Winter near the Antarctic Circle brings months of frozen darkness, when sea ice chokes ocean waters and many of its denizens hunker down to ride out the harsh conditions. But as winter began to release its icy grip, an uncommonly clear satellite image revealed that part of this remote realm was still very much awake,
The Sun, Moon, and Earth align on August 12, 2026, to produce a total solar eclipse. When this celestial event last occurred, on April 8, 2024, the path of totality stretched across North America, giving millions the chance to glimpse the Sun’s corona. In 2026, the viewing locales are more limited; only a handful of
Historically, Castle Valley in central Utah has been a coal center, with active mining operations on the slopes of the Wasatch Plateau to the west since the late 19th century. A different energy development came to the region in June 2026, when a large solar and battery storage plant came online in the sunny valley
From declining annual sea ice extent to greening tundra, environmental change has been gradually unfolding in the Arctic for decades. However, some changes have come more abruptly. Satellite, aerial and ground surveys spanning more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) along Alaska’s Brooks Range have observed stream water changing from clear to orange in more than
The start of spring 2026 brought bouts of heavy rain to much of Michigan. Above-normal levels of precipitation in March and early April—exacerbated by snowmelt in the northern part of the state—saturated soils and caused damaging flooding along multiple rivers. A flood watch spanned the entirety of both the upper and lower peninsulas as rain