The Moon’s once powerful magnetic field helped shield Earth and its developing atmosphere from powerful solar storms 4 billion years ago, a new study claims. Researchers led by James Green, NASA’s chief scientist, created computer models simulating the protective impact the Moon once had over Earth. The combined magnetic fields of both the Moon and … Read more
Interactive map lets you track the location of your hometown on the Earth as the planet changes over 750 million years The website app was developed by a software engineer using geological data The interactive tool tracks a changing world over hundreds of millions of years It was designed as way to ‘easily illustrate’ complex … Read more
Water was NOT brought to Earth by asteroids or comets but has been present ever since the planet first formed, meteorite study suggests Researchers found a material present in the inner solar system carries hydrogen The material was found by studying meteorites called enstatite chondrite The hydrogen is in such an abundance that it could … Read more
Earth’s solid inner core that strengthens its magnetic field formed about 1.3 billion years ago – more than 3.2 billion years AFTER the planet itself, study finds Researchers from Texas recreated Earth’s inner core conditions in a laboratory The aim was to find out just how conductive the iron core is to determine its age … Read more
NASA is monitoring a ‘small but evolving dent’ in Earth’s magnetic field that could impact satellites and spacecraft. Stretching from South American and to southwest Africa is the South Atlantic Anomaly (SSA), which is a weakened spot in the field that allows charged particles from the sun to dip closer to the surface than usual. … Read more
Ceres, the nearest dwarf planet to the Earth is a water world and could have a vast reservoir of salty water hidden under its surface, according to new research. The reservoir on the minor planet, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, lies beneath a 20 million year old crater known as Occator – … Read more
Earth’s magnetic field could provide a ‘universal reference’ for dogs and help them navigate back to their owners wherever they are, new study shows Researchers in the Czech Republic tested dogs’ navigation abilities off-leash They found that all dogs began their return trips to owners with a ‘compass run’ This entailed a brief dash along … Read more
Earth’s magnetic field can change 10 times faster than previously thought, according to new research, almost 100 times faster than current changes. UK scientists have simulated the history of the swirling flow of iron 1,740 miles below the planet’s surface, spanning the last 100,000 years. Motion of the liquid iron creates the electric currents that power the field, … Read more
The Moon has a bonanza of metals like iron and titanium deep below its surface, according to NASA, raising questions over a long held formation theory. The leading theory claims that the Moon formed out of the wreckage created when a Mars-sized planet called Theia collided with the young Earth 4.5 billion years ago. If … Read more
A British-American explorer has become the first woman to scale Earth’s highest and lowest points, as she reaches the bottom of the Mariana Trench after climbing Mount Everest. Vanessa O’Brien travelled via a submersible to the Earth’s lowest point, the bottom of Challenger Deep, on June 12 for a surveillance mission. The 55-year-old dived 10,925metres below … Read more