Dating of rocks that once formed some of the world’s first beaches suggests the first large continents grew large enough to rise above sea level roughly 3 billion or so years ago.
Perseverance took a selfie next to its biggest accomplishment yet – the two small drill holes where the rover took samples of Martian rocks.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Perseverance and its helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity, have been on Mars for nearly nine months. The duo have taken rock samples, performed first flights and taken images of the delta in Jezero Crater.
When borders reopen, take an Aussie road trip and explore the continent’s unique geology, from meteorites in the Nullarbor Plain to rock formations that are billions of years old.
New research suggests that Venus’ crust is broken into large blocks – the dark reddish–purple areas – that are surrounded by belts of tectonic structures shown in lighter yellow–red.
Paul K. Byrne/NASA/USGS
Researchers used decades-old radar data and found that some low-lying areas of Venus’ crust are moving and jostling. This evidence is some of the strongest yet of tectonic activity on Venus.
The greenhouse effect and plate tectonics are essential for maintaining water on the Earth’s surface.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Reto Stöckli
Earth’s magnetic field locks information into lava as it cools into rock. Millions of years later, scientists can decipher this magnetic data to build geologic timelines and maps.
Weathering of rocks like these basalt formations in Idaho triggers chemical processes that remove carbon dioxide from the air.
Matthew Dillon/Flickr
To avoid global warming on a catastrophic scale, nations need to reduce emissions and find ways to pull carbon from the air. One promising solution: spreading rock dust on farm fields.
The sacred site of Uluru. In our Law we know that rocks are sentient and contain spirit.
Dan peled/AAP
There are memorial stones scattered along songlines throughout the Australian landscape, victims and transgressors transformed into rock following epic struggles to stand as cautionary tales.
Rocks contain a layer-by-layer record of the history of our planet.
Fred Moore/flickr
2018 brought the announcement of a new geologic age that covers the last 4,200 years. How do scientists divide up Earth’s timeline and what do these demarcations mean?
What’s going on 150 kilometers below the Earth’s surface?
Good Free Photos
A new array of seismometers provides a glimpse of what’s happening deep beneath this geologic fault. New data help explain why the north and south of the region are more seismically active than the middle.
Long’s Peak framed by rock outcrop, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Roy Luck
Scientists have long thought most nitrogen in Earth’s ecosystems comes from the air, but new research shows it also is released as rocks weather. This could boost plant growth and help sequester carbon – but not fast enough to avert climate change, as some pundits have claimed.
Barkly Pass, the stratotype for the Elliot Formation. These beautiful rocks hold ancient secrets.
Lara Sciscio
The earth’s own magnetic field offers a useful way to measure the age of rocks - information that can help unpack ancient events and aid our understanding of the present.