Planet Earth
Earth is one big spinning mystery in a constant state of change. With more than 4.5 billion years of history locked inside a ball of molten rock and iron, our planet is made up of a vast array of geological wonders, carved by the oceans, shaped by the shifting plates beneath our feet and sculpted by weather across the surface.
Our team of expert science writers and editors are here to reveal our planet’s secrets — from the deepest depths of the ocean, through the coldest places on Earth to the very edge of space — keeping you up to date with the latest discoveries with planet Earth news, articles and features.
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![A satellite image of the eastern Pacific Ocean off Baja California with clouds.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fCVWpbbHCg5ELKeC8UPePK-320-80.jpg)
White Shark Café: The mysterious meeting spot for great whites in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
By Sascha Pare published
Every winter and spring, great white sharks that usually dwell off the coast of California gather in a remote section of ocean the size of Colorado — and scientists are slowly piecing together why.
![Workers at the Minnesota helium drilling site test a gas pipe.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Q5xEqJ4tZdv2XSjVsB2qra-320-80.jpg)
Massive helium reservoir in Minnesota could solve US shortage
By Sascha Pare published
A helium reservoir with the highest concentrations ever seen could hold enough of the gas to address critical shortages in the U.S. affecting tech, medicine and space exploration.
![Lumps of silver on a wet stone floor.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zEFK2NJVfiEgiHK4wetGRE-320-80.jpg)
Silver is being buried beneath the sea, and it's all because of climate change, study finds
By Sascha Pare published
For the first time, researchers have linked the amount of silver being buried in marine sediments to human-made climate change.
![A satellite photo showing a faint double band of rainbow next to an island with cloud swirls forming off its coastline](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kZK2FLERLu2JjJrEsqgouh-320-80.jpg)
Warped 'double rainbow' glory appears next to rare cloud swirls over Mexican island
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2012 satellite photo captured an unusual "double rainbow" glory appearing next to an unconnected chain of rare vortices in the clouds above Mexico's Guadalupe Island.
![A large gold nugget sits embedded in quartz crystals.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hMSs5YRxYoh7quAVTfYRJj-320-80.jpg)
Earthquakes can trigger quartz into forming giant gold nuggets, study finds
By Sascha Pare published
Geologists have known for decades that gold forms in quartz with the help of earthquakes, but now they have worked out exactly how the setting and seismic waves combine to form large nuggets.
![An underwater photo of a hydrothermal vent](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Yb3YgKj4tFMNieTtXfLx6J-320-80.jpg)
Defense system common to all life came from 'Asgard'
By Tia Ghose published
Defense systems found in all complex life, including the human body, came from primeval microbes known as 'Asgards.'
![A map of the Atlantic Ocean seabed off the coast of Morocco showing the Agadir Canyon and the path of a huge, ancient underwater avalanche.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TTh4kzqE9Q6fbrKcsFtVEJ-320-80.png)
Giant underwater avalanche decimated Atlantic seafloor 60,000 years ago, 1st-of-its-kind map reveals
By Sascha Pare published
Researchers have mapped the path of a giant submarine avalanche that tore through the Agadir Canyon — a deep trench in the Atlantic seafloor off the coast of Morocco — 60,000 years ago.
![A person dressed in white stands in front of the Al Naslaa Rock Formation. The formation consists of two stone blocks on small pedestals with a fine, perfectly straight gap between them.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3qcXcVK7sHnfqzQtDYraoA-320-80.jpg)
Al Naslaa rock: Saudi Arabia's enigmatic sandstone block that's split perfectly down the middle
By Sascha Pare published
Al Naslaa is a rock formation in Saudi Arabia's northwestern desert consisting of two huge, symmetrical stone blocks that are separated by a mysterious gap and sit on small pedestals.
![Two researchers drill into a glacier](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zvCC7zDFgegKV7pDCghcCM-320-80.png)
Ancient viral genomes plucked from glaciers reveal how pathogens have adapted to Earth's shifting climate
By Zhi-Ping Zhong, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Lonnie Thompson, Matthew Sullivan, Virginia Rich published
Over the past 41,000 years, viral communities have varied significantly between cold and warm climatic periods, scientists found.
![A photo of the ocean around the Bahamas taken from space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mbCSLnDYECHcfALHmZcixU-320-80.jpg)
Large patch of the Atlantic Ocean near the equator has been cooling at record speeds — and scientists can't figure out why
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
Scientists are trying to decipher what drove the recent dramatic cooling of the tropical Atlantic, but so far few clues have emerged. "We are still scratching our heads as to what's actually happening," the researchers said.
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