Earth Science

The world has only had time zones since the late 1800s. Some people think we should eliminate them and have just one universal time instead.

By Patrick J. Kiger

This white-hot metal not only makes beautiful jewelry, it's coveted for industrial, medical and military purposes too.

By Alia Hoyt

The U.S. is full of exceptional geological formations. But these five set the bar high as far as landmarks go.

By Mark Mancini

You can see these rocky formations in the Badlands of Nebraska, and they're as awe-inspiring as they are eerie.

By Mark Mancini

Cross seas may looks super cool. But you never want to get caught up in the grid-patterned waves they generate.

By John Perritano

Each year, Earth sees two equinoxes and two solstices. But how much do you actually know about these events? Take the quiz and find out!

By Alia Hoyt

If fettuccine rock exists on Mars, it would suggest the existence of microbial life there.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Water surrounds us, falling from the sky and pouring from faucets, and yet many of us never ask where it comes from. The answer stretches way back — before tides and thunderclouds to the big bang.

By Jonathan Atteberry & Ian O'Neill, Ph.D.

To honor their prehistoric pasts, most U.S. states have designated official state fossils, ranging from trilobites to dinosaurs. Take our quiz to learn more!

By Mark Mancini

Caves are full of incredible geological formations, including stalagmites and stalactites. But you've probably never seen anything like cave popcorn before.

By Mark Mancini

"Will draw dinosaurs for food" is what they like to think they do. But it's actually way more complicated.

By Mark Mancini

The spring, or vernal, equinox traditionally marks the first day of spring — but climate scientists use a different date altogether. Find out more about this and other facts about the spring equinox.

By Mark Mancini

Scientists set up two stations to capture this strange seismic activity.

By Mark Mancini

The decades-old geyser was created by accident when a geothermal company tried to drill a well. Now the strange geyser is open to tourists for the first time ever.

By Oisin Curran

Massive gypsum crystals were discovered beneath Mexico's Sierra de Naica Mountain in very inhospitable environs — to humans anyway.

By Mark Mancini

Sealab was a U.S. Navy program that allowed undersea divers to go deeper and stay underwater longer. So why did it disappear?

By Jesslyn Shields

The Ancient Earth visualization map shows the movement of the planet's tectonic plates in a really cool way.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Sastrugi are gorgeous snow formations found in the polar north, but they're also no fun to travel over.

By Jesslyn Shields

These ancient wonders aren't static sculptures; they vibrate and shift throughout the day, creating a variety of sounds as they stretch their aging, eroding 'bones.'

By Nathan Chandler

The pigment ultramarine was as expensive as gold in medieval Europe; so how did it end up in the teeth of a nun buried at a monastery in rural Germany?

By Jesslyn Shields

What makes these spongy, waterlogged areas of decaying plant matter so perfect at preservation? In a word: science.

By Mark Mancini

Prior to the mid-1990s, the magnetic north pole traveled at speeds of around 9 miles per year. Now, it's 34 miles annually. What accounts for the acceleration?

By Mark Mancini

Researchers hypothesize that missing rocks from the geologic record, known as the Great Unconformity, were sheared away by glaciers at a time when most — or all — of the world's surface was coated with ice.

By Mark Mancini

Lakes seem like serene places to escape and enjoy peace and quiet. So you'd probably be surprised to learn that a lake can actually explode without warning. It's happened, with deadly consequences.

By Mark Mancini

How, in today's world, could a cave this massive go undetected for so long?

By Patrick J. Kiger