How fast is Earth moving?

As an Earthling, it’s easy to believe that we’re standing still. After all, we don’t feel like we’re hurtling through space. Yet we are.  So how fast exactly is Earth moving around the sun?  Some of the earliest astronomers in recorded history proposed that we live in a geocentric universe in which Earth lies at … Read more

How far is Earth from the sun?

Earth travels around the sun in an orbit that is slightly oval-shaped, known as an ellipse. Therefore, the planet’s distance from the sun changes throughout the year.  However, the average distance from Earth to the sun is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). Scientists also call this distance one astronomical unit (AU). The universe … Read more

Two Solar Flares Just Erupted on The Sun, Bringing Coronal Mass Ejections

After a series of eruptions on the Sun, Earth may be in for auroras over the next few days. A sunspot called AR2929 has emitted two solar flares, accompanied by coronal mass ejections. Although neither was directed at Earth, the ejections that are currently blasting through space may deliver glancing blows to our planet’s atmosphere that … Read more

The Nearest Stars to Earth (Infographic)

The nearest stars, their distances in light-years, spectral types and known planets. (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com contributor) Stars speckle the expanse of our ever-expanding universe. While our closest star is the sun that we orbit in our little corner of the cosmos, we can peer out to see what stellar neighbors live nearby. The … Read more

The Tonga Volcanic Eruption Was So Powerful It Sent Ripples Out Into Space

The ongoing volcanic eruption in Tonga began in December 2021, but it wasn’t until 5:15 pm local time on January 15, 2022, that the powerful explosion occurred. It generated an enormous cloud of ash, earthquakes, and tsunamis that reached as far as the distant coastlines of Peru on the other side of the Pacific.   … Read more

Massive asteroid safely zooms by Earth, a million miles away

A huge asteroid made its closest approach of the next two centuries Tuesday (Jan. 18), flying quite safely past our planet. Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1), which is classified as a near-Earth asteroid, only got within five lunar distances of our planet, the equivalent of 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers). The Virtual Telescope Project, which … Read more

Study Finds Protein Structures That Could Be Responsible For The Origins of Life

The question of how life first sparked into existence on our planet is one we haven’t yet fully answered, but science is getting closer all the time – and a new study identifies the structures of the proteins that may well have made it happen.   To begin with, the team behind the study decided … Read more

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Drilled Holes Into Mars, And Found Something Very Strange

As it’s the foundation for all life on Earth, discovering carbon on other planets always gets scientists excited – and the Curiosity Rover on Mars has found an unusual mix of the chemical element that could hypothetically point to the existence of alien life.   That’s by no means certain, but it’s a possibility. It’s … Read more

Huge Project Is Now Underway to Sequence The Genome of Every Complex Species on Earth

The Earth Biogenome Project, a global consortium that aims to sequence the genomes of all complex life on earth (some 1.8 million described species) in ten years, is ramping up.   The project’s origins, aims and progress are detailed in two multi-authored papers published today. Once complete, it will forever change the way biological research … Read more

Telltale Tsunami Sounds Could Buy More Warning Time

Editor’s Note (1/18/22): On January 15 the eruption of a volcano near Tonga triggered a far-ranging tsunami. This story about detecting tsunamis created by earthquakes is being republished in light of this event. Buoys operate as today’s state-of-the-art tsunami-detection system. Seismic data can tell officials that an underwater earthquake has occurred, but strategically placed floating … Read more