Like a shelf in an old house, the Earth collects a lot of dust from its surroundings. This "space dust" is mostly made up of ...

Satellite imagery provides a unique perspective on our planet and can encompass a wide range of different scientific ...

In May 2024, auroras were observed at unusually low latitudes across the globe, lighting up skies that rarely see such ...

In an unusual perspective for an Earth-observing satellite, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured this image of the moon, Earth's only natural satellite. The Sentinel-2 mission acquired this ...

Our planet’s magnetosphere has seen dramatic shifts across its history—even total reversals—but this recent wrinkle doesn’t pose a threat to life Earth’s magnetic field surrounds the planet, with ...

This story was originally published in the May 15, 2003, issue of Rolling Stone. Read more from that issue and the 2026 American Icons package here. I cons are hard to erase or replace. They’re ...