Earth's Surface | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/earths-surface/RSS feed for Earth's SurfaceenTue, 28 Oct 2025 19:28:02 +0000Earth Is Getting Dimmer—and the Northern Hemisphere Is Losing Brightness Faster Than Scientists Expectedhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earth-is-getting-dimmer-and-the-northern-hemisphere-is-losing-brightness-faster-than-scientists-expected-180987578/New research challenges the idea that the hemispheres' matching brightness is a fundamental property of the planetTue, 28 Oct 2025 19:28:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earth-is-getting-dimmer-and-the-northern-hemisphere-is-losing-brightness-faster-than-scientists-expected-180987578/The Secrets of How Life Began May Be Hidden Inside the World’s Oldest Rockshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-secrets-of-how-life-began-may-be-hidden-inside-the-worlds-oldest-rocks-180986638/Smithsonian researchers trekked to a remote site in northern Canada to collect four-billion-year-old rock samples that could unlock mysteries about Earth’s earliest historyFri, 16 May 2025 17:35:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-secrets-of-how-life-began-may-be-hidden-inside-the-worlds-oldest-rocks-180986638/How Enormous Glaciers on the Frozen 'Snowball Earth' Might Have Bulldozed the Path to Complex Life on Our Planethttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-enormous-glaciers-on-the-frozen-snowball-earth-might-have-bulldozed-the-path-to-complex-life-on-our-planet-180986135/A new study suggests glaciers carved metals out from the Earth’s surface 700 million years ago, leading to chemical reactions in the oceans that set the stage for early animal evolutionThu, 06 Mar 2025 19:03:34 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-enormous-glaciers-on-the-frozen-snowball-earth-might-have-bulldozed-the-path-to-complex-life-on-our-planet-180986135/NASA Astronaut Shares Breathtaking Photos From the ISS, Featuring Galaxies and Glowing 'Star Trails'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasa-astronaut-shares-breathtaking-photos-from-the-iss-featuring-galaxies-and-glowing-star-trails-180985637/On his fourth flight, Don Pettit is once again sharing the art of astrophotography, capturing and posting pictures of Earth, satellites and spaceWed, 11 Dec 2024 20:34:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasa-astronaut-shares-breathtaking-photos-from-the-iss-featuring-galaxies-and-glowing-star-trails-180985637/Geologists Finally Explain New Jersey's Strange Earthquake That Rocked the Northeast in Aprilhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/geologists-finally-explain-new-jerseys-strange-earthquake-that-rocked-the-northeast-in-april-180985361/A new study suggests the seismic energy traveled outward from a previously unmapped fault, emanating from the hypocenter in bouncing waves that shook distant areasThu, 31 Oct 2024 16:42:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/geologists-finally-explain-new-jerseys-strange-earthquake-that-rocked-the-northeast-in-april-180985361/Slow-Motion Ripples in Earth's Mantle Built Mysterious and Stunning Highland Landscapes, Study Findshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/slow-motion-ripples-in-earths-mantle-built-mysterious-and-stunning-highland-landscapes-study-finds-180984860/Following the break-up of an ancient supercontinent, waves propagated through the hot, rocky layer beneath the planet's brittle crust and reshaped its surface over millions of yearsTue, 13 Aug 2024 18:10:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/slow-motion-ripples-in-earths-mantle-built-mysterious-and-stunning-highland-landscapes-study-finds-180984860/A 5,000-Pound Satellite Is Falling Back to Earth This Week—and Will Likely Land in the Oceanhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-5000-pound-satellite-is-falling-back-to-earth-this-week-and-will-likely-land-in-the-ocean-180983812/The reentry of the satellite, called ERS-2, is part of an intentional effort by the European Space Agency to reduce orbital debrisTue, 20 Feb 2024 21:13:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-5000-pound-satellite-is-falling-back-to-earth-this-week-and-will-likely-land-in-the-ocean-180983812/Chicago May Be Slowly Sinking Because of 'Underground Climate Change'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chicago-may-be-slowly-sinking-because-of-underground-climate-change-180982573/The ground beneath the Windy City is shifting as heat escapes from buildings and transit systems, posing a threat to infrastructure, a study findsThu, 20 Jul 2023 20:29:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chicago-may-be-slowly-sinking-because-of-underground-climate-change-180982573/How Life Could Have Survived the Frozen ‘Snowball Earth’https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-life-could-have-survived-the-frozen-snowball-earth-180981939/During a prehistoric ice age when the planet was enveloped in glaciers, algae could have made a living in patchy, open oceans, study suggestsFri, 14 Apr 2023 21:12:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-life-could-have-survived-the-frozen-snowball-earth-180981939/This Sponge Fossil May Be the Earliest Record of Animal Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sponge-fossil-may-be-earliest-record-animal-life-180978297/The 890-million-year-old relic predates periods of extreme cold and the planet’s second oxygenation spikeWed, 28 Jul 2021 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sponge-fossil-may-be-earliest-record-animal-life-180978297/