Hacker News with Generative AI: Earth

Violent supernovae triggered at least two Earth extinctions (phys.org)
At least two mass extinction events in Earth's history were likely caused by the "devastating" effects of nearby supernova explosions, a new study suggests.

Science, Space, Astronomy, Mass Extinction, Earth

12 points by wjSgoWPm5bWAhXB 14 days ago | 3 comments

'Microlightning' in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth (phys.org)
Life may not have begun with a dramatic lightning strike into the ocean but from many smaller "microlightning" exchanges among water droplets from crashing waterfalls or breaking waves.

Science, Earth, Physics

15 points by geox 18 days ago | 6 comments

The odds of a city-killer asteroid impact in 2032 keep rising (arstechnica.com)
An asteroid discovered late last year is continuing to stir public interest as its odds of striking planet Earth less than eight years from now continue to increase.

Space, Asteroids, Earth, Science, Risk

9 points by helloworld 37 days ago | 14 comments

NASA says 'City killer' asteroid now has 3.1% chance of hitting Earth (france24.com)
An asteroid that could level a city now has a 3.1-percent chance of striking Earth in 2032, according to NASA data released on Tuesday, making it the most threatening space rock ever recorded by modern forecasting.

Space, Asteroids, Science, Earth, Risk

40 points by doener 42 days ago | 75 comments

Odds of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 have reached new high (newscientist.com)
NASA has upgraded the risk of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 to 3.1 per cent, or about a 1-in-32 chance, the highest odds yet of collision.

Space, Asteroids, Science, Earth, Risk

20 points by wlkr 42 days ago | 8 comments

Newly discovered asteroid now has a slightly higher risk of hitting Earth (cnn.com)

Space, Astronomy, Asteroids, Earth

4 points by speckx 52 days ago | 0 comments

Asteroid's chances of hitting Earth in 2032 just got higher (theguardian.com)
It might not be the world-ending apocalypse foretold in the Netflix drama Don’t Look Up, but astronomers have significantly upped the odds of a direct hit from a giant asteroid currently hurtling towards Earth.

Astronomy, Space, Asteroids, Earth, Science

6 points by belter 53 days ago | 1 comments

Earth Detecting Earth (seti.org)
February 3, 2025, Mountain View, CA – A research team led by Dr. Sofia Sheikh of the SETI Institute, in collaboration with the Characterizing Atmospheric Technosignatures project and the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center, set out to answer a simple question: If an extraterrestrial civilization existed with technology similar to ours, would they be able to detect Earth and evidence of humanity? If so, what signals would they detect, and from how far away?

Extraterrestrial Life, Science, SETI, Earth

74 points by nabla9 57 days ago | 17 comments

Astronomers discover 196-foot asteroid, 1-in-83 chance of hitting Earth in 2032 (space.com)

Astronomy, Asteroids, Earth, Space

37 points by sva_ 63 days ago | 6 comments

2024 YR4 and other dangerous asteroids (starwalk.space)
Every now and then, the media produces dozens of scary headlines about rocks from space headed toward our planet. But is there really a big chance that an asteroid could hit Earth in the near future? For now, people are discussing the newly discovered asteroid 2024 YR, which has a 1/88 chance to hit Earth in 2032. In this article, you’ll find answers to the most burning questions about this and other potentially hazardous asteroids.

Space, Asteroids, Science, Earth, News

10 points by hermitcrab 63 days ago | 5 comments

Are there more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way? (2016) (snopes.com)
Although both figures are rough, a recent estimate for the number of trees on Earth exceeds the highest estimates for the number of stars in the Milky Way.

Science, Astronomy, Earth, Milky Way

108 points by alexmolas 90 days ago | 90 comments

The longest sightline on Earth (2020) (calgaryvisioncentre.com)
Three of the longest sightlines on earth: Mt. Dankova, Krygystan to Hindu Tagh, China 538km (green), Pic de Finestrelles, Spain to Pic Gaspard, France 443km (red), and Mt. Sanford, USA to Denali, USA 318km (pink).

Geography, Sightlines, Earth, Mountains

6 points by animal_spirits 92 days ago | 1 comments

Moon (ciechanow.ski)
In the vastness of empty space surrounding Earth, the Moon is our closest celestial neighbor.

Space, Astronomy, Earth, Moon

3128 points by todsacerdoti 105 days ago | 250 comments

Asteroid Ryugu sample got 'rapidly colonized' by Earth bacteria (space.com)

Space Exploration, Astronomy, Contamination, Biology, Earth

6 points by theamk 124 days ago | 1 comments

Earth Could Be Alien to Humans by 2500 (2021) (scientificamerican.com)
Unless greenhouse gas emissions drop significantly, warming by 2500 will make the Amazon barren, Iowa tropical and India too hot to live in

Climate Change, Earth, Future, Environment, Human Impact

28 points by benchmarkist 143 days ago | 25 comments

The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth (academic.oup.com)
We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.

Climate Change, Environment, Science, Global Warming, Earth

8 points by sjmulder 175 days ago | 1 comments

Biggest solar flare since 2017 erupts from sun and Earth is in the firing line (space.com)

Space Weather, Solar Flares, Earth, Astronomy

139 points by rootforce 180 days ago | 54 comments

Gamma radiation is produced in large tropical thunderstorms (phys.org)
In the 1990s, NASA satellites built to spot high-energy particles coming from supernovas and other celestial-sized objects discovered a surprise—high energy gamma radiation bursts coming from right here on Earth.

Weather, Science, Physics, Space, Earth

166 points by wglb 181 days ago | 124 comments

Earth has caught a 'second moon' (space.com)

Space, Astronomy, Earth, Moon

41 points by divbzero 182 days ago | 37 comments

Earth's ambipolar electrostatic field and its role in ion escape to space (nature.com)

Earth, Space Science, Electromagnetism, Physics, Atmosphere

14 points by bookofjoe 184 days ago | 1 comments

Earth will get a second "mini-moon" for 2 months this year (cbsnews.com)
Earth will get a second moon for about two months this year when a small asteroid begins to orbit our planet.

Space, Astronomy, Earth, Asteroids

10 points by isaacfrond 194 days ago | 3 comments

A picture of Earth through time (google)
Today, we're making it possible for you to go back in time and get a stunning historical perspective on the changes to the Earth’s surface over time.

Earth, History, Google, Timelapse

22 points by throwaway888abc 198 days ago | 6 comments

Earth to have new mini-moon for two months (phys.org)
A pair of asteroid dynamics researchers from Universidad Complutense de Madrid Ciudad Universitaria have found that a small asteroid will make one orbit around the Earth starting this month before departing back into other parts of the solar system.

Astronomy, Space Exploration, Earth, Asteroids

29 points by geox 199 days ago | 7 comments

Strange and wondrous creatures: plankton and the origins of life on Earth (theguardian.com)

Plankton, Biology, Science, Earth

14 points by Hooke 214 days ago | 0 comments

Earth's Temperature Could Increase by 14C: New Research in Nature Communications (scitechdaily.com)

Climate Change, Research, Science, Earth

12 points by OutOfHere 217 days ago | 17 comments

All of Earth's water in a single sphere (2019) (usgs.gov)

Earth, Water, Visualization, Data

753 points by tigerlily 231 days ago | 275 comments

Does space dust fall on the roof of my house? (stackexchange.com)