Earth Science

Many people are unaware of the effect that the Moon’s gravity has on the apparent length of the day on Earth.  Rest assured that there is a very large effect if one considers the masses being shifted by this patient,…
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Tsunamis are a series of waves that result from seismic disturbances at the bottom the sea that cause the sea floor to move. These disturbances are most often earthquakes at the boundaries between tectonic plates, but they can also be…
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It is arrogant to believe humans can “save” the planet.  However, there are many, many things that human beings can do, that will help nature preserve the planet.  Nature has many healing, creative and restorative ways; humans just need to…
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The autumnal equinox is an astronomical event that happens every year and officially marks the beginning of fall. On the day of the autumnal equinox, the day and night are both approximately of equal length. There are two equinoxes every…
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People have long noted that the farther away they move from the equator, the greater the variation is between the time of sunrise and sunset. Many people believe that this variation has been used to figure out the latitude of…
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The geologic time scale is the construct used to delineate the major geological events that have taken place throughout the history of Planet Earth. The largest divisions are called Eons, enormous periods of time indeed. Everyone today is living in…
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The Mesozoic Era is probably the one that people know the best. This has been labeled the “Time of the Dinosaurs”, or the “Time of the Reptiles.” Mesozoic means “middle life” and comes from the Greek “meso” meaning “between” and…
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The most widely used description of natural gas relates to pockets of methane and other carbon based gases that have become trapped thousands of feet underground. This gas is reached in much the same way as crude oil. Its origins…
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The aurora is a luminous glow that occurs in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The diffuse aurora cannot be seen from the ground because it is faint. It is visible from the ground if it is discrete aurora. Discrete aurora can…
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In the Mohave Desert in Southwestern America the signs that spring has arrived are quite different than places where there is more rainfall and flowering plants.  But there are definite signs that you can’t miss, even though some of them…
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