientists say
By Ben Turner Published
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Microplastics may be entering the clouds and affecting the weather, scientists say
By Miriam Freedman Published
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'We are teetering on a planetary tightrope': Cut emissions in half right now to prevent climate catastrophe, UN warns
By Sascha Pare Published
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Fool's Gold is driving a new accelerating climate feedback loop in Canada
By Ben Turner Published
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30 years of polar climate data converted into menacing, 6-minute song
By Sascha Pare Published
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'Precipitation, the source of all fresh water, can no longer be relied upon': Global water cycle pushed out of balance 'for 1st time in human history'
By Ben Turner Published
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Ancient piece of driftwood hidden for thousands of years could hold secrets for combating climate change
By Richard Pallardy Published
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32 weird ways to fight climate change that just might work
By Carys Matthews Published
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Earthquakes
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'Upwelling' deep in the mantle triggered magnitude 6.8 Morocco earthquake
By Rebecca Owen Published
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LA may be spared 'horrifying' fate of the 'Big One' from San Andreas, simulation suggests
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Will we have more earthquakes because of climate change?
By Katherine Irving Published
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Huge earthquake 2,500 years ago rerouted the Ganges River, study suggests
By Sascha Pare Published
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Why do earthquakes happen far away from plate boundaries?
By Alice Sun Published
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Odd earthquake swarm in Central Europe hints at magma bubbling below the surface
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Part of the San Andreas fault may be gearing up for an earthquake
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Rare magnitude 4.8 and 3.8 earthquakes rock Northeast, including Greater New York area
By Laura Geggel Last updated
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Taiwan earthquake: 9 dead and dozens trapped after strongest quake in 25 years
By Ben Turner Published
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Energy
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Physicists solve nuclear fusion mystery with mayonnaise
By Tia Ghose Published
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Nuclear fusion reactor in UK sets new world record for energy output
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Massive hydrogen reservoir discovered beneath an Albanian mine could be an untapped source of clean energy
By Sascha Pare Published
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What is fission?
By Nola Taylor Redd Last updated
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Wind and solar power overtakes coal for the first time ever in the US
By Ben Turner Published
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Chernobyl: The world's worst nuclear disaster
By Marc Lallanilla Published
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How do you decontaminate objects exposed to radioactivity?
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Scientists discover enzyme that can turn air into energy, unlocking potential new energy source
By Ben Turner Published
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What is nuclear fusion?
By Nola Taylor Redd Published
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Evolution
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Evolution quiz: Can you naturally select the correct answers?
By Hannah Osborne Published
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Raindrops may have helped kick-start life on the planet
By Aman Agrawal Published
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Which animals are evolving fastest?
By Marlowe Starling Published
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'I have never written of a stranger organ': The rise of the placenta and how it helped make us human
By Jules Howard Published
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Ancient relative of 'living fossil' fish reveals that geological activity supercharges evolution
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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How fast does evolution happen?
By Marlowe Starling Published
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Defense system common to all life came from 'Asgard'
By Tia Ghose Published
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Evolution: Facts about the processes that shape the diversity of life on Earth
By Tiffany Taylor Published
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What is the 'tree of life'?
By Emma Bryce Published
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Geology
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Hailin impact crater: China's newly discovered meteor pit born from a 'nuclear explosion level' event
By Sascha Pare Published
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'Supergiant' gold deposit discovered in China is one of the largest on Earth — and is worth more than $80 billion
By Harry Baker Published
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Earth from space
Wandering sand dunes circle a gigantic 'eye' sculpted by an ancient city-killer meteor in the Sahara
By Harry Baker Published
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Underwater volcano-like structure is spewing gas off Alaska's coast, US Coast Guard says
By Sascha Pare Published
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Woman accidentally discovers 280 million-year-old lost world while hiking in Italian Alps
By Sascha Pare Published
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Meet FRED: The world's 1st-ever, nearly complete fossil database
By Kate Evans Published
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Pangaea: Discover facts about Earth's ancient supercontinent
By Laura Geggel Last updated
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'Another piece of the puzzle': Antarctica's 1st-ever amber fossil sheds light on dinosaur-era rainforest that covered South Pole 90 million years ago
By Harry Baker Published
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'Missing link' found in ancient rocks of Colorado show that Snowball Earth really happened
By Liam Courtney-Davies Published
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Microbiology
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Mouse brains, cannabis plants and spider eyes: 20 jaw-dropping images of the microscopic world around us
By Hannah Osborne Published
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'Loch ness monster' microbe stretches its neck to 30 times its body length in seconds
By Lars Fischer Published
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'The most critically harmful fungi to humans': How the rise of C. auris was inevitable
By Arturo Casadevall Published
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Hidden 'biosphere' of extreme microbes discovered 13 feet below Atacama Desert is deepest found there to date
By Sascha Pare Published
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Scientists discover once-in-a-billion-year event — 2 lifeforms merging to create a new cell part
By Sascha Pare Published
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Lost world of lagoons filled with mounds of microbes discovered in Atacama desert
By Sascha Pare Published
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After you die, your microbiome cooperates with soil microbes to 'recycle' your body
By Jennifer DeBruyn Published
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Bizarre giant viruses with tubular tentacles and star-like shells discovered in New England forest
By Kiley Price Published
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Primordial steroids solve long-standing mystery about how the 1st complex life-forms evolved
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Plants
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Squirting cucumbers thicken and stiffen to eject seeds with 'remarkable speed and precision,' study finds
By Sascha Pare Published
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Where did the 1st seeds come from?
By Patrick Pester Published
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Pando, the world's largest organism, may have been growing nonstop since the 1st humans left Africa, study suggests
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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How is paper made from trees?
