The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 sent volcanic dust and gases circling the Earth, creating spectacular sunsets captured by artists.
William Ashcroft via Houghton Library/Harvard University
The Rev. Sereno Edwards Bishop mobilized ship captains to track the extraordinary sunsets appearing around the world after Krakatau erupted in 1883.
G_O_S/Shutterstock
We are not at risk of running out of oxygen due to climate change, but ocean creatures are – and that will harm the whole planet.
The Sun over Earth, seen from the International Space Station.
NASA
When heat in doesn’t equal heat out, Earth sees changes.
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson launches Virgin Galactic.
Terry Caws/Alamy Stock Photo
Here’s what a space tourism industry led by Bezos, Branson and Musk might mean for the planet.
It can stretch your mind to ponder what’s really out there.
Stijn Dijkstra/EyeEm via Getty Images
Astronomers know a lot about what’s in outer space – and think it’s possible it never ends.
Bureau of Meteorology
Climate change is likely to mean disasters such as Cyclone Seroja will become more intense, and be seen further south in Australia more often.
The sky can be so many different things: it can be big, beautiful and blue, or grey, cloudy and rainy. It can also be full of stars, or full of orange and red clouds at sunset or sunrise.
(Shutterstock)
A young reader asks: What is the sky?
Shutterstock/Jurik Peter
The Earth should be safe (and habitable) for a few billions of years, but we still need to worry about the impact now of just a few degrees of global warming.
Solar geoengineering could mean taking steps to alter the formation of clouds.
Matt Dutcher/Getty Images
Is it time to take drastic steps to modify Earth’s climate to avoid catastrophic warming? A panel of experts says the idea deserves study.
Etching of the 1867 flood in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley, depicting the Eather family.
illustrated Sydney News/author provided
The NSW floods are a textbook example of the theoretical impacts we can expect on Australian rainfall as climate change continues.
Wadstock/Shutterstock
In a bid to ditch fossil fuels, some countries are considering carpeting deserts with solar panels.
Light from our setting sun reflecting off storm clouds can give off a some vivid shades of pinks, purples and oranges.
Jake Clark
It’s all to do with the light from the Sun and a blanket of air wrapped around Earth called the ‘atmosphere’.
Fishing boats coming into Le Guilvinec, Brittany, France, at the end of the day.
Photoneye/Shutterstock
The Atlantic Ocean is still growing physically, but humans are over-harvesting its rich fisheries. The most famous one – North Atlantic cod – has become a textbook example of harmful overfishing.
Tobias Stierli / NCCR PlanetS
Unlike our hellish neighbour Venus, Earth was far enough from the Sun for liquid water to form and create a more hospitable environment for life.
Shutterstock/CUTWORLD
It’s not only nuclear bomb tests that disrupt the atmosphere, there are a number of natural events that can do the same. But how long does any damage last?
Photo of a nearly full Moon shining brightly on the Earth’s atmosphere, taken from the International Space Station.
NASA
The Earth’s magnetic field was most likely weaker when life evolved on our planet than it is today.
Breathing pure oxygen would be like fireworks exploding in your body. And that’s not always a good thing.
Shutterstock
You might think the more oxygen you breathe in the better. But too much oxygen can make you sick.
When Hurricane Dorian, seen here from the International Space Station, stalled over the Bahamas in September 2019, its winds, rain and storm surge devastated the islands.
NASA
Hurricane stalling has become common over the past half-century, and their average forward speed has also slowed.
A red hazy sunset over Indiana caused by wildfire smoke from the Western U.S.
SOPA Images/LightRocket va Getty Images
Last week, much of the Midwest and eastern US experienced hazy skies and red sunsets. The cause was smoke transported from the Western US by the jet stream and spread as far as Boston and even Europe.
Sam Schooler/Unsplash
Clouds can act as both blanket and parasol – warming our atmosphere at the same time as cooling it. But which effect will dominate?