Research suggests a 95-kilometer-wide (59-mile-wide) asteroid impact could boil the Earth's oceans

Watch visualization of different-sized asteroid impacts

The animations range from a 4-meter-wide asteroid that would burn up in the atmosphere with the impact of 0.6 Hiroshima nuclear bombs to a 940-kilometer asteroid the size of the dwarf planet Ceres, which would produce a mass extinction event.

Earth is constantly bombarded by material from space

Most of this matter is composed of small particles, with any smaller than 33 feet in diameter burning up in the atmosphere. Larger asteroids can reach the ground, and those larger than several thousand feet cause global damage, including earthquakes and tsunamis.

What would happen if a massive asteroid struck Earth?

While NASA states that no known asteroid currently threatens Earth, past impacts demonstrate that the risk is real. The agency has tested deflection technology to alter an asteroid's path, as this visualization imagines a worst-case collision scenario.

Dinosaurs would likely still roam Earth if the Chicxulub asteroid had hit elsewhere

Some scientists argue that the asteroid's impact would have been less severe if it had struck the ocean instead of shallow seas. In this scenario, small dinosaurs might have become urban survivors, living in cities alongside humans, much like pigeons or rats do today.

A modern-day version of the dinosaur-killing asteroid would kill billions of people

Such an asteroid would level Central America, trigger tsunamis, spark global fires, and plunge the planet into an artificial winter lasting over a decade. Bunkers would be insufficient for survival without years of provisions.

Jupiter may have affected the trajectory of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs

Despite its reputation as Earth’s cosmic shield, Jupiter’s gravity pulls more asteroids into Earth-crossing orbits. Simulations show that Earth experiences over three times more asteroid impacts because of Jupiter’s influence than if Jupiter didn’t exist.

Only 40% of city-destroying asteroids have been detected

Statistical modeling shows that while we have identified the majority of extinction-level asteroids, smaller asteroids that can cause significant damage remain elusive. Some asteroids, like the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013, can't be detected ahead of time since they come from the sun's direction.

About 20% of asteroids are metal worlds similar to Earth's core

The biggest of these (that we know of) is 16 Psyche. Measuring 140 miles across, its iron and nickel content is potentially worth 10,000 quadrillion dollars. NASA’s mission to Psyche—reaching the asteroid in 2029—will study it to learn about its formation.

If the Earth stopped spinning, 85% of the world's population would experience supersonic winds

The planet's equator moves about 470 meters per second—over 1,000 miles per hour—and air there would continue moving at this speed for several minutes if the ground stopped rotating. These conditions would cause tsunamis, global storms, and fling debris fast enough to destroy nearly all human-made structures.

Tsunamis are caused by sudden seafloor shifts displacing water

Earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 with hypocenters within 100 km of the seafloor can vertically shift large sections of the seafloor significantly. This seismic activity is more commonly found in subduction zones, where an oceanic plate sinks beneath a continental one.

How the loss of Earth's atmosphere would cause oceans to boil at freezing temperatures

Many phenomena requiring air pressure, from the flight of birds and aircraft to the act of breathing, would no longer be possible. Because sound travels through vibrating air molecules, the loss of the planet's atmosphere would also create a silent environment. Even during daytime hours, the sky would resemble a clear night sky.

Asteroids are artifacts of water's presence in the solar system

Asteroids contributed to planet formation and carried water from the solar system's outer reaches toward the center. They were also early providers of the necessary elements and conditions for life to evolve on Earth.

Ballistic experiments show that tardigrades are unlikely to be an alien species

Those fired from guns at speeds as high as 825 meters per second (1,845 mph) could be resuscitated after impact. Shock pressure from greater speeds tore apart the samples, suggesting they could not survive asteroid impacts if brought to Earth from outer space.

Ten impact craters you can visit

See photos of ten wild Earth impact craters across the world, the result of impacts occurring between thousands and millions of years ago.

38 thought-provoking facts about the ocean

Coral produces its own sunscreen, tsunamis move at 500 miles per hour, one of the loudest sounds ever recorded came from an ice quake, and other interesting facts collected from sources such as National Geographic and NASA.

Oceans absorb 90% of warming from greenhouse gases

Oceans are providing increasingly more energy to power hurricane intensity. Current projections show rapid intensification is becoming more common, increasing the likelihood of Category 4 and 5 storms.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Replacing the sun with a black hole would quickly collapse life on Earth

A black hole of the sun's mass would only be six kilometers wide, but it would exert the same gravitational pull as the sun. This means the planets would keep their current orbits but no longer receive solar radiation.

Lining up every microbe on Earth would stretch to about 105,000 light-years

There are about 10²⁷ such organisms on the planet, many of which are adapted to produce energy through uncommon reactions in unconventional environments, such as within rocks or near volcanoes on the ocean floor. Studies of these organisms have reframed astrobiologists' search for life beyond Earth by broadening the parameters under which life can exist.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

A magnitude 25 earthquake would release enough energy to destroy the sun

Since Richter and moment magnitude scales rank earthquake energies logarithmically, theoretical magnitude values can cover an enormous range with no upper or lower mathematical limit. A particle of dust drifting onto a table would have a magnitude of about -15.

What if we killed every mosquito on Earth?

Mosquitoes aren't just annoying, they're deadly. they're also responsible for an estimated 725,000 deaths worldwide, every year. Would it be so bad if we found a way to wipe them out completely? Real scientists have gamed out this hypothetical scenario, concluding it actually wouldn't be that bad. This five-minute video breaks down one way this could happen.

In 2013, an asteroid was named after Wikipedia

A main-belt asteroid previously labeled 274301 was renamed "Wikipedia" by the Committee for Small Body Nomenclature. First observed in 2008 by astronomers at the Andrushivka Astronomical Observatory, the asteroid was renamed based on a suggestion from a member of the Wikimedia Foundation in Ukraine.

Explaining why the Earth wobbles

Astronomers going back to Hipparchus in the 2nd century BCE have noticed our planet has a distinct wobble. More recently, scientists have observed that the Earth is 26 miles wider at the equator than from pole to pole. The wobble results from our...

Microplastics have been shown to disrupt photosynthesis in plants and algae

A major study found that pieces of plastic less than five millimeters long are causing an estimated 4% to 14% loss of the world's wheat, rice, and maize, potentially putting an additional 400 million people at risk of starvation within 20 years. The damage from microplastics to crops may already rival the impact of climate change on food supplies.

What happens when a whale dies and falls to the ocean floor

A large whale's body can blanket more than 538 square feet of ocean floor. That's an enormous amount of organic matter, providing food for the ecosystem for centuries. Researchers have discovered bones on the seafloor from whale species that have been extinct for over 100,000 years.

The volcano threatening the Greek island of Santorini

Santorini is a popular tourist destination, known for its stunning white architecture and dreamy blue waters. Yet underneath the charming island is a potentially dangerous underwater volcano. Recent earthquakes have triggered nearly half of residents to evacuate, signaling heightened uncertainty about when the volcano could erupt. Researchers studying activity in the region plan to produce detailed hazard maps for Greek authorities to improve local safety and emergency planning.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.