California looks like a nightmare from space right now
The second and third largest fires in California history are now burning at the same time. Along with over 500 other fires. The Golden State — a region with long,…
Popular wildlife cam just became a dreadful fire cam
Hundreds of fires are burning in California. One of these many blazes, the Dolan Fire, is a grim scene on the normally pleasant explore.org wildlife webcams in the Ventana Wildlife…
Photos of the horrific U.S. storm that too few noticed
There aren’t many weather events more fearsome than a derecho. But few seemed to notice the one that just hit the U.S. Midwest. A derecho is a powerful, long line…
Two galaxies collide in this majestic Hubble image
NASA calls NGC 1614 a “peculiar galaxy.” The brilliant cosmic object is the result of two merging galaxies. There are a number of wild things happening in this Hubble image,…
The smoke smothering Siberia is really intense
The fires burning in Siberia this year continue to be exceptional. First, overwintering zombie fires awoke in spring. Then, during an intense June heat wave with record-breaking temperatures, extreme fires…
California fire spawns towering, ashy clouds
When wildfires grow hot and large enough, they can spawn towering, smoky clouds. The Apple Fire burning in Southern California’s San Bernardino National Forest produced these big plumes, called pyrocumulus…
Don’t you wish you could fly free like this beautiful space butterfly?
These are hard days for the humans of planet Earth, especially those of us who despise inequity and fascism. Wouldn’t it be nice, then, if you could flap your brilliantly…
Washington caught its first Asian giant hornet. OK fine, yes, a ‘murder hornet’.
Don’t call it a “murder hornet.” The stinging. honeybee-hunting insect that first made the news in May is back in headlines once again. Months after it was first sighted in…
Watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule ferry NASA astronauts back to Earth
Back at the end of May, SpaceX became the first private company to launch NASA astronauts into space. Now, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are ready to come home.…
We’re going to record sound on Mars. It’ll be eerie.
Should all go as planned, NASA’s car-sized Perseverance rover will plummet through the Martian atmosphere in February 2021, reaching speeds of over 13,000 mph. After landing, NASA engineers will instruct…