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Geology

‘Frost Quakes’ May Have Caused Mysterious Booms in Chicago

The event happens when sudden temperature drops cause underground water to freeze and expand

Apollo 14 Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. assembles equipment on the lunar surface on February 6, 1971.

Earth’s Oldest Known Rock May Have Been Found on the Moon

Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut in space, collected the rock sample during Apollo 14

The artist's concept depicts a comet-like tail of a possible disintegrating super Mercury-size planet candidate as it transits its parent star named KIC 12557548. At an orbital distance of only twice the diameter of its star, the surface temperature of the potential planet is estimated to be a sweltering 3,300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Disintegrating Planets Could Be the Key to Discovering What Worlds Are Made Of

Exoplanets that have been ripped apart by their host stars could provide an opportunity to measure the minerals of the galaxy

Trending Today

Images Show Landslide Likely Caused Indonesian Tsunami

Radar images appear to show the southwestern flank of the Anak Krakaktau volcano sheared off into the sea

Cars getting too close to the Fimmvörðuháls volcano in Iceland.

New Research

Tourists Are Getting Too Close to Volcanoes

Visitors to Iceland’s volcanoes are ignoring the rules, many to get the perfect selfie

Pine Island Glacier

New Research

Past Global Flood Shows Antarctica’s Ice Is More Fragile Than We Thought

Data indicates the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed after a small rise in temperature, meaning sea level could rise faster than predicted

Volcanic Lightning Could Help Geologists Monitor Eruptions

New study suggests spikes in lightning activity mark key changes during early stages of eruptions

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Cave Could Be Among Canada’s Largest

The “Sarlacc Pit,” as its been informally dubbed, was discovered last spring during a caribou survey in British Columbia’s Wells Gray Provincial Park

An artists concept of the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft collecting a sample from the asteroid Bennu.

Asteroid Sample-Return Mission Arrives to Collect Primordial Rocks of the Solar System

As the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrives at its target asteroid Bennu, scientists on the ground prepare for a new bounty of planetary samples

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Ingenious Minds

AOL Co-Founder Steve Case Talks With Smithsonian Geologist John Grant About the Search for Life on Mars

In the near future, we are going to know if life exists elsewhere in the universe

A "mud pot" like this one in Yellowstone National Park is moving across Southern California, for reasons that are not clear to scientists.

A Gurgling ‘Mud Pot’ Is Crawling Across Southern California

Scientists don’t know why the muddy spring is moving, but it poses a threat to the infrastructure in its path

New Research

Gravity Map Reveals Tectonic Secrets Beneath Antartica’s Ice

Satellite data shows East and West Antarctica have very different geologic histories

Residents of a village on the main island Hokkaido (pictured) didn't realize one of the small, uninhabited islands, Esanbe Hanakita Kojima, off the coast near them had vanished completely.

How a Japanese Island Quietly Disappeared

Esanbe Hanakita Kojima, as the island is called, may have been eroded by wind and ice floes

During the summer, Mount Kilauea bombarded Hawaii's Big Island with lava bombs, volcanic ash and smog

These Are the United States’ 18 Most Dangerous Volcanoes

Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea, Washington’s Mount St. Helens top the list, which forecasts eruptions’ potential impact on people, property, infrastructure

An enhanced-color image of Mercury taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft in 2012 as part of a mission to map the geologic features of the planet.

Spacecraft Launching This Week Will Explore the Mysteries of Mercury

The BepiColombo mission will study the geology and magnetism of the smallest planet to search for clues of our solar system’s beginnings

Halema‘uma‘u aerial view on June 12, 2018

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to Reopen Without Molten Lava or Lava Glow

The lava lake in the Halema‘uma‘u crater is gone and lava flows from Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater have stopped

What Would Happen if the Earth Stopped Rotating? and More Questions From our Readers

You asked, we answered

New Research

Jupiter’s Magnetic Field Is Super Weird and Has Two South Poles

Analysis of data from the Juno probe shows the giant planet’s field is much different from our own and suggests it has a dissolved core

A landslide in the Cusco region of Peru destroyed more than 100 houses in March 2018.

New Software Can Predict Landslides Weeks Before They Happen

Australian researchers are using AI and mathematics to detect tiny changes that may precede the often-deadly events

Muntanya de Sal

Catalonia

Step Inside This Glittering Mountain of Salt

Resembling an iceberg and formed millions of years ago, Muntanya de Sal is one of the world’s only salt mountains

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