The Earth

Our world, also known as planet Earth, is the only known planet to harbour life. It is third planet from the Sun, the densest in our Solar System and was formed around 4.54 billion years ago. The Earth spins at a staggering 1,040 mph and moves around the Sun at an incredible 30 kilometres per second. Seventy per cent of the Earth's surface is covered in water, but with the rising threat of global warming and sea level rise, this could increase.
Late afternoon view of locals, commonly known as "Mumbaikars," on Chowpatty Beach, a popular city beach and perfect location to watch the sunset over Back Bay in India

One country seems immune to global warming. And nobody knows why

Welcome to the warming hole, a part of the world that bucking the Earth's temperature trends
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Illustration depicting the layers of the Earth leading to its bright hot core

'It's a planet within a planet': Experts have found a strange secret realm hidden at Earth's core

At the border between Earth's core and the mantle above, scientists are discovering a hidden world
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the ocean

What was the first ever 'sea' actually like?

It's not the sea as you see it – more like a primordial goo
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Man with orange coat walks into forest.

How to survive the apocalypse, according to the world's best doomsday preppers

Should you join the underground movement? And if so, how?
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A graphic of a bi-plane flying into storm clouds.

What ever happened with the Bermuda Triangle?

Turns out there's not much truth to the legend
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Man with beard looking surprised by fun facts.

151 random fun facts that will blow your mind

Our collection of the best interesting trivia covers animals, biology, geography, space and much more
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CG illustration of a supervolcano erupting

Yellowstone eruption: This is how a supervolcano explosion will unfold

Fresh clues beneath one of Earth’s most powerful supervolcanoes reveal how it could explode – unleashing global devastation
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Photo of ripples along the surface of an otherwise still body of water

Does Earth have a heartbeat?

'Microseisms' are still baffling scientists, decades after their discovery
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Photo of a model globe spinning so fast you cannot make out any countries or continents

What speed am I travelling, right now?

Turns out, it is much more difficult than you might imagine to accurately assess how quickly you're moving through space
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Richter scale earthquake

What's the best way to measure an earthquake?

It revolutionised how we measure earthquakes in 1935 – so why have seismologists almost entirely abandoned it?
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The Great Pyramid of Giza, Largest Egyptian pyramid. Giza pyramids complex landscape.

If an advanced civilisation lived on Earth millions of years ago, would we be able to tell?

If an advanced civilisation lived on Earth millions of years ago, would we be able to tell?
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Computer artwork of the Sun, around 5 billion years in the future, heating a dying Earth.

We've found a tiny particle that could erase the Universe at any moment

A supercollider may one day help us predict the fate of the Universe. Scientists will use it to find a hidden instability built into the fabric of existence… one that could destroy everything.
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Person holding soil.

A global food crisis is nearing – and the warning signs are buried beneath your feet

The world's soils are degrading fast, and until now we've had almost no way of knowing what's happening underground
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Illustration of a computer monitor on fire. On the screen is a game of the Earth on fire with the text 'game over' emblazoned over it. A boxout is in each corner of the screen, on uploading, one saying storage full, one video streaming and another asking an AI agent a question

What's the worst thing you can do for the planet online?

Before blaming chatbots for everything, here’s what really dominates your online carbon footprint
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Hell's gate crater.

What are the Gates of Hell, and why do they keep burning?

Why do the 'Gates of Hell' in Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert keep burning?
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Should we be worried about Earth’s magnetic core? © Alamy

Earth’s magnetic field is overdue a flip. Should we be worried?

From time to time, the Earth's magnetic poles flip, leaving us without a protective magnetic field for up to centuries
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A tunnel with a large brown pipe on its ceiling.

Inside the bizarre race to secure Earth’s nuclear tombs

With nuclear energy production increasing globally, the problem of what to do with the waste demands a solution. But where do you store something that stays dangerous for thousands of years?
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Illustration of plants flourishing, with roots visible.

A mysterious Amazonian soil is making trees grow six times taller – and nobody knows why

The mysterious, nutrient-rich soil of the Amazons might hold the secret to fight climate change
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An illustration of the ruins of Atlantis, underwater.

Scientists have found what sounds eerily like Atlantis off Australia’s coast

Over half a million people may have lived in the lost landscapes north of Australia... before they were consumed by the ocean
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Orange and grey mushrooms growing in a forest

Some experts now think fungi are conscious. Here's what convinced them

New research on fungi suggests they could be demonstrating some form of intelligence
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Dark and stormy clouds.

What is a skyquake?

Skyquakes are very real. What causes them, however, is shrouded in mystery.
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Illustration depicting the Bermuda Triangle from space.

A bizarre 'dead zone' above Earth keeps frying satellites – and it's slowly getting bigger

Above Earth, there is a void, a no-go zone that spacecraft enter at their own peril
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Narrow mountain road with Jeep blocking the way.

Top 10 most dangerous roads in the world 2026

Fasten your seatbelts and hang on for dear life
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A tornado ripping through a rural landscape.

Something very strange is happening to tornadoes across the US. And scientists are baffled

After another explosive start to tornado season, twisters are cropping up in unexpected places – and the big picture isn’t looking any clearer
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