Explosive volcanic eruption rocks Caribbean island, as evacuations continue By Yasemin Saplakoglu La Soufrière volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted explosively Friday, spewing ash tens of thousands of feet into the air.
Earth nearly lost all its oxygen 2.3 billion years ago By Stephanie Pappas The permanent oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere took twice as long as previously believed and finally finished up to 100 million years later than expected.
'Ghost forests' are invading the North Carolina coast By Brandon Specktor Thousands of acres of greenery in North Carolina were converted to 'ghost forests' in the last three decades, and the trend is expected to continue with climate change.
Florida officials race to drain huge wastewater reservoir before potential collapse By Nicoletta Lanese To avoid a collapse, regulators are dumping the reservoir water into Tampa Bay.
Lava tubes in Hawaii could be a dress rehearsal for Mars colonies By Mindy Weisberger Exploring volcanic lava tubes in Hawaii helps researchers understand how humans should prepare for living and working on worlds other than Earth.
Scientists detect world's coldest cloud hovering over Pacific Ocean By Yasemin Saplakoglu A severe thunderstorm cloud that formed over the Pacific Ocean in 2018 reached the coldest temperatures ever recorded.
How the 'Worm Moon' helped free the stuck ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal By Meghan Bartels It took a little help from the full moon to free the massive Ever Given cargo ship from its perch stranded across the Suez Canal.
3 Russian nuclear submarines simultaneously punch through Arctic ice By Tom Metcalfe Here's why the naval maneuver is so tricky.
Indonesian oil refinery ignites into towering inferno By Harry Baker An oil refinery in Indonesia has caught fire after an oil leak that may have been ignited by a lightning strike.
A remnant of a protoplanet may be hiding inside Earth By Nicoletta Lanese A protoplanet called Theia crashed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago
Scientists find deep-sea bacteria that are invisible to the human immune system By Ben Turner The researchers say the discovery will give them new insights into how the immune system works, as well as enabling them to revise some of the most basic assumptions of immunology.
The huge ship stuck in the Suez Canal seen in photos from space By Mike Wall A massive container ship's embarrassing and inconvenient predicament is visible from space.
Hidden boundaries of lost continent 'Zealandia' revealed in incredible detail By Stephanie Pappas The lost continent is a submerged chunk of crust that broke off from Gondwana 80 million years ago.
Rare daytime fireball meteor creates massive sonic boom over UK By Harry Baker A rare fireball meteor bright enough to be seen during the day triggered a massive sonic boom over parts of the UK and France.
How to spot aliens? Look at Earth, scientists propose. By Mindy Weisberger Revisiting how Earth looks from space could offer scientists clues for finding alien life on distant worlds.
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
Drone footage reveals dramatic Iceland volcanic eruption By Ben Turner After a 900-year nap, a volcano in Iceland erupted Friday (March 19), spewing tendrils of molten lava down its flanks and bathing the cloudy night sky in an ominous orange-red.
World's oldest meteor crater isn't what it seems By Harry Baker The world's oldest meteor impact crater is not a crater at all, say scientists of a new study suggesting natural forces put the giant indent into Earth's surface. But the jury is still out.
Spring returns with a not-so-equal vernal equinox of 2021 By Joe Rao Spring will officially arrive on Saturday morning (March 20) with the occurrence of the vernal equinox.
Scientists uncover Antarctic sea creatures 'trapped under ice' for 50 years By Brandon Specktor When a gargantuan iceberg calved off of Antarctica last month, it revealed a bustling community of sea life for the first time in decades.
