Scientific Claims Are Reversible
September 11, 2014
How much confidence can the public put in scientific claims today, given that some long-lived dogmas have been reversed?
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Active Moon Triton Revisited
August 25, 2014
25 years ago today, Voyager 2 flew by Triton, a moon of Neptune, astonishing scientists with its active geology.
Living Stalactites and Other Geological Surprises
August 19, 2014
Dripstones in caves can be made by microbes, some speleologists find. That's among several recent geological surprises.
Io Volcanoes Go Hyperactive
August 7, 2014
The volcanoes on Jupiter's moon are bursting out at record rates, and nobody knows why. Is it the new normal?
Every Planet Surprises Secular Astronomers, I: Inner Planets
May 3, 2014
"Surprise" or "puzzling" are the most common words in news reports about bodies in the solar system. Here are recent examples that discuss the inner planets.
Chinese Dinosaurs May Have Been Buried in Volcanic Ash
February 4, 2014
A new analysis of Chinese fossils claims a Pompeii-style eruption buried them suddenly. What does this imply about dating the fossils?
Europa Joins the Geyser Club
December 12, 2013
Hints of watery plumes have been detected on Europa – like Enceladus, at its south pole, too.
Was Earth Like Io?
October 11, 2013
It apparently solves an old problem to propose that the early Earth was busting out all over with volcanoes, like Jupiter's moon Io.
Fossilization Requires Special Conditions
August 20, 2013
A science writer wrote a semi-amusing account on how to become a fossil. In so doing, he pointed out that fossilization is a very rare fate for most organisms.
Bimbo Eruptions in the Solar System
April 6, 2013
Planetary origin theories come across as popular and charismatic, till some little moon pops off and says, "Yoo-hoo! Remember me?"
Volcano Date Was 3,000% Wrong
November 1, 2012
Volcanoes at the south end of California's Salton Sea erupted as recently as the time of Christ, not 30,000 years ago, and may be active today.
Are Two Cambrian Explosions Better than One?
July 9, 2012
Something seems wrong with this picture: deep sea creatures living in the dark were preserved in ash from a land volcano.
Too Hot to Handle: Io and Enceladus
June 12, 2012
Two moons in the solar system are turning up the heat on beliefs that they could be billions of years old.
Rapid Undersea Geology Observed
May 14, 2012
An undersea volcano near the Cook Islands was observed to grow and shrink rapidly in a fortnight, rivaling the rapid changes in Vesuvius and Mt. St. Helens.
Geologists 750% Wrong in Death Valley
January 23, 2012
A volcanic explosion in northern Death Valley occurred 800 years ago, not 6,000, “far more recently than generally thought,” according to new dating estimates. The event that created Ubehebe Crater is so recent, in fact, geologists think another devastating explosion could happen today.