A period of unsettled weather brought scattered showers and thunderstorms to California's Bay Area on May 27, 2026. That afternoon, a break in the clouds left downtown San Francisco and nearby communities beneath mostly cloud-free skies, allowing an astronaut aboard the International Space Station to take this photograph.

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A new study examines how "undone science" has shaped the conflict between mining and glacier conservation in Chile over the past two decades....

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Of all the rock quarries in our hills since Oakland was founded, I'll focus today on what may be the most striking one. It's had several different names, but I call it the Davie quarry because for nearly a century it's been a memorial to one of Oakland's most colorful mayors, John L. Davie, and is home to the Davie Tennis Stadium.

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How the technology of Artemis II builds on the past and relies on the new....

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A recent preprint (not yet peer-reviewed) reports that when global average lower-troposphere temperature (TLT) is adjusted to remove the influence of ENSO (el Niño Southern Oscillation) and of aerosols, the resulting adjusted data reveal unambiguous...

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In honor of this annual U.N. event, we are highlighting our coverage of ocean research and education initiatives at the Columbia Climate School and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory....

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About an hour's drive east of Dubai's gleaming towers and artificial islands, a quieter, more natural landscape takes shape. At the far northern edge of the Rub' al Khali, a saffron-colored sand sea laps against the Al-Hajar Mountains. A series of pale ridges rises finlike from the desert plain, with the largest--Jabal al F?yah--standing 412 meters (1,352 feet) above sea level.  

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In the coming weeks readers will increasingly see two rarely used phrases in stories covering our dwindling worldwide oil inventories: "operational minimum" and "tank bottoms." The phrases more or less signify the same thing, though...

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One month ago this weekend, I was at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History to yap about horned dinosaurs, a tie-in to the new Bizarre Headgear exhibit. Some utter genius in the gift shop had set up what you see above: a Triceratops mask o...

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When the Moon slips in front of the Sun, those in the center of the Moon's shadow will experience a total solar eclipse.

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That's what we do with water. Our indoor water is largely recycled, put back into the Rio Grande to support a riparian ecosystem and downstream users. The consumptive share of our water use is applied to landscapes to make our city green.

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As Earth's oceans warm, microscopic marine organisms are experiencing increasing stress due to a lack of vital nutrients. A new study combining NASA satellite observations, ocean surveys, and genetic testing on marine microorganisms suggests that warming ocean waters are limiting nutrient availability across much of the global ocean, with the potential to reshape marine ecosystems. 

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This week in space: an amazing view, a dangerous new rule, an enormous explosion, and more....

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In May and June of most years, NASA satellites typically begin to detect large numbers of wildland fires throughout the Top End and Arnhem Land regions of Australia's Northern Territory. On some days, especially in the afternoon, the blazes can resemble sizable wildfires in satellite imagery, spreading widely and producing expansive smoke plumes.

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Raising a responsible child and building responsible AI both require a deep awareness of what we are training them to notice and value....

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Landsat images track mangrove forest expansion in the Padas River estuary in Malaysia between 2000 (left) and 2023.Zhen Zhang, Tulane University NASA satellite images show that mangrove forests, which protect shorelines, support coastal ecosystems, ...

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Get ready to scroll. In 2017, Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire hosted an exhibition, Dinosaurs Of China: Ground Shakers To Feathered Flyers. Wollaton Hall Curator Adam Smith arranged for the SVPCA attendees to visit the exhibition after the conferen...

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For the first time, a team from the inaugural M.S. in Climate Finance program participated in the prestigious Columbia Business School and KKR Private Equity Case Competition....

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The White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed new rules that would require political appointees, not scientists, to decide which research receives federal grants in the United States....

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One of the first images transmitted back to Earth from the Artemis II mission was a stunner. In a single image, Earth's full disk appears amid celestial phenomena that illustrate its place in the solar system. And although the visible hemisphere appears to be awash in sunlight, it is actually lit by moonlight. The astronauts' vantage point provided a rare opportunity to capture nighttime features--most notably lights from human habitation--from a new perspective.

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 Minimum Deliverable Published Item...

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Cosmic Origins...Cosmic Origins CommunityASTRA Initiative Seminar, June...AboutCommunityExecutive CommitteeScience GroupsConferencesCosmic PathfindersEarly Career WorkshopOpportunitiesMissionsStudiesNews & EventsResources  ...

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From late May into early June 2026, a broad, slow-spinning storm churned north-northwest over the Philippine Sea toward southern Japan. Typhoon Jangmi's rainbands unleashed torrential rainfall across a vast swath of the region, triggering flooding concerns in several areas.

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The Wild Tomorrow capstone workshop and Cuttyhunk Practicum are two examples of Climate School initiatives that focus on climate-conscious travel....

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A kelp forest consisting mostly of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) at La Jolla, photographed by the author. Introduction to the Laminariales Kelps are large brown algae that grow nearly worldwide in temperate and cold temperate waters. Kelps are ...

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