Human engineering appears to have moved the planet, literally. According to new research published this month, the global boom in dam construction over the past two centuries has caused measurable ...

Learn 7 fascinating facts about Earth Rotation Day 2026 and understand how our planet’s spin affects time, seasons, and life ...

As polar ice melts, water moves from the poles toward the equator — making our Earth bulkier and rotate slower. Think humans play a relatively small role in how Earth moves in space? It turns out ...

Earth rotates once in about 24 hours with respect to the Sun, but once every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds with respect to other distant stars. Scientists call this difference crucial to ...

Last Word is New Scientist’s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...