Scientists reveal new clues into how Earth got its oxygen

For much of Earth's four and a half billion years, the planet was barren and inhospitable; it wasn't until the world acquired its blanket of oxygen that multicellular life could really get going. But scientists are still ...

Some planets may be better for life than Earth

Earth is not necessarily the best planet in the universe. Researchers have identified two dozen planets outside our solar system that may have conditions more suitable for life than our own. Some of these orbit stars that ...

Understanding the 'deep-carbon cycle'

New geologic findings about the makeup of the Earth's mantle are helping scientists better understand long-term climate stability and even how seismic waves move through the planet's layers.

Study illuminates fates of distant planetary atmospheres

When telescopes became powerful enough to find planets orbiting distant stars, scientists were surprised to see that a lot of them didn't have atmospheres like Earth's. Instead, they appear to have thick blankets of hydrogen.

How to design continents for maximum tides

The shape and size of continents control the size of ocean tides on Earth-like planets, according to a new study that simulated the effects of random continental configurations on the energy of tides. The results have implications ...

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