Special Report

Journey to the Center of Earth

The slip of tectonic plates and the fiery eruptions of volcanoes are just the surface manifestations of the beating heart of our planet. Earth is composed of layers, each one playing a different role in protecting all life from solar storms, recycling the planet's crust and even changing our climate. The ground beneath our feet is a dynamic place that affects us every day.

We may marvel at mountains that tower above our heads or hold our breath when confronted with dizzying views of canyons, but none of that would be possible without the inner Earth. Join us as we peel back the layers of our planet, exploring what scientists know about our world and what mysteries remain.

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“If I go look for dinosaurs, I will find them, because there’s tons of them out there,” says Kirk Johnson, the director of the National Museum of Natural History and the star of a new Nova series

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Smithsonian’s Kirk Johnson Steps Up to Be the Rock Star of Geology

This multicolored lily pad is actually a bloom of the iron-based mineral hematite in Brazilian quartz.

Surreal Photos Reveal the Otherworldly Insides of Gemstones

Scientists Recently Realized That 1,240 Miles of Volcanoes Were Connected

Earth's Surface

An illustration of the ERS-2 satellite.

A 5,000-Pound Satellite Is Falling Back to Earth This Week—and Will Likely Land in the Ocean

Christian Thorsberg

Alessandro Rotta Loria and a student in his lab walk through a train tunnel beneath the Chicago Loop.

Chicago May Be Slowly Sinking Because of 'Underground Climate Change'

Margaret Osborne

An illustration of the Snowball Earth with some open water around the equator and a newly proposed patch of ocean at mid-latitudes

How Life Could Have Survived the Frozen ‘Snowball Earth’

A present-day orange demosponge (Agelas oroides) can be found off the coast of Corfu, Greece. Research suggests sponges may have lived on Earth 890 million years ago.

This Sponge Fossil May Be the Earliest Record of Animal Life

Earth's Crust

Melting ice redistributes mass to Earth's equator, slowing its spin rate. Changes in Earth's spin affect its synchronization with atomic clocks.

Melting Polar Ice Sheets Are Slowing Earth's Rotation. That Could Change How We Keep Time

Costa Rica's Arenal volcano spews geysers of lava, ash and toxic gases

Why Central American Volcanoes Are Ideal for Studying Earth's Evolution

Pablo Fonseca Q., Knowable Magaziine

A high-temperature hydrothermal vent field discovered on Puy des Folles Seamount on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at approximately 6,562 feet in depth.

See the Breathtaking Ocean Life Found at Deep-Sea Vents

Margaret Osborne

A radar image of Venus' largest block of crust, located in the planet's lowlands and identified by the authors of a new paper.

Venus May Still Be Geologically Active

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

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

Costa Rica's Arenal volcano spews geysers of lava, ash and toxic gases

Why Central American Volcanoes Are Ideal for Studying Earth's Evolution

Pablo Fonseca Q., Knowable Magaziine

An artist's rendition of the collision between Earth and the protoplanet Theia, which, according to the prevailing theory, resulted in the moon's formation.

Mysterious Lumps in Earth's Mantle May Be Remains of the Crash That Formed the Moon

A picture taken in 2014 of the JOIDES Resolution, the ship used for the recent drilling expedition.

Scientists Extract Rocks From Earth’s Mantle

A high-temperature hydrothermal vent field discovered on Puy des Folles Seamount on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at approximately 6,562 feet in depth.

See the Breathtaking Ocean Life Found at Deep-Sea Vents

Margaret Osborne

Earth's Core

Melting ice redistributes mass to Earth's equator, slowing its spin rate. Changes in Earth's spin affect its synchronization with atomic clocks.

Melting Polar Ice Sheets Are Slowing Earth's Rotation. That Could Change How We Keep Time

Previous analyses of seismic activity on Mars suggested its core was surprisingly large, with a low density. Two new studies suggest the opposite.

Mars' Core May Be Smaller Than Thought, Wrapped in a Sea of Molten Rock

An artist's rendition of the Pysche asteroid. Data suggests that Psyche is between 30 and 60 percent metal, unlike any object in the solar system scientist's have observed up close before.

NASA Launches Mission to Study Distant Asteroid

Some scientists think that Earth's inner core is actually made up of two similar but distinct layers.

Scientists Find Evidence of Another Core Within Earth's Center