Community discoveries

Earth

Every discovery began with someone wanting to know a little more.

5 discoveries

Earth2 min read

Green sky before a tornado is the cloud showing off, not the tornado

A tornado is colourless air. The green comes from sunlight filtered through an exceptionally water- and ice-heavy thundercloud, so the storm gets the credit while the funnel just passes through.

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Earth3 min read

Ball lightning floats through windows and vanishes with a pop

Scientists still aren't sure what causes it, but witnesses describe a glowing ball drifting through the air, sometimes through solid glass, before bursting. It's like a tiny, temporary sun that politely leaves the room.

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Earth2 min read

The Moon has its own rainbows, but your eyes usually refuse to see them 🌙

Moonlight is just reflected sunlight, so it can bend through raindrops the same way — only about 400,000 times fainter, which drains the colour before your eye can catch it.

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Earth3 min read

This town forgot to install night for four months

Longyearbyen sits so far north that from late April to late August the sun never dips below the horizon — time to invest in blackout curtains.

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Earth3 min read

The ocean is a rock tumbler that never unplugs

Waves drag stones back and forth across the sand, and every collision knocks off a corner. Give it enough tides and even a jagged chunk of granite comes out looking like a bar of soap. 🌊

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