The Taliban, which rules war-torn Afghanistan, has asked the world for help with recovery efforts following last night's 6.0-magnitude Afghanistan earthquake. The post Afghanistan earthquake: Impassable roads, inclement weather first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
Labor Day is a federal US holiday that falls on the first Monday in September and is considered the unofficial end of summer. The post Labor Day: Learn its history and traditions first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
It is the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes to ever impact the United States. The post Hurricane Katrina retrospective: 20 years after the storm first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
After a series of explosive failures this year, SpaceX’s Starship saw spectacular success during its 10th flight test on August 26, 2025. The post Starship redeems itself in spectacular 10th test flight first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
An interview about interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans, with the study’s lead author Israel Hershkovitz, of Tel Aviv University. Video provided by Tel Aviv University.| EarthSky
Scientists are learning more about human evolution after discovering a new species of Australopithecus that lived contemporaneously with ancient humans. The post Human evolution complexity revealed in new African fossils first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | EarthSky
Alcohol and evolution: Eating alcohol-laden fruit might have helped early hominids socialize. Later, did making alcohol drive the rise of agriculture? The post Did alcohol and evolution go hand in hand for humanity? first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
Want to try to shoot photos of meteors with your camera? The first step is planning. The next step is to gather your equipment. Then on to the capture process. The post Learn how to shoot photos of meteors first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
Why do we sleep? University of Oxford researchers may have cracked the mystery: an electrical buildup within cellular components. The post Why do we sleep? Study blames overloaded brain cells first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
UFOs in Canada: Canada’s top scientists are recommending the creation of a new federal body to standardize, collect and investigate unidentified aerial phenomena. Video via CTV News.| EarthSky
Jasper, on the left, belongs to the study’s lead author, Hoi-Lam Jim. He’s shown here with his best friend, Sahibu. While many people think that their dogs are good judges of a person’s character, new research indicates there is no evidence that dogs form opinions of people. Image via Hoi-Lam Jim / Kyoto University.| EarthSky
The world watched on television as Neil Armstrong from Apollo 11 was the 1st human to leave footsteps on the moon on July 20, 1969. It was the 1st time humans walked on another world as he stepped onto the lunar surface, Armstrong said: “That is one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” Still image via NASA video.Read all about the 1st footsteps on the moon – 56 years ago – and celebrate International Moon Day.| EarthSky
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Gipson in Suffolk, UK, caught this unusual cloud formation on July 1, 2025. Thanks, Peter! This is a hole-punch cloud or fallstreak hole. Read more about how hole-punch clouds occur below.Fallstreak holes or hole-punch clouds| EarthSky
The July birthstone is shown here as natural ruby crystals. Image via Rob Lavinsky/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).July birthstone: Rubies| EarthSky
Human dam-building, first in the Americas and then in East Africa and Asia, has been linked to minute shifts in Earth’s poles. Image of Hoover Dam via U.S. National Park Service.The American Geophysical Union published this story originally on July 8, 2025. Edits by EarthSky.| EarthSky
A SpaceX Starship upper stage exploded during a static-fire test on June 18, at SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. See the video. The post Another SpaceX Starship explosion! Huge fireball during test first appeared on EarthSky.| Human World | EarthSky
The month of June in 2025 has the sole Friday the 13th for this year. Image by EarthSky.Friday the 13th| EarthSky
SpaceX’s Starship Flight 9 launched from Starbase in south Texas on May 27, 2025. The 1st-ever reused Super Heavy booster exploded during its landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico. Starship itself touched orbit, then lost control and tumbled back to Earth. Image is a video still via SpaceX live feed/ Videos from Space.EarthSky isn’t powered by billionaires. We’re powered by you.| EarthSky
In 2025, the first set of Manhattanhenge dates will fall on May 28 (half sun) and May 29 (full sun). Hear all about the science and history behind Manhattanhenge from Jackie Faherty, Senior Research Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Watch in the player above, or on YouTube. EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd is host.| EarthSky
Cuts to science in the United States will endanger research that improves economic growth, national security and your life. Watch the livestream with EarthSky’s founder Deborah Byrd and Dan Garisto at 12:15 p.m. (17:15 UTC) on Tuesday, May 20, for updates on the funding freeze at the National Science Foundation.| EarthSky
Maypole dancing at the village’s fair at Bishopstone, East Sussex, with the tower of St Andrew’s parish church in the background. Image via Kevin Gordon/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic).Looking up has never felt more important. Please donate to help EarthSky keep bringing the sky to your screen.| EarthSky
This is wildfire. It’s winter for the Northern Hemisphere, yet wildfires raged this past week in neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Why? Among other reasons, we live in a warming world, with greater weather extremes, including heat and drought in places like LA County. The book “This Is Wildfire” explains why wildfires around the globe seem larger and more destructive now. But, even more importantly, the book helps you prepare your home and your community for wildfire. Image via Ready.gov.Ni...| EarthSky
The January birthstone, the garnet, comes in several types. This image shows a variety known as andradite. Image via Moha112100/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).If you were born in January, the garnet is your birthstone.| EarthSky
Did you see our LIVESTREAM on Monday, October 14, 2024? We talked about extreme weather events with climatologist Davide Faranda!| EarthSky
What’s the Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait, thinking about today? He’s thinking about the wealth of knowledge about our home galaxy, the Milky Way, provided by ESA’s awesome GAIA space observatory.| EarthSky
Read below about research showing it’s true … we sleep less before a full moon.| EarthSky
The X-37B spaceplane mission 7 launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, designated USSF-52, on Thursday night, December 28, 2023. Greg Diesel-Walck captured this image at the launch site and said: “The dew tonight was insane”.The U.S. Space Force’s robot spaceplane – the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle – lifted off on its seventh mission Thursday night, December 28, 2023, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It rode to its highest orbit yet aboard a powerful SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket,...| EarthSky
