2+ week, 4+ day ago  (500+ words) Giant caldera eruptions release huge amounts of magma in a short time, creating large crater-like landscapes. These eruptions are very different from smaller, frequent volcanic eruptions because they involve unique processes of magma generation, storage, and release. About 7, 300 years ago,…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago  (493+ words) The surface of the Earth is composed of tectonic plates that slowly move around over geologic time, creating continents and oceans, and influencing climates. But scientists have debated for decades when this shift began. Some theories suggest that Earth's crust…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago  (618+ words) A tiny dinosaur no bigger than a turkey has captured scientists" attention, and hearts. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the Korean Dinosaur Research Center have discovered an early'branching neornithischian dinosaur in South Korea and named it…...

4+ week, 5+ hour ago  (580+ words) Astronomers have discovered an entirely new kind of planet outside our Solar System, one with a colossal ocean of molten rock underneath its surface. The finding upends current systems for categorizing distant planets. The new planet, called L 98-59 d, was…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago  (569+ words) Between 1. 0 and 3. 6 billion years ago, many studies suggest the Moon either had a very weak magnetic field or none at all. But for the period between 3. 6 and 3. 85 billion years ago, evidence from NASA's Apollo Mission shows something different: some rocks…...

1+ mon, 1+ day ago  (520+ words) It marks a crucial time when Earth's continents were exposed and eroded, and when all the major groups of animals first appeared. However, its origin remains the subject of vigorous debate. Sedimentary rocks from the Cambrian Period rest directly atop…...

1+ mon, 4+ day ago  (564+ words) Among the strangest branches of the dinosaur family tree are the alvarezsauroids, small, bird'like theropods that lived from the Jurassic into the Cretaceous. They don't fit the image of sharp'toothed predators. Instead, their story is one of shrinking bodies, odd…...

1+ mon, 5+ day ago  (810+ words) Gravity feels steady and reliable, always keeping us on the ground. But the surprising truth is that it isn't exactly the same everywhere. Its pull changes slightly depending on where you are on Earth. And in one of the most…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago  (641+ words) The Morrison Formation is a notable rock layer from the Upper Jurassic period, recognized for its variety of land animals. Despite over a hundred years of research, we still don't fully understand how these organisms interact with each other. Understanding…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago  (458+ words) For a long time, scientists thought there was a hard limit to hopping. Go beyond a certain body weight, the logic went, and the physics simply would not work. Tendons would snap. Bones would fail. Energy costs would explode. That…...