By Olivia Ferrari Published
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Pando: The world's largest tree and heaviest living organism
By Sascha Pare Published
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Deep below the Arctic Ocean, some plants have adapted to photosynthesize in almost near darkness
By Sven Batke Published
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Lost biblical tree resurrected from 1,000-year-old mystery seed found in the Judaean Desert
By Sascha Pare Published
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Fossils from lush 53 million-year-old South Pole rainforest discovered in Tasmania
By Sascha Pare Published
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Rainbow swamp: The flooded forest in Virginia that puts on a magical light show every winter
By Sascha Pare Published
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Pollution
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What are the most polluted cities in the world?
By Meg Duff Published
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Pollution facts and types of pollution
By Alina Bradford Last updated
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Even brief exposure to diesel fumes alters activity in key brain network, study finds
By Rebecca Sohn Published
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Monet and Turner's atmospheric landscapes actually depicted air pollution, new study finds
By Jennifer Nalewicki Published
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How Much Trash Is on Mount Everest?
By Kimberly Hickok Last updated
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Hole in the ozone layer has grown for a 3rd year in a row — but scientists aren’t concerned
By JoAnna Wendel Published
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No More Free-Pass for Carbon Pollution (Op-Ed)
By Laurie Johnson Last updated
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Kids' Mental Health Risks Rise with Poor Air Quality
By Agata Blaszczak-Boxe Last updated
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Reference
Light pollution: Environmental impact, health risks and facts
By Scott Dutfield Published
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Rivers & Oceans
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Key Atlantic current is weakening much faster than scientists had predicted
By Ben Turner Published
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Indian Ocean gravity hole: The dent in Earth's gravitational field created by the death of an ancient ocean
By Sascha Pare Published
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'A harbinger of what's to come:' NASA satellites show massive drop in global freshwater levels
By Ben Turner Published
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This spot will be key to the inevitable collapse of a key Atlantic current
By Sascha Pare Published
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Earth is racing toward climate conditions that collapsed key Atlantic currents before the last ice age, study finds
By Sascha Pare Published
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What's the difference between a tsunami and a tidal wave?
By Richard Pallardy Published
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Rain helps the ocean trap more carbon
By Veronika Meduna Published
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'We don't really consider it low probability anymore': Collapse of key Atlantic current could have catastrophic impacts, says oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf
By Ben Turner Published
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Diamond Beach: Iceland's spellbinding black sand beach covered in sparkling ice jewels
By Sascha Pare Published
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Tsunami
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Tsunamis up to 90 feet high smash into New Zealand every 580 years, study finds
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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1st mega-tsunami on record since antiquity was triggered by Tonga volcanic eruption
By Charles Q. Choi Published
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Powerful 8.1-magnitude earthquake off New Zealand triggers tsunami warnings
By Rachael Rettner Last updated
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Magnitude-7.3 earthquake strikes Fukushima, tsunami warning issued
By Ben Turner Published
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Japan earthquake & tsunami of 2011: Facts and information
By Becky Oskin Published
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'Invisible' earthquake caused mysterious 2021 tsunami, scientists find
By Ben Turner Published
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4-foot tsunami hits Tonga after explosive eruption of underwater volcano
By Jeanna Bryner Published
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Lost islands beneath the North Sea survived a mega-tsunami 8,000 years ago
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Ice melt in Alaska threatens to unleash unprecedented 'mega-tsunami,' scientists warn
By Peter Dockrill Published
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Volcanos
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Dramatic NASA images reveal lava coursing near Iceland's Blue Lagoon
By Ben Turner Published
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US volcano quiz: How many can you name in 10 minutes?
By Hannah Osborne Published
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Earth from space
Eerily circular 'Goblin Forest' surrounds sacred volcano with human rights
By Harry Baker Published
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Indonesia volcano eruption kills at least 10
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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How a catastrophic volcanic eruption on the North Korea border created 'Heaven Lake'
By Saima May Sidik Published
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Mysterious 'blobs' in Earth's mantle are not what we thought, study claims
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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'Every volcano has its own personality': Mystery Mount Adams earthquake surge under investigation
By Hannah Osborne Published
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Record spike in earthquakes at Washington's 'high threat' volcano sends researchers scrambling for answers
By Hannah Osborne Published
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'Mountain of God' volcano in Tanzania is bulging, study finds
By Sascha Pare Published
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Weather
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Huge, 7-mile scar torn across Australia's Nullarbor Plain discovered by caver scouring Google Earth
By Matej Lipar Published
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'Bomb cyclone' bringing high winds to West Coast seen from space in stunning timelapse
By Ben Turner Published
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West Coast bracing for 'bomb' cyclone
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Why isn't the darkest time of the year also the coldest?
By Charles Q. Choi Published
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Earth from space
Watch Valencia disappearing under a sea of mud during deadly Spanish floods
By Harry Baker Published
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What is DANA, the strange weather phenomenon that has caused deadly flooding in Spain?
By María de los Ángeles Orfila Published
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What's the fastest recorded wind speed?
By Hannah Loss Published
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Before and after satellite images show lakes appearing across Sahara after deluge of rain soaks desert
By Hannah Osborne Published
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Earth from space
Bizarre 'pet cloud' reappears above its favorite spot in New Zealand
By Harry Baker Published
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More about Planet Earth
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Squirting cucumbers thicken and stiffen to eject seeds with 'remarkable speed and precision,' study finds
By Sascha Pare Published
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Huge, 7-mile scar torn across Australia's Nullarbor Plain discovered by caver scouring Google Earth
By Matej Lipar Published
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Earth from space
Wandering sand dunes circle a gigantic 'eye' sculpted by an ancient city-killer meteor in the Sahara
By Harry Baker Published
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