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Satellite images show us fascinating aspects of the earth's surface. We invite you to know the most spectacular images of the Earth taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the

ESA launches MetOp-B, the second in a new generation of satellites that will improve the accuracy of weather predictions and obtain information on winds, the ozone layer and the humidity of the atmosphere.

Where does the Moon come from? From the earth. According to a new theory developed by Harvard researchers, our satellite was part of Earth itself until its mass was shot into space during a collision with another body. This explains why our planet and its satellite have such a similar chemical composition, the authors conclude in the journal Science.

How does the Earth work inside? What happens every day in the Earth's mantle, made up of semi-solid materials that slowly flow under the thin outer crust? As incredible as it may seem, this is the question that ESA astronaut André Kuipers will answer through an experiment carried out far from the planet, specifically from the International Space Station, some 400 km above sea level. There, Geoflow has been carried out, an experiment that mimics the structure of a planet with two concentric rotating spheres, separated by a layer of liquid.

Throughout history, the Earth has experienced five major episodes of mass extinctions associated with climatic changes that have modified the characteristics of the entire planet. An article in the journal Nature, in which researchers from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) have participated, analyzes the forces that "may be driving" a new change in the planetary state and provides possible tools to minimize its consequences.

Clouds on Earth have been slightly lower (1% on average) throughout the first decade of this century, a new study based on data from NASA satellites reveals. The results could have implications for the global climate.

Although the term biosphere was introduced by Eduard Suess in 1875, the one who really coined it with its current meaning was the Russian geochemist Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945) in the early 20th century. Vernadsky said that the biosphere was the covering of life, that is, the area of the earth's crust occupied by "transforming organisms." Thus, he conceived life as a planetary phenomenon that allows the transformation of solar energy in increasingly complex and diverse forms.

Some volcanic rocks found in Russia survived the collision of our planet with another celestial body that originated the Moon about 4,000 million years ago. The material has been preserved intact and has allowed a group of scientists to analyze it and publish the results in the journal Science.