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
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
Do bees die after they sting you? Only the honeybee dies after stinging you, and only female bees have stingers. The female honeybee dies protecting its home. The post Do bees die after they sting you? first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | EarthSky
See a satellite view from space showing the Iberian Peninsula wildfires and the smoke that is degrading air quality in the region. The post Iberian Peninsula wildfires bring smoky skies to Europe first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | 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
A heat burst is when a spike in temperatures and strong winds hit a localized area. Read about the heat burst in Granada, Spain, on Sunday. The post Heat burst hits Granada, Spain, on Sunday, causing chaos first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | EarthSky
Scientists studied interactions between whales and dolphins. In most cases, whales do not avoid dolphins and sometimes even socialize with them. The post Do whales and dolphins play together? Images and video here first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | EarthSky
Hurricane Erin became the first hurricane of the season Friday. It then experienced rapid intensification overnight, and it's now a Category 5 storm. The post Hurricane Erin now Cat 5 after extremely rapid intensification first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | EarthSky
Twilight is that magical time between sunlight and darkness. Astronomers, the experts on nighttime, recognize three stages of twilight. The post Do you love twilight? The 3 stages explained first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | EarthSky
It's possible to see the full circle rainbow, but sky conditions have to be just right. They're most often seen by pilots, who have a good view of the sky. The post Can you see a full circle rainbow? All you need to know first appeared on EarthSky.| Earth | EarthSky
Here are 3 generations of mountain gorillas. Gutangara is holding her infant daughter (right). Next to her is her adult daughter Shishikara and grandson Kira (not facing the camera). Image via Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund/ University of Zurich.| EarthSky
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael O’Connor captured this image on July 12, 2025, from Michigan and wrote: “Mammatus clouds. First time ever seeing them.” Thank you, Michael!Mammatus clouds: Ominous and beautiful| 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
View from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim onto Nankoweap Delta. Remnants of a past natural dam created by a landslide are visible on the far side of the Colorado River, just to the left of the dry bed of Nankoweap Creek. Was this Grand Canyon landslide caused by the impact that created Meteor Crater? Image via Richard Hereford/ University of Arizona.The University of Arizona News published this story on July 15, 2025. Edits by EarthSky.| EarthSky
A new study observed chimpanzees putting grass in their ears and rears. Researchers are puzzling over this learned behavior. Image via Jake Brooker/ Chimfushi Wildlife Orphanage Trust/ Utrecht University.Utrech University in the Netherlands published this original story on July 8, 2025. Edits by EarthSky.| 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
Watch killer whales in the Salish Sea use tools to scratch each other’s backs. Video via Science News. | EarthSky
Watch a bear cam above or visit Explore.org for all 8 bear cams.| EarthSky
What is noon to you? Image via Scott Webb/ Pexels.com.What is noon to you?| EarthSky
Did sunscreen help ancient humans when Earth’s magnetic field grew dangerously thin some 41,000 years ago? EarthSky’s Will Triggs speaks with scientist Agnit Mukhopadhyay about that two-millennia period when Earth’s magnetic poles went wandering. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.| EarthSky
Watch a video with tips on how your cat can form a bond with other animals.| EarthSky
Scientists have named a new fish species for the character San (also called Princess Mononoke) in the animated movie Princess Mononoke, thanks to their similarly painted cheeks. Image via Pensoft/ Fish: Branchiostegus sanae. Huang et al (CC-BY 4.0). San: “Princess Mononoke” (1997)/ Hayao Miyazaki/ Studio Ghibli.New fish species named for animated character| EarthSky
The head of the newly discovered giant sea bug species Bathynomus vaderi. It resembles Darth Vader’s helmet and mask, hence its name. Image by Nguyen Thanh Son/ Pensoft Publishers.A team of scientists has discovered a new species of giant sea bug – in a sea far, far away, off the coast of Vietnam – and named it for Darth Vader of the Star Wars franchise. Yep, the head of this creature does closely resemble the Sith Lord’s iconic helmet. The researchers – from Singapore, Indonesia an...| EarthSky
This is the new species of moray eel hidding among mangrove aerial roots. Image via Hirozumi Kobayashi/ ZooKeys.A team of scientists has discovered a new species of moray eel in river mouths of the Central Indo-Pacific. Interestingly, this discovery has a peculiarity, as moray eels usually live in saltwater, not in estuarine habitats, that is, in places where rivers meet the sea. The international team of scientists that discovered the animal nicknamed this striking species after the god of t...| 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
Dragonflies are all-terrain insects that spend more of their lives underwater than in the air. They’re also agile, fast and fierce hunters. The majority of their head is taken up by their enormous eyes, and they eat nearly any smaller insect they can see.| EarthSky
If you don’t know much more about meerkats except that they’re in the movie The Lion King … Hakuna matata, or no worries! Here’s all you need to know about these sociable, altruistic, smart and hard-working animals. | EarthSky
Did you see our LIVESTREAM on Monday, October 14, 2024? We talked about extreme weather events with climatologist Davide Faranda!| EarthSky
The video footage above, captured from a remotely operated underwater vehicle, shows the Fort Jackson sharks. Scientists spied thousands of them resting on the seafloor. | EarthSky
This is a 700,000-year-old fossil humerus excavated at Mata Menge, on the island of Flores in Indonesia. It belonged to an ancestor of Homo floresiensis, the “hobbit” human. Image via Yousuke Kaifu/ Griffith University.| EarthSky
Earth typically has 2 Van Allen belts. They are 2 donut-shaped belts of charged particles, encircling Earth. But scientists have just realized Earth now has a 3rd, temporary Van Allen belt, caused by May’s solar storm. When were the Van Allen belts first discovered? How long have we known that Earth could have a temporary 3rd belt, in addition to the 2 stable ones? What ARE the Van Allen belts, anyway? EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd and heliophysicist C. Alex Young of Goddard Spaceflight Center ...| EarthSky
Scientists say it is now possible to predict the precise speed a coronal mass ejection (shown left in an artist’s impression) is traveling at and when it will smash into Earth (bottom right moving in our direction). And that’s even before it has fully erupted from the sun (top right). The new insights will help create more accurate space storm alerts for Earth. Image via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/ JHelioviewer/ Royal Astronomical Society (CC BY 4.0).| EarthSky
When the 2 large asteroids passed Earth in late June, 1 was hiding a secret. NASA images revealed that asteroid 2011 UL21 (top circle) has a tiny moon (bottom circle) as a companion. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech.NASA images the 2 large asteroids that passed Earth| EarthSky
The dog days of summer refer to the hottest days of the year that we experience in July and August. No, they aren’t named after dogs, our cute and furry friends. But they are named after the Dog Star – the brightest star in the sky – Sirius. It’s in the constellation of Canis Major, the Greater Dog. By the way, the Belt of Orion can point you to dazzling Sirius in the morning sky.What are the dog days of summer?| EarthSky
