earth

Earth cozies up super close to the sun today

Looking out my window, it's a beautiful sunny day. Perhaps it's even a bit sunnier than usual here in New Mexico. Turns out, there may be a reason for that. The Earth is as close to the sun today as it will be for the whole year of 2013.

How close is close? The Earth is a mere 91,402,560 miles away from the sun today. Usually, we're right around 93 million miles. The phenomenon of getting all cuddly with our closest star is called perihelion. "Peri" means near and "Helios" was the Greek god of the sun. … Read more

Check out space with Solar System - Earth 3D Screensaver

Screensavers have long outworn their welcome, but some people still refuse to live without them. If you wouldn't dream of having a blank black screen when your computer is idle, Solar System - Earth 3D Screensaver is for you. It shows you our planet in all of its glory.

The goofy early-'90s sci-fi music this application features is a weird choice, but it doesn't totally detract from the screensaver. As for the image, it's a cool spinning Earth that is actually fun to watch. It isn't the most accurate view of Earth you'll ever … Read more

How much would you cough up for a Hobbit home?

Tired of the city and need some more greenery in your life? Real estate blog Movoto calculated the cost of buying a home similar to Bag End featured in "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" movie sagas.

Movoto considered Worcestershire County, England, as a reasonable locale for estimating the value of a Hobbiton home since "Hobbit" author J.R.R. Tolkien supposedly favored the lush countryside area.… Read more

Rare-earth mining company replaces CEO amid SEC probe

Mark Smith, the chief executive of rare-earth mineral mining company Molycorp, was replaced today, a month after the company disclosed it was under a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation regarding the accuracy of its public disclosures.

Rare-earth minerals are key ingredients for mobile phones, as well as wind turbines, hybrid cars, and night-vision goggles. The vast majority of rare-earth minerals are mined in China. But Molycorp is one of a handful of Western companies hoping to elbow into that business. This summer, Smith gave CNET a tour of Molycorp's Mountain Pass, Calif., mine as part of a series on … Read more

Google Maps lets users explore NASA's 'Black Marble'

Google Maps is now letting users explore Earth's far-reaching lands filled with flickering lights using imagery from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's "Black Marble."

The Web giant announced the launch of its own Earth at Night today, which is a global view and animation of the images taken from NASA and NOAA's jointly operated Suomi NPP satellite. These series of images show what the Earth looks like from space once the sun sets.

"It took 312 orbits to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth's land surface and … Read more

Desktop Earth: Windows on our world.

Views of Earth from space are as close as the nearest weather site, but in the great scheme of things, we've only had the privilege a short while. We were reminded of just how awesome the view of everyone's home from space can be when we tried Desktop Earth, a free screensaver that rotates high-resolution satellite images of Earth on Windows desktops. But Desktop Earth does more than most other screensavers do. For instance, it changes with the time of day, displaying daylight and night images centered on your location. You can set it to center on any … Read more

Bask in Earth's nighttime glow as seen from space

When the skies darken and the lights flicker on, the areas of Earth we populate gain a surreal glow that traces our existence in a breathtaking way.

A new series of photos released by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's jointly-operated Suomi NPP satellite gives us a clearer view than ever before at our illuminated world during nighttime. Perhaps you could compare the view to a series of electrified blood vessels and arteries. … Read more

Hobbiton tour a hot ticket before 'Hobbit' movie premiere

With the world premiere of "The Hobbit" movie just a few weeks off, I've been thinking a lot about travel and Middle-earth, from here at the actual middle of the actual earth.

Turns out I'm not alone. These days, the New Zealand Tourism Board actively promotes tours of the 12-acre family farm that was spotted amid obscurity and lots of sheep in 1998 and transformed into The Shire of Tolkien lore.

In fact, the tourist board says at least 6 percent of visitors to the country cite "The Lord of the Rings" and upcoming "Hobbit" trilogies as the reason they came to New Zealand.… Read more

Scientists say Google Earth island in Pacific doesn't exist

If you thought Apple's Maps app might steer you wrong, just watch out if you're navigating the South Pacific with Google Maps.

It and Google Earth, as well as marine maps and charts, show a feature west of New Caledonia that Australian scientists say is a phantom island.

Sandy Island looks like a gaping hole in the Coral Sea. About 16 miles long, north to south, it could make the perfect beach nirvana.

But the University of Sydney scientists found only ocean 4,620 feet deep when they went to the site while on a research expedition. The depth would preclude the island sinking. … Read more

Zoom around the vast Milky Way in a browser

In the grand scheme of things, it's fair to say our solar system is very tiny.

You might especially agree with that statement after viewing 100,000 Stars, a Google Chrome Experiment Web page that gives anyone the chance surf around the our slice of the universe from the comfort of their Internet browser. Spacesuit and oxygen supply optional. … Read more