Smithsonian Magazine on MSN

A Planet Slammed Into Earth 4.5 Billion Years Ago, Forming the Moon. The Projectile May Have Been Our Neighbor

Around 4.5 billion years ago, a planet called Theia is thought to have smashed into newborn Earth. The messy collision kicked ...
Space.com on MSN

NASA probe captures stunning photos of Earth and moon on the way to infamous asteroid Apophis

These images mark an early milestone in the mission, confirming that OSIRIS-APEX is healthy and on course for its 2029 ...

Some of Earth's most extreme cold may be headed to US. What we know for Ohio

Some forecasters say a complex dance involving the polar vortex could send some of Earth's most extreme cold toward the ...

Scientists Just Upended the Timeline of Life on Earth

Scientists found 3.3 billion-year-old biosignatures in ancient meteorites and fossils—a billion years older than we thought ...
Space.com on MSN

Mysterious lava puddles in Earth's mantle may hold clues about the origin of life: 'These are not random oddities'

Two mysterious blobs deep inside Earth may hold clues about the origin of life on our planet, new research finds. Deep ...

The overview effect: Astronaut perspectives from 25 years in low Earth orbit

To see Earth from space is to be forever changed by the view. Since Alan Shepard became the first American to lay eyes on our ...

From Mojave to Beijing: how America quietly conceded the rare earth race

How China gained control of 90% of rare-earth refining while the U.S. abandoned Mountain Pass mine, creating dangerous ...

Tectonic regimes of terrestrial planets could explain Earth and Venus's divergence

An international team has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the tectonic evolution of terrestrial planets.

Within a year, Voyager 1 spacecraft will be 1 light-day from Earth

It takes light a single day to travel 16 billion miles. The Voyager 1 probe will need a little longer, just 49 years.