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Earth

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science

By Air, Land, or Sea, Tiny Microbes Transform Our World

They often get a bad rap, but bacteria prevent erosion, undergird ecosystems, and make artificial snow.
Susanne Wedlich March 7, 2023
science

Soil Scientists Dig Deep to Understand the 'Skin of the Earth'

What's beneath our feet is crucial to life on the planet—don't you dare call it dirt.
Mary-Rose Abraham April 12, 2022
Wageningen, Netherlands

World Soil Museum

A Dutch museum preserves the world's most diverse collection of vertical slices of soil.
Isle La Motte, Vermont

Goodsell Ridge Fossil Preserve

Journey through various trails to discover a land before time along the Chazy Fossil Reef.
Calda, Italy

Terme Lucane

A small thermal park among the mountains of Southern Italy features a surprising piece of modern art.
science

What’s the Most Striking Image of Earth?

NASA's Earth Observatory wants your help finding hidden gems in its vast archives.
Jessica Leigh Hester March 10, 2020
science

What Are a Dozen Bottles of Bordeaux Doing in Space?

It's for science, promise.
Luke Fater November 7, 2019
fossils

Found: A Spaceship-Shaped, 500-Million-Year-Old Sea Creature

High-altitude fossils from the deep, deep past.
Isaac Schultz August 5, 2019
Osborne, Kansas

Geodetic Center of North America

This lesser-known geographic marker was the reference point for all surveys of the continent for 75 years.
volcanoes

A Swarm of Aftershocks Swept Through Yellowstone, From a Quake 60 Years Ago

Earthquakes are just plain inscrutable.
Jonathan Carey May 31, 2019
Ukiah, California

Ukiah Latitude Observatory

One of only five observatories in the world built to measure the Earth's wobble.
science

How Comparisons Help Us Understand the Universe

And ourselves.
Jessica Leigh Hester July 3, 2018
science

The Incredibly Tricky Task of Measuring All Life on Earth

Humans make up just 0.01 percent of the biomass on the planet—the same as termites.
Jessica Leigh Hester May 22, 2018
Seldom, Newfoundland and Labrador

Museum of the Flat Earth

This quirky museum will make you question everything, including the shape of the planet.
science

Northern Australia Was Once Smushed Up Against North America

And other strange facts of supercontinent history.
Sarah Laskow January 26, 2018
Valdivia, Chile

Foucault Pendulum of Valdivia

A 63-foot-tall swinging ball hypnotizes passersby, and proves to any remaining doubters that the Earth is spinning.
Cabin John, Maryland

USDA Rammed Earth House

This suburban house is made of dirt, and almost sparked a revolution in home construction.
Anstruther, Scotland

Anstruther Model Solar System

Bronze plates placed around this Scottish fishing village form a true-scale model of the solar system.