snowball

Stunning Comet Spiral Offers Glimpse of Icy Snowball at Its CoreComet 12P/Pons-Brooks is hiding a strange spiral in its icy heart—and it may tell scientists about the comet’s innardsBy Meghan BartelsAn image of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks and its rotating core taken by Jan Erik Vallestad. Credit: Jan Erik VallestadComet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a shapeshifter: in the summer of 2023 it sported wings like the Millennium Falcon, the iconic Star Wars ship. By autumn it had been dubbed the “Devil comet” for its horned appearance.Now, for…

Artists impression of 'Snowball Earth'. Credit: NASA Australian geologists have used plate tectonic modeling to determine what most likely caused an extreme ice-age climate in Earth's history, more than 700 million years ago. The study, published in Geology, helps our understanding of the functioning of the Earth's built-in thermostat that prevents…

Call of Duty's annual holiday event, CODMAS, begins today and offers up a variety of activities to partake in themed around the holidays, including snowball fights and a mission to kill a zombified Santa. Here's everything you need to know about CODMAS 2023, which includes activities and events covering multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone.When is it?CODMAS begins December 19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET and runs through January 3 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. That should give players a good amount of time to check out…

Researchers found evidence that Earth was not completely frozen solid during the Marinoan ice age 635 million years ago. Shallow, mid-latitude seas remained ice free, perhaps helping life persist. Credit: Michael Miller At least five ice ages have befallen Earth, including one 635 million years ago that created glaciers from pole to pole. …

More than 600 million years ago, the planet was frozen from pole to pole, covered in half-kilometer-thick ice sheets that darkened every ocean. How sea life clung on during Snowball Earth, as this inhospitable period is known, has long been a mystery. A new study bolsters the idea that the global glaciation wasn’t all encompassing. Geochemical evidence from ancient rocks suggests zones of open ocean may have been present north of the Tropic of Cancer, a region…

New Snowball Earth model with open waters existed in both low- and mid-latitude oceans. Credit: Dr Huyue Song Millions of years ago, the Earth was so cold that most of its surface was covered in ice. But that hard freeze might have been slushier than once thought. The longstanding "Snowball Earth" theory imagines our world as seen…

Long before complex life crawled from the oceans to make itself at home on dry land, Earth endured an ice age like no other. On two separate occasions, fingers of ice stretched far from the poles, turning the planet into a frozen wasteland.Just how far glaciers reached has been a matter of debate. Some contend the runaway deep freeze extended across all latitudes, completely coating Earth in a thick coat of ice as far as the equator.Others argue equatorial latitudes may have been relatively ice-free. Evidence buried in…

A new Fortnite Winterfest quest requires players to hide inside a giant snowball at three different locations. Specifically, you need to hide in a giant snowball at Frosty Firs, Brutal Bastion, and Lonely Labs across the battle royale map. These three areas are found on the northeastern portion of the map and are all located in the snowy location. In order to complete the quest, you need to visit each area -- not just one. The tricky part is actually finding a giant snowball, but in this guide, we'll show you how…