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.

Photo of a large metal door taken from a stairway above

The world's biggest 'doomsday vault' has now been opened. Here's what's inside

Scientists are racing to protect the world’s seeds from natural disasters and war. But what happens when those disasters come early?

Two photos: On the left is a person on a bicycle in a flooded urban street. On the right is a firefighter fighting a wildfire.

A deadly new wave of 'whiplash weather' is set to hit our biggest cities. Are we ready?

Weather patterns are see-sawing from one extreme to another faster and more frequently than ever before. And the phenomenon is coming to places you wouldn’t expect

Artwork of exoplanet 55 Cancri e. 55 Cancri is a binary star system located 41 light-years away, made up of a sun-like (G-type) star and a much smaller and dimmer red dwarf. The two stars are extremely widely separated, however, with around 1000 AU between then. There are several planets here, but the one featured in this picture is 55 Cnc e. Announced to the world in 2004, 55 Cnc is a 'super-earth', a terrestrial exoplanet weighing in at around 8.3 Earth masses. It is possible that this odd world is carbon rich, with much of its content being made up of diamonds owing to the high pressures and temperatures in the planet's interior. In this illustration, the red dwarf is just beyond the horizon, its light split into a spectrum of dazzling colours as it passes through a mountain of solid diamond.

The 8 strangest places in the Universe (including one on Earth)

Glass rain, anyone?

null

undefined

Crocodilian eye.

8 (very weird) animals that outlived the dinosaurs

Meet the 'living fossils' that give us a glimpse into life in the distant past

A group of people holding up an artwork of the Earth made of waste

5 sustainability habits you think are helping the planet – but probably aren’t

Confusing and outdated messaging could be holding you back from being a keen, green, Earth-saving machine…

The Orca plant in Iceland, which captures carbon from the atmosphere and injects it into volcanic rocks

How whales, vodka and volcanic ice blocks could soon solve the carbon crisis

From living paint to injecting rocks, scientists have bizarre carbon capture ideas that could help us tackle the climate crisis

Firefighters standing in front of hills that are on fire

Major ‘megafires’ are now primed to ignite across the US. All it needs is a spark

The US is a tinderbox, just waiting to go up in flames

Ron Mikulaco, left, and his nephew, Brad Fernandez, examine a crack caused by an earthquake on highway 178

Massive climate-induced earthquakes are brewing beneath our biggest cities. Are we prepared?

Climate change isn’t just warming the planet; it’s shaking Earth’s foundations

The surface of the sea

Was the sea always blue?

Several billion years ago, tiny little creatures may have changed the colour of the ocean

Illustration of the Solar System expanding.

Here's how scientists are rewriting the origin story of Earth & life itself

Although key details are missing from the story of how our Solar System formed, recent discoveries are helping scientists fill in the blanks and understand how rare it is.

A cut away showing the internal structure of Earth. There is a bright core, surrounded by cooler layers of mantle and a dark crust

Somehow, Earth's ancient core froze solid. Now we finally know why

When it comes to understanding how the planet's core cooled, carbon is the key

Illustration of the Earth covered in ice

These are science’s boldest ideas to cool our heating planet

As Earth's climate continues to warm, experts are increasingly wondering if we could, and should, take more drastic action and start tinkering with the planet in the hope of saving it

Man with beard looking surprised by fun facts.

121 random fun facts that will blow your mind

Our collection of the best interesting trivia covers animals, biology, geography, space and much more

A graphic of a bi-plane flying into storm clouds.

What ever happened with the Bermuda Triangle?

Turns out there's no much truth to the legend.

A seismograph.

A massive earthquake could be brewing beneath North America, study suggests

The only problem? No one knows when it will strike

Illustration depicting the layers of the Earth leading to its bright hot core

There's a secret realm hidden at Earth's core – and scientists are seriously puzzled

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

Image of a bunker filled with living essentials

Most doomsday preppers have it wrong. This is actually how to survive the apocalypse

Should you join the underground movement? And if so, how?

A huge glacier towers above a small red boat in the ocean.

This 'Doomsday Glacier' is melting faster than anyone thought. Now Earth's biggest cities are in danger

Antarctic expeditions and outlandish geoengineering schemes hope to slow sea level rise... but it might be too late

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

Boats sit on the harbour by colourful fishing cottages in Weymouth, Dorset.

Do the tides of different seas affect each other?

Thanks to its local geography, this coastal town is affected by tidal forces from two different seas

Earth in space with the Moon and Sun in the distance

Today, Earth is spinning faster than usual, and scientists are baffled

Earth's spin has mysteriously been speeding up for years

A spiral galaxy in a void amongst the stars

Earth may be trapped inside a giant void in space, say scientists

Discovering we're living alone could solve one of the biggest problems in space science

Yet, it’s easy to dismiss theories of fungal intelligence and consciousness as eccentric, but perhaps instead it’s worth exploring what’s driving the theories. Often it’s a desire to make organisms that seem almost alien to us more relatable. Giving a species human characteristics can, in some cases, persuade us to protect them. In the case of the wood wide web, however, some scientists are now arguing that the theory has gone too far. The idea that trees communicate with each other via fungal networks is being stated as fact, when the truth is that the evidence for it remains thin. Similarly, defining fungi as conscious under current definitions seems premature and could interfere with conservation efforts. On the other hand, if you change the definition, you can say what you like. But why bother? “We don’t need human characteristics to think about how cool fungi are,” says Stokes, whose own research focuses on the poisonous ‘death cap’ mushroom.

Fungi could be conscious. Here's what that means

New research on fungi suggests they could be demonstrating some form of intelligence, but not all experts are convinced.

Silhouette of person standing by a lake of lava

Mysterious 'surge' under Earth crust could reshape world map, study claims

The pulsing will eventually rip Africa apart and create a new ocean