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By Ron Cowen of Nature magazine A chemical analysis of lunar rocks may force scientists to revise the leading theory for the Moon's formation: that the satellite was born when a Mars-sized body smacked into the infant Earth some 4.5 billion years ago. If that were the case, the Moon ought to bear the chemical signature of both Earth and its proposed 'second' parent.

The Social Conquest of Earth [More]

(PhysOrg.com) -- Black holes have captured the imagination of scientists and amateur enthusiasts for years. The idea of some dark entity out there in the far reaches of space sucking up anything and everything that ventures near with such power and force that even light can’t escape it’s clutches, both enthralls and terrifies. Thus, the idea of one moving close enough to our planet would seem good reason to hit the panic button

Roughly three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. As I stand on a beach in Hawaii and look out over the vast, blue expanse in front of me, I am overwhelmed by the immensity of the Pacific Ocean. My brain wrestles with numbers far beyond its capacity to visualize

Windswept from cloud to cloud until they flutter to Earth, snowflakes assume a seemingly endless variety of shapes. Some have the perfect symmetry of a six-pointed star, some are hexagons adorned with hollow columns, whereas others resemble needles, prisms or the branches of a Christmas tree

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A solar storm that shook the Earth's magnetic field on Thursday spared satellite and power systems as it delivered a glancing blow, although it could still intensify until early Friday, space weather experts said. The geomagnetic storm surging from the sun was initially expected to be strong enough to disrupt power grids, airplane traffic and space-based satellite navigation systems

By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A strong geomagnetic storm is racing from the Sun toward Earth, and its expected arrival on Thursday could affect power grids, airplane routes and space-based satellite navigation systems, U.S. [More]

Few places on Earth are so full of geological mayhem as a subduction zone.

Now's a great time to break out that backyard telescope. Because Saturday, March 3, is the Mars Opposition . It's one of the times that the Earth and Mars pass the closest to one another

By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world's oceans are turning acidic at what could be the fastest pace of any time in the past 300 million years, even more rapidly than during a monster emission of planet-warming carbon 56 million years ago, scientists said on Thursday. Looking back at that bygone warm period in Earth's history could offer help in forecasting the impact of human-spurred climate change, researchers said of a review of hundreds of studies of ancient climate records published in the journal Science. Quickly acidifying seawater eats away at coral reefs, which provide habitat for other animals and plants, and makes it harder for mussels and oysters to form protective shells.

.bigbody a {color:#008CB3;} .bigbody img {display:inline-block;width:100px;vertical-align:top;} .bigbody p {display:inline-block;width:480px;vertical-align:top;} Tim Quirk Head of Android global content programming, Google The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett "Pratchett, who's pretty much the Mark Twain of fantasy, is returning to his sci-fi roots. Speaking of Twain, where is volume two of the autobiography he wouldn't allow to be published until 100 years after his death?"

Anyone?

By Sharon Levy of Nature magazine During the Ice Age, Earth's northern reaches were covered by chilly, arid grasslands roamed by mammoths, woolly rhinoceros and long-horned bison.

When faced with unthinkable tragedy, restaurateur John Besh found the secret to growing his business--and it wasn't all about the bottomline. More than a decade ago, chef John Besh set a date to open his first New Orleans restaurant: September 11th, 2001. That would be the first unimaginable American tragedy to leave its mark on the Louisiana-native.

For years, scientists have warned that climate change is taking its toll on Earth's ice, thawing not just the massive ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica but mountain glaciers and ice caps from the Andes to the Alps.