The war against plastic is distracting us from pollution that can't be seen By Thomas Stanton, Matthew Johnson, Paul Kay The war against plastic may be overshadowing greater threats to the environment.
Explosive growth of Colorado wildfire seen from space By Stephanie Pappas The spread of the fire was visible from space.
Fault near Portland could unleash a major earthquake By Stephanie Pappas The Gales Creek Fault in northwest Oregon has set off some temblors before recorded history.
'Lost' tectonic plate called Resurrection hidden under the Pacific By Stephanie Pappas A new computer reconstruction of the tectonic plates of 60 million years ago reveals the existence of a lost plate called Resurrection.
Turbulent environment set the stage for leaps in human evolution 320,000 years ago By Richard Potts People thrive all across the globe, at every temperature, altitude and landscape. How did human beings become so successful at adapting to whatever environment we wind up in?
Ghostly 'UFO cloud' hovering over mountains wows judges in weather photo contest By Brandon Specktor Lenticular clouds look like saucers and form when wind meets mountains. This photo is one of the Royal Meteorological Society's favorites of the year.
'Monster' storms and frozen bison: The most spectacular weather photos of 2020 By Brandon Specktor Here are the winners of the Royal Meteorological Society's 2020 Weather Photo of the Year contest, sponsored by AccuWeather.
Severe burn damage from California wildfires seen from space By Stephanie Pappas New satellite imagery of California reveals not just the extent of its wildfire damage, but the depth of the loss.
Ice melt in Alaska threatens to unleash unprecedented 'mega-tsunami,' scientists warn By Peter Dockrill
Bill Nye to flat Earthers and science deniers: 'It affects all of us' By Chelsea Gohd "The flat earthers, the anti vaxxers, the anti maskers are not on board with the progress of science. And the thing is, it affects all of us," Bill Nye said.
800 years ago, Old Faithful went quiet. Soon, it might happen again. By Peter Dockrill Old Faithful, the famed geyser in Yellowstone National Park that erupts with captivating regularity, could soon go quiet.
Earth's space junk problem is getting worse. And there's an explosive component. By Michelle Starr We really need to stop leaving trash everywhere we go.
Kids can watch colorful crystals grow with this NatGeo kit, on sale for Prime Day By Jeanna Bryner Get up to 20% off National Geographic STEM science kits, including a crystal growing kit, a glowing marble run and more.
Drone warns surfer of very close encounter with 5-foot shark in Australia By Stephanie Pappas A program that uses drones to warn surfers of nearby sharks recorded a very close encounter off the coast in New South Wales.
Pipsqueak animals show off Marvel-like superpowers in 'Tiny World' docuseries By Mindy Weisberger Small wildlife do big things in the new docuseries "Tiny World," narrated by Paul Rudd.
15 million tons of microplastics pollute the seafloor By Mindy Weisberger A new report finds that microplastic debris is twice as abundant in the deep ocean as it is on the sea surface.
Major Hurricane Delta set to batter Louisiana, where many are still homeless after Laura By Rafi Letzter Delta will landfall just miles from the still-devastated Lousiana area where Laura hit in August, continuing a devastating hurricane season.
Earth just had its hottest September on record By Yasemin Saplakoglu Every year, a warming planet is shattering heat records.
Dead animals are washing ashore on a remote Russian peninsula. What’s going on? By Yasemin Saplakoglu Thousands of dead octopuses, starfish and other sea creatures have recently washed up on the shores of the remote Russian peninsula of Kamchatka.
Dozens of ancient penguin 'mummies' discovered at lost nesting site in Antarctica By Brandon Specktor Melting snow in Antarctica reveals ancient penguin 'mummies' dating to 5,000 years ago.