Current Events

  • 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.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Sciences

Although in most places science is taught as different disciplines, actually, it's all connected! In order to do research in the Earth and space sciences - also sometimes called the "geosciences", you need to have a strong background in all the sciences, as well as in mathematics, too. In this section, we have brought together information related to the Earth and space sciences from across our website on the different scientific disciplines. Explore these links to find out more about geology, physics, chemistry, and biology.
Daniel Wolf Savin, a senior research scientist at Columbia University's Astrophysics Laboratory, has published a paper on the research he and his colleagues have done on how stars began. They learned that hydrogen and helium produced all other <a href="/physical_science/element.html&edu=high&dev=1">elements</a> in the <a href="/the_universe/the_universe.html&edu=high&dev=1">universe</a>. Find out more about their research <a href="/headline_universe/olpa/stars_01july10.html&edu=high&dev=1">here</a>.<p><small><em> Image Courtesy of Daniel Wolf Savin, Columbia University</em></small></p>In the spring of 2010, the eruption of a <a href="/earth/interior/volcanos_general.html&edu=high&dev=1">volcano</a> called Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland cancelled many flights in Europe. Eyjafjallajökull is a glaciovolcano, which means it's a volcano that is covered by <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html&edu=high&dev=1">glaciers</a>. When these <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_intro.html&edu=high&dev=1">ice</a>-covered volcanoes <a href="/earth/interior/eruptions.html&edu=high&dev=1">erupt</a>, the interplay among molten <a href="/earth/interior/lava.html&edu=high&dev=1">magma</a>, ice and meltwater can have catastrophic results.<p><small><em>Image Courtesy of Marco Fulle</em></small></p>A view of the Earth as seen by the <a href="/space_missions/apollo17.html&edu=high&dev=1">Apollo 17</a> crew while traveling to the <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&edu=high&dev=1">Moon</a> on December 7, 1972. Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula are visible, and you can barely make out the <a href="/earth/polar/antarctica.html&edu=high&dev=1">Antarctic</a>, shrouded in the heavy <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/cloud.html&edu=high&dev=1">cloud</a> cover in the southern hemisphere. Arching cloud patterns show the presence of <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/front.html&edu=high&dev=1">weather fronts</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Apollo 17.</em></small></p>Although we humans have never experienced fast <a href="/earth/climate/climate.html&edu=high&dev=1">global warming</a>, our planet has. And our planet keeps records of what happened. The oldest records that the <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=high&dev=1">Earth</a> keeps are in its <a href="/earth/geology/sed_intro.html&edu=high&dev=1">rocks</a>. In this image, <a href="/headline_universe/olpa/methane_28may08.html&edu=high&dev=1">geologists Chris von der Borch and Dave Mrofka</a> collect sediment samples in South Australia. These rocks hold clues to help explain why climate changed abruptly 635 million years ago.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Martin Kennedy, UCR</em></small></p>Everything you see around you is made of tiny particles called <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/atom.html&edu=high&dev=1">atoms</a>. There are many different types of atoms, each with a special combination of <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/proton.html&edu=high&dev=1">protons</a>, <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/neutron.html&edu=high&dev=1">neutrons</a> and <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/electron.html&edu=high&dev=1">electrons</a>. These different types of atoms are called <a href="/physical_science/element.html&edu=high&dev=1">elements</a>.<p><small><em> L.Gardiner/Windows to the Universe</em></small></p>The Pompeii worm, the most heat-tolerant animal on Earth, lives in the deep ocean at <a href="/earth/Water/life_deep.html&edu=high&dev=1">hydrothermal vents</a>. The worm's back is covered in bacteria adapted for living in <a href="/earth/extreme_environments.html&edu=high&dev=1">extreme environments</a>. The bacteria also grows on the surfaces of the chimneys where hot liquids spew from below the sea floor.<p><small><em>Courtesy of the University of Delaware</em></small></p>

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Geology

Geology means, literally, the study of the Earth. Explore this section to understand the structure ...Read more

Physics

Physics is the study of basic properties, materials, and forces in our Universe. Our new physics ...Read more

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Chemistry is the study of matter, energy, and their interactions. Chemists study the composition ...Read more

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Biology is the study of life and living organisms. Biologists study the structure of organisms, ...Read more

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Who made the first star map? When did people know that the Earth was round? When were sunspots ...Read more

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When scientists go out to explore the Earth they often wind up in pretty interesting places ...Read more

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How does scientific research actually work? How do scientists actually come up with explanations ...Read more

Evolution

This Windows to the Universe Exploratour examines the scientific evidence of biological evolution. ...Read more

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Historical Events

5/24 Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, died on this date in 1543 Details
5/30 7.5 magnitude quake hits Quetta, Pakistan in 1935
5/31 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits Peru in 1970

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Did you know?

Do you know what the shape of your earlobes has to do with your genetics?

Did you know that about 250 million years ago, almost all life in the ocean became extinct?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Aesthenosphere
xAesthenosphere : The asthenosphere is the ductile part of the earth just below the lithosphere, including the lower mantle.

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Research Highlights

Silver Tells a Story of Early Earth: Water Here Since Planet's Very Early Days

Tiny variations in the isotopic composition of silver in meteorites and Earth rocks are helping scientists put together a timetable of how our planet was assembled, beginning 4.568 billion years ago. Results...Read more

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