Planet Earth news, feature and articles

Editor's Picks

A collage with an illustration of DNA
Invisible DNA lurks everywhere in the environment — and we're on the verge of decoding its secrets Environments are littered with the DNA of the creatures that inhabit them. Analyzing it could provide a real-time view of how our planet is changing.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.
Incredible places: A window onto extraordinary landscapes on Earth Every week, we open a window onto an incredible place and highlight the fantastic history and science behind it.
A composite image of various photos of planet Earth taken from space by satellites or astronauts.
Earth from space — Incredible images of our planet from above Satellite imagery and astronaut photos provide a unique perspective of our planet. These aerial snaps can also highlight rare phenomena from a wide range of scientific disciplines including climate change, meteorology, animal behavior, volcanology, marine science and many more. Every week, we take a bird's eye view of Earth and explain what's really happening in these incredible images.

Latest about Planet Earth

Firefighters work to put out the Palisades fire

'We are creating the fire equivalent of an ice age': Humans have plunged Earth into the 'Pyrocene'

By Stephen Pyne published

Humans have become a geologic force by cooking the planet — using fire on a scale that is altering land, water, air and ecosystems.

Wildfires
Melting icebergs are seen on Horseshoe Island as Turkish scientists conduct fieldwork on Horseshoe Island within 7th National Antarctic Science Expedition

How is the ocean melting Antarctica? We're starting to figure it out

By Madelaine Gamble Rosevear, Ben Galton-Fenzi, Bishakhdatta Gayen, Catherine Vreugdenhil published

Antarctica is melting, and crucial details are beginning to come into focus of exactly how it's happening.

Antarctica
3D background with part of surreal alien planet earth with stone rock mountain structure inside with scratched damaged rough surface and big gap between cliffs with neon azure blue light inside.

Mariana Trench quiz: How deep is your knowledge?

By Christina Hughes published

How much do you know about one of the most mysterious places on Earth?

Rivers & Oceans
A photo of pink and green auroras

Earth's elusive 'ignorosphere' could shed new light on auroras

By Tereza Pultarova published

We know very little about some parts of Earth's atmosphere.

Planet Earth
A whitebark pine subfossil revealed beneath a melting ice patch in the Yellowstone region.

Scientists discover pristine ancient forest frozen in time in Rocky Mountains

By K.R. Callaway published

A melting ice patch in the Rocky Mountains uncovered an ancient forest, and these trees have stories to tell about dynamic landscapes and climate change.

Plants
A lake with brown water

Catastrophic tipping point in Greenland reached as crystal blue lakes turn brown, belch out carbon dioxide

By Patrick Pester published

Record heat and rain turned thousands of Greenland lakes brown in 2022 as they hit a tipping point and began emitting carbon dioxide.

Climate Change
View of the Pamukkale travertines in orange-pink light. We see rocky mountains in the background and pools of spring water in the foreground.

Pamukkale: Turkey's 'cotton castle' of white limestone that inspired an ancient cult

By Sascha Pare published

The Pamukkale travertines are limestone slopes and thermal water pools that have attracted visitors since before the days of Ancient Greece, when the spa town of Hierapolis was founded at the top.

Geology
Storm waves hitting Aberdeen Harbour in Scotland during Storm Babet in 2023.

Explosive 'bomb cyclone' descending on UK and Ireland with up to 100 mph winds

By Patrick Pester published

Storm Éowyn is about to hit the U.K. and Ireland as forecasters warn the explosive "bomb cyclone" will bring snow, rain and potentially deadly superfast winds.

Weather

'Queen of icebergs' A23a is barreling toward a remote South Atlantic island. Millions of animals could be at risk

By Pandora Dewan published

Iceberg A23a is fast approaching the remote British island of South Georgia and the Sandwich islands

Antarctica
Internal structure of the Earth, cutaway computer illustration. From the centre outwards, the four layers shown in the image are: inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust.

Continent-size blobs in Earth's mantle are a billion years old, ancient crystals reveal

By Skyler Ware published

Giant blobs that lurk near Earth's core are much older than scientists thought, new seismic data reveals.

Planet Earth
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Archives