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An artist's rendering of the moment of impact of a massive <a href="/our_solar_system/meteors/meteors.html">meteorite</a> at the end of the Cretaceous (at the end of the <a href="/earth/geology/hist_mesozoic.html">Mesozoic Era</a>). Many scientists have concluded for decades that a meteorite four to six kilometers in diameter impacted the Earth at this time, resulting in a <a href="/earth/past/KTextinction.html">mass extinction of dinosaurs</a> and many other life forms.  Recent research suggests that perhaps <a href="/headline_universe/olpa/chicxulub.html">massive volcanic eruptions</a> may be been responsible for the extinction.<p><small><em>Courtesy of Don Davis, NASA</em></small></p>There are over 900 <a href="/the_universe/uts/megalith.html">rings of stone</a> located in the British Isles. The most famous of these stone rings is of course, <a href="/the_universe/uts/stonehenge.html">Stonehenge</a>. The stones of Stonehenge were put in place between 3,000 B.C and 2,000 B.C. by neolithic people.Some speculate that the site was built as a temple of worship of the ancient Earth deities. Some say it was used as an <a href="/the_universe/uts/stonehenge_astro.html">astronomical observatory</a> of sorts. Still others say it was a burial ground.<p><small><em> Image courtesy of Corel Photography.</em></small></p>Stars don't last forever. Occasionally, a star bigger than our Sun will end its life in a huge explosion, called a <a href="/the_universe/supernova.html">supernova</a>. The center of the star collapses in less than a second, blowing away the outer layers of the star. There are many beautiful images of supernova remnants, the expanding shell of gas made up of the outer layers of the original star. This image is the Vela Supernova Remnant.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the Anglo-Australian Observatory/Royal Observatory Edinburgh</em></small></p>Anti-crepuscular rays are beams of sunlight that appear to converge on a point opposite the sun. They are similar to crepuscular rays, but are seen opposite the sun in the sky. Anti-crepuscular rays are most frequently visible near sunrise or sunset. This photo of anti-crepuscular rays was taken at sunset in Boulder, Colorado. Crepuscular rays are usually much brighter than anti-crepuscular rays.<p><small><em> Image Courtesy of Carlye Calvin</em></small></p>A group of Emperor penguins wait their turn to dive into the ocean near <a href="/people/postcards/jean_pennycook_11_29_0.html">Ross Island, Antarctica</a> on November 3, 2004. Emperor penguins routinely dive to 500 meters in search of food.  Scientists are interested in understanding how they can endure the stress of these dives in such an <a href="/earth/extreme_environments.html">extreme environment</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Emily Stone, National Science Foundation</em></small></p>This dramatic view of Jupiter's <a href="/jupiter/atmosphere/J_clouds_GRS.html">Great Red Spot</a> and its surroundings was obtained by <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html">Voyager 1</a> on Feb. 25, 1979, when the spacecraft was 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Cloud details as small as 100 miles (160 kilometers) across can be seen here. The colorful, wavy cloud pattern to the left of the Red Spot is a region of extraordinarily complex end variable wave motion.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>

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Scientists Study "Glaciovolcanoes," Mountains of Fire and Ice

Scientists can learn a lot about Earth's past climates from the deposits of glaciovolcanoes like Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland ...Read more
Brought to you by NSF

CMMAP - Studying Clouds and Climate

Clouds are an important part of Earth's weather and climate. Scientists use computer models to study our planet's climate ...Read more
Brought to you by CMMAP

Physics of Space Weather

The science of physics plays a key role in many space weather phenomena. Charged particles, magnetic fields, forces and motion, and the electromagnetic spectrum are all part of space weather ...Read more
Brought to you by CISM

Archimedes

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician and engineer who lived between 287-212 B.C. His greatest contributions are in the field of geometry and in the development of war machines ...Read more

Neptune

Neptune is an ice giant planet; smaller than the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn but much larger than Earth. Neptune has more than a dozen moons and a faint ring system. It is the 8th planet from the Sun ...Read more

Upcoming Earth & Space Science Historical Events

9/10 Stephen Jay Gould, an American paleontologist, was born on this date in 1941 Details
9/12 Series of Major Earthquakes hit Sumatra, 2007
Details
xOn these dates in 2007, a series of earthquakes - one with a magnitude of 8.5 - hit the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The first earthquake struck at 6:10 pm on September 12, 2007. The earthquakes were centered in the Java trench off of the island. A total of 21 people were killed, and 88 injured.
9/14 Giovanni Cassini, an Italian-French astronomer, died on this date in 1712 Details
9/16 7.8 Magnitude earthquake strikes Tabas, Iran in 1978
Details
xOn this date in 1978, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Tabas, Iran, at 19:38 local time. The town of Tabas was completely destroyed, and the earthquake killed at least 15,000 - apparently including the town doctors, so that there was no one left to treat those injured by the quake. Neighboring towns for the surrounding 30 miles were severely damaged.

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Did you know that there are no seasons on Venus?

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Exploratour - Life in the Solar System

Life as we know it on earth requires a certain environment to survive. Life on Earth can survive in temperatures...Read more

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