Current Events

  • Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather
    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong corr...Read more

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    Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather

    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period. Data analyzed in this study cover the period from 431 to 1649, during which time up to 48 volcanic eruptions are identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. You can find the study (open access), published on 6 June 2013 in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article. Find out more about how volcanoes can influence climate.
  • EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US
    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, acco...Read more

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    EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US

    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. For more information on the tornado, visit http://ow.ly/i/2hfDG.
  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.

Planets

By the current count of astronomers, our solar system includes 8 planets and 5 dwarf planets. The planets were formed during the process of solar system formation, when clumps began to form in the disk of gas and dusk rotating about our young Sun. Eventually, only the planets and other small bodies in the solar system remained. The four rocky planets at the center of the solar system Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, are known as the inner planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all composed primarily of gas and are known as the outer planets. Find out more about the planets through the links below.

Have you ever seen the <a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora.html&edu=high&dev=1">Southern or Northern Lights</a>? Earth isn't the only planet that puts on these beautiful light shows, which are also called the "<a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora.html&edu=high&dev=1">aurora</a>". Aurora have been seen at both <a href="/saturn/saturn_polar_regions.html&edu=high&dev=1">poles of Saturn</a>, too, as well as at the poles of <a href="/jupiter/magnetosphere/jupiter_aurora.html&edu=high&dev=1">Jupiter</a>. These "<a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/tour/tour_earth_magnetosphere_09.html&edu=high&dev=1">curtains of light</a>" sometimes rise 1,200 miles (2,000 km) above the <a href="/saturn/atmosphere/S_clouds_overview.html&edu=high&dev=1">cloud tops</a> near Saturn's poles. The <a href="/space_missions/HST.html&edu=high&dev=1">Hubble Space Telescope</a> took this picture in 2004.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA, ESA, J. Clarke (Boston University), and Z. Levay (STScI)</em></small></p>Neptune's <a href="/neptune/lower_atmosphere.html&edu=high&dev=1">atmosphere</a> shows a striped pattern of <a href="/neptune/atmosphere/N_clouds_overview.html&edu=high&dev=1">clouds</a>. This cloud pattern is very similar to that of <a href="/jupiter/jupiter.html&edu=high&dev=1">Jupiter</a> and <a href="/saturn/saturn.html&edu=high&dev=1">Saturn</a>. Neptune even has a <a href="/neptune/atmosphere/N_clouds_GDS.html&edu=high&dev=1">Great Dark Spot</a> similar to Jupiter's <a href="/jupiter/atmosphere/J_clouds_GRS.html&edu=high&dev=1">Great Red Spot</a>. The Great Dark Spot of Neptune is thought to be a hole, similar to the hole in the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/ozone_layer.html&edu=high&dev=1">ozone layer on Earth</a>, in the <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/methane.html&edu=high&dev=1">methane</a> cloud deck of Neptune.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p><a href="/mercury/mercury.html&edu=high&dev=1">Mercury</a>, the innermost planet of the solar system, is a little bigger than the Earth's Moon. The <a href="/mercury/Interior_Surface/Surface/surface_overview.html&edu=high&dev=1">surface</a> of the planet is covered with craters, like the Moon, but temperatures there can reach over 800&deg;F because Mercury is so close to the Sun and rotates so slowly. This picture was taken by the <a href="/space_missions/robotic/messenger/messenger.html&edu=high&dev=1">MESSENGER spacecraft</a> in October 2008.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.</em></small></p>The uniquely red <a href="/mars/interior/Martian_global_geology.html&edu=high&dev=1">global surface</a> of Mars is marked by many interesting features - some like those on the <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=high&dev=1">Earth</a> and others strangely different. The reddish color is caused by rust (iron oxide) in the <a href="/mars/exploring/martian_soils.html&edu=high&dev=1">soil</a>. Some of these features are; <a href="/mars/interior/mars_volcanoes.html&edu=high&dev=1">volcanoes</a>, canyon systems, <a href="/mars/interior/Martian_running_water.html&edu=high&dev=1">river beds</a>, <a href="/mars/interior/Mars_cratered_terrain.html&edu=high&dev=1">cratered terrain</a>, and <a href="/mars/interior/Martian_dunefields.html&edu=high&dev=1">dune fields</a>. This image shows a global mosaic of 102 Viking 1 Orbiter images of Mars taken in February, 1980.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA.</em></small></p>This historic image is the first ever taken from a spacecraft in orbit about <a href="/mercury/mercury.html&edu=high&dev=1">Mercury</a>, the innermost planet of the solar system. Taken on 3/29/2011 by <a href="/space_missions/robotic/messenger/messenger.html&edu=high&dev=1">MESSENGER</a>, it shows numerous craters across the <a href="/mercury/Interior_Surface/Surface/surface_overview.html&edu=high&dev=1">surface</a> of the planet. Temperatures there can reach over 800°F because Mercury is so close to the Sun and rotates so slowly. MESSENGER entered orbit around Mercury earlier in March 2011.<p><small><em>NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington</em></small></p>New observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft provide support for the hypothesis that Mercury harbors abundant water ice and other frozen volatile materials in its permanently shadowed (shown in red) polar craters. Areas where polar deposits of ice imaged by Earth-based radar are shown in yellow.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory</em></small></p>

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Explore Planets

What is a Planet?

It may surprise you, but astronomers don't really have a good definition of a "planet". Because ...Read more

Mercury

Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun, is also the smallest planet in the Solar System. Only ...Read more

Venus

Fair but inhospitable Venus, a "Sister" planet to the Earth that is very different from our ...Read more

Earth

Earth, our home planet, is a beautiful blue and white ball when seen from space. ...Read more

Mars

Mars, Earth's outer neighbor, is the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars' bright appearance and ...Read more

Jupiter

   Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. When approached from afar, its fantastic ...Read more

Saturn

Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, has the most spectacular set of rings in the solar system. ...Read more

Uranus

   Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, has its spin axis almost in the plane of its orbit ...Read more

Neptune

Neptune, the eighth and furthest planet from the Sun, is a very cold place. Its bluish color ...Read more

Dwarf Planets

In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved a new classification scheme for ...Read more

More about Planets

Historical Events

6/18 Florence Bascom, an American geologist, died on this date in 1945 Details
6/25 Hermann Oberth,a Romanian and German physicist, was born on this date in 1894 Details
6/28 Maria Mitchell, an American astronomer, died on this date in 1889 Details

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Did you know?

Did you know that Uranus is tilted so that its rotational axis is almost in the plane of the ecliptic?

Do you know who discovered Uranus?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Tsunami
xTsunami : A tsunami is a sea wave of local or distant origin that results from large-scale seafloor displacements associated with large earthquakes, major submarine slides, or exploding volcanic islands.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Pollution from Asia Circles Globe at Stratospheric Heights

The economic growth across much of Asia comes with a side effect: pollutants from the region are wafting up to the stratosphere during monsoon season. The new finding, in a study led by scientists at the...Read more

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The Spring 2011 issue of The Earth Scientist is focused on modernizing seismology education. Thanks to IRIS, you can download this issue for free as a pdf. Print copies are available in our online store.

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