NASA Scientists Observe Electric Blue Clouds in the Mesosphere
On the cusp of our atmosphere live a thin group of seasonal electric blue clouds. Forming 50 miles (80 kilometers) above the poles in summer,…
Earth Science News
Researchers Measure Wave Particle Energy Transfer in Collisionless Space Plasma
The Earth’s magnetosphere contains plasma, an ionized gas composed of positive ions and negative electrons. The motion of these charged plasma particles is controlled by…
Scientists Reveal How Phytoplankton Survive in Nutrient Deficient Ocean Gyres
Subtropical gyres are huge, sustained currents spanning thousands of kilometers across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, where very little grows. With nutrients in short supply,…
ELFIN CubeSats to Study How Electrons Escape the Van Allen Belts
Three hundred and ten miles above our planet’s surface, near-Earth space is abuzz with action. Here begin the Van Allen Belts, a pair of concentric…
NASA Image of the Day – ‘Snow Swamp’ on Canada’s Lowell Glacier
Over a mere four days this summer, snow from the previous winter melted into a pond of slush on Canada’s Lowell Glacier. Mauri Pelto, a…
Amazing Image Reveals Distribution of Aerosols in Earth’s Atmosphere
On August 23, 2018 the identification and distribution of aerosols in the Earth’s atmosphere is shown in this dramatic, planet-wide visualization. Produced in real time,…
Warmer Water Now Reaches Deep Into The Arctic Interior
Arctic sea ice isn’t just threatened by the melting of ice around its edges, a new study has found: Warmer water that originated hundreds of…
Satellite Imagery Reveals the Above Anvil Cirrus Plume of a Storm
It’s not quite a smoking gun, but one could be forgiven for thinking of it that way: a distinctive cloud formation that often signals damaging…
Earth’s Minimoons Provide Exciting Opportunities for Science and Technology
The detection of “minimoons” — small asteroids temporarily captured in orbit around Earth — will vastly improve our scientific understanding of asteroids and the Earth-Moon…
Scientists Provide Evidence for Why Earth’s Early Climate Was More Stable and Warmer
Yale researchers have provided a new explanation for why Earth’s early climate was more stable and warmer than it is today. When life first evolved…
NASA Views One of the Most Rapidly Changing Glaciers in the World
The Columbia Glacier descends from an ice field 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) above sea level, down the flanks of the Chugach Mountains, and into a narrow inlet that…
Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment Shows Arctic Carbon Cycle is Speeding Up
When people think of the Arctic, snow, ice and polar bears come to mind. Trees? Not so much. At least not yet. A new NASA-led…
Carbon Filled Oceans Affect Tiny But Important Organism
They’re impossible to see with the naked eye. They’re difficult to pronounce. But coccolithophores, a single-celled plankton, have an outsized effect on oceans due to…
Planetary Defense Has Unexpected Support From a New Satellite
NASA’s efforts to better understand asteroid impacts has found unexpected support from a new satellite sensor designed to detect lightning. New research published in the…
Geologists Find Anomalies, Pieces of Mantle Found Rising Under Cascadia Fault
New seismic data provide structural basis for strong earthquakes that strike at both ends of the Pacific Northwest fault zone. With four years of data…
Landsat 8 Views Striking Patterns of Blue and Green in the Chukchi Sea
Regardless of the amount of winter ice cover, the waters off of the Alaskan coast usually come alive each spring with blooms of phytoplankton. These…
Scientists Reveal Diamond Cache Deep in Earth’s Interior
New study shows that 1–2 percent of Earth’s oldest mantle rocks are made from diamond. There may be more than a quadrillion tons of diamond…
Evolution of Earth’s First Animals Caused Global Warming
The evolution of Earth’s first animals more than 500 million years ago caused global warming, new research shows. Some 520-540 million years ago, animal life…
