Imagine this: a tiny needle hurtling toward Earth at the speed of light. At first glance, it might sound like no big deal. After all, it’s just a needle. But in reality...
What’s shiny, liquid, conducts electricity and is also the surname of a legendary rock star? You guessed it, mercury. This naturally occurring element has a lot of...
Since its discovery in 1610 by Galileo, the rings of Saturn have enchanted us for centuries. Remarkably, we’ve visited Saturn before. Stunning photographs taken...
We’ve thrown a lot of disasters at Earth over the years: from asteroids and aliens, to the Sun’s death. But hey, the Universe is a dangerous place, and we’re not...
Human beings have existed for 300,000 years and have managed to live in many unstable environments. We’ve survived ice ages, devastating pandemics and world wars...
There are places in the Universe where you could turn to ash, freeze to death or be completely crushed by gravity. And you’re about to visit them all. What...
What if Earth’s orbit ventured as far from the Sun as Pluto, and got as close to it as Venus? Would the Sun burn the planet to a crisp at the closest...
THE BEGINNING – 4.5 BILLION YEARS AGO On Mars, this period is known as the Pre-Noachian era. Mars has just formed from dust and gas in the protoplanetary disk...
Millions of years ago, this giant sea scorpion terrorized the ocean. It was the apex predator of its time. So what if we brought it into the modern-day and had it fight...
Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid as big as Mount Everest was headed on a deadly collision course with Earth. The impact was so devastating that it wiped out the...
Some say life is a roller coaster. What if it was more like this? We don't notice the earth spinning now, so what would life be like if it spun a little faster? Would we...
Mars didn’t always look like this. It may have once been covered in oceans. But what if we brought all the Martian water back and transformed the red planet into...
These slithering creatures can live in the smallest corners of your home and the darkest places you don’t dare visit. Well, not anymore, because today we’re...
Mountains. They’re born, they grow, they age and erode. And after a very, very long life, they turn to dust. What if all mountains collapsed at once? What are the...
Prehistoric Australia was not the sunny, laid back continent we know today. Between 126,000 and 12,000 years ago, during the late Pleistocene era, humans shared the land...
Contrary to what some people think, the Earth isn’t the center of the Universe. But what if it was? What if those medieval astronomers were right, and everything...
A huge gas giant suddenly appears in the sky. You look up in wonder. It’s beautiful. The second Saturn replaces our Moon in its orbit, Earth would just as suddenly...
In five billion years, we’re gonna have a hefty problem on our hands. Well, only if we’re still living on Earth at this point. Our Sun will be on the brink...
China invading the U.S. is something that could turn the world on its head. Could the U.S. mobilize in time to respond? Would this be the start of World War III? The...
In the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator, there’s a growing, “floating island” of trash that’s twice the size of Texas, and three times the...
