Earth's Surface

Ice calves off the Breidamerkurjokull, a glacier in Iceland. Some scientists suggest prehistoric glaciers hold the answers to how life evolved on Earth.

SMART NEWS

How Enormous Glaciers on the Frozen 'Snowball Earth' Might Have Bulldozed the Path to Complex Life on Our Planet

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds were recently captured by NASA astronaut Don Pettit aboard the ISS.

SMART NEWS

NASA Astronaut Shares Breathtaking Photos From the ISS, Featuring Galaxies and Glowing 'Star Trails'

Seismologist Won-Young Kim examines signals from a network of seismometers monitoring for earthquakes in New York, New Jersey and New England.

SMART NEWS

Geologists Finally Explain New Jersey's Strange Earthquake That Rocked the Northeast in April

Maletsunyane Falls in the Lesotho Highlands shows how a river can erode deep valleys into uplifted lands.

SMART NEWS

Slow-Motion Ripples in Earth's Mantle Built Mysterious and Stunning Highland Landscapes, Study Finds

Earth's Crust

Crater Peak (photographed here on February 7, 2025) is the most likely site of a future Mount Spurr eruption.

SMART NEWS

'Volcanic Unrest' at Alaska's Mount Spurr Suggests 50-50 Chance an Eruption Could Be Coming

A map of bathymetry—or underwater topography—of Axial Seamount, an active volcano some 300 miles off the coast of Oregon.

SMART NEWS

An Undersea Volcano Near Oregon May Erupt in 2025, Scientists Predict. It Could Help Improve Eruption Forecasts

The eruption at Zavaritskii volcano created a nearly two-mile-wide caldera with layers of red, black and white from previous eruptive deposits.

SMART NEWS

Scientists Find the Mysterious Source of the Massive 1831 Volcanic Eruption That Cooled Earth and Made the Sun Appear Blue

Imperial Geyser is one of the many hydrothermal features that draw visitors to Yellowstone National Park.

SMART NEWS

Will Yellowstone Erupt Soon? Scientists Are Using New Techniques to Find Out

Featured story

Nematodes (blue) wiggle inside a stalactite from a South African gold mine in this image taken with a microscope.

SCIENCE

Inner Earth Is Teeming With Exotic Forms of Life

More than a mile below the surface, our planet supports diverse creatures that could give us clues about life across the solar system

Earth's Mantle

Researchers discovered the oldest meteorite impact crater known to science in Australia. 

SMART NEWS

Oldest Known Impact Crater Discovered in Australia

Crater Peak (photographed here on February 7, 2025) is the most likely site of a future Mount Spurr eruption.

SMART NEWS

'Volcanic Unrest' at Alaska's Mount Spurr Suggests 50-50 Chance an Eruption Could Be Coming

A map of bathymetry—or underwater topography—of Axial Seamount, an active volcano some 300 miles off the coast of Oregon.

SMART NEWS

An Undersea Volcano Near Oregon May Erupt in 2025, Scientists Predict. It Could Help Improve Eruption Forecasts

The eruption at Zavaritskii volcano created a nearly two-mile-wide caldera with layers of red, black and white from previous eruptive deposits.

SMART NEWS

Scientists Find the Mysterious Source of the Massive 1831 Volcanic Eruption That Cooled Earth and Made the Sun Appear Blue

Earth's Core

By studying seismic waves, researchers are revealing more about the mysterious nature of our planet's inner core.

SMART NEWS

Earth's Inner Core Is Changing Shape, Study Finds, Indicating Even More Dynamic Shifts Deep Within Our Planet

The magnetic north pole, distinct from the geographic North Pole, is the point where Earth’s magnetic field lines converge.

SMART NEWS

Earth's Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Toward Siberia and Raising Questions About Unusual Movement

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds up the newly discovered diamond, which weighs more than a pound.

SMART NEWS

Largest Diamond Since 1905 Unearthed by Miners in Botswana

A mantle rock sample viewed under a microscope.

SMART NEWS

Scientists Drill Deeper Into Earth's Mantle Than Ever Before, Probing for the Origin of Life on Earth