Human engineering appears to have moved the planet, literally. According to new research published this month, the global boom in dam construction over the past two centuries has caused measurable ...

We know Earth’s rotation on a cosmic scale, but seeing it close up requires quantum mechanics. Interferometry is the use of light waves, sound, etc., to identify changes in matter or motion. New ...

Last Word is New Scientist’s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To ...

If you haven’t accomplished as much this summer as you had hoped to, you can blame forces far beyond your control: a few of these dog days, by one measure, are among the shortest you’ve ever lived ...

Deep inside Earth is a solid metal ball that rotates independently of our spinning planet, like a top whirling around inside a bigger top, shrouded in mystery. This inner core has intrigued ...

The moon's gravity causes high and low tides, something known as the tidal force. As the tidal force shifts Earth's mass, it ...

The Moon is getting 1½ inches (3.8 centimeters) farther away from the Earth every year. Scientists measure the distance to ...

The answer, obviously, is really, really fast. Here, Universe Today‘s Fraser Cain tells us exactly how fast, and gives us answers to a few other things you may have wondered about before. For instance ...

Here’s a reminder: We’re not the center of the Universe. As species, as members of this planet, this solar system or even the Milky Way galaxy. We are just a speck twisting in interstellar dust. Which ...