DNA from a distance

Not long after leaving his home planet’s gravitational pull, Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman photographed a side of Earth not seen by human eyes in decades.

Exactly when and how plate tectonics started, however, is a matter of debate. Now, in a study published March 19 in the journal Science, rock samples from Western Australia hint that the Earth’s crust may have been moving as early as 3.48 billion years ago, roughly one billion years after our planet formed.

A new analysis of meteorite isotopes challenges long-held ideas about Earth’s origins, suggesting our planet may have formed almost entirely from nearby material rather than distant sources. Planetary scientists have long debated the origin of the material that formed Earth.

For years, planetary scientists have argued that some of the material that built Earth must have drifted in from beyond Jupiter, carrying water and other volatile ingredients with it. Estimates often put that outer Solar System share somewhere between 6 percent and 40 percent.

Add Futurism (opens in a new tab) Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Before Earth, there was “proto Earth,” a primitive hunk of rock that formed ...

Scientists have discovered fossils showing that complex animals existed millions of years before the Cambrian explosion, reshaping the timeline of life on Earth. The finds reveal a strange, diverse ecosystem where early versions of modern animals were already evolving.

Wednesday evening was the grand opening for a new exhibit at the History Museum at the Castle featuring a collection that earth science buffs in the area will likely