A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Northern California Thursday night and was felt.  According to the United State Geological Survey, the initial quake hit about 8:47 pm; its epicenter was about 27 miles southwest of Susanville and seven miles west northwest of Greenville. There were reports on Twitter that shaking from the temblor was felt in Sacramento, 150 miles away, where [...]

This mystical beacon of light shining through the arch looks like it has come straight out of an Indiana Jones film. But rather than be created with special effects, the orange glow is a natural phenomenon that only occurs during a few weeks of every year. Capturing the stunning and rare light on camera is one of biggest trophies for [...]

This ancient oasis in the middle of a Chinese desert was in danger of disappearing beneath the sands until the government stepped in to save it. Located about 6km south of the city of Dunhuang in north west China, the Crescent Lake (Yueyaquan in Chinese) is a fresh water spring in the shape of a half moon. The oasis, which [...]

Rare and beautiful shots of alien-looking moon jellyfish have been captured by an Israeli photographer in the Red Sea.  Photographer Yuzuru Masuda, 37, captured these stunning images of the moon jellyfish as he snorkelled during an excursion off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Masuda watched and swam with the jellyfish for two hours and because they don’t sting he could [...]

A carnivorous plant found only in Aichi Prefecture has been confirmed as a new species, a researcher at Aichi University of Education announced Saturday. The pitcher plant with purple-red flowers was initially believed to be a variant of the white-flowered Drosera indica, designated as an endangered species by the Environment Ministry….

The images may seem like something from out of this world, but they are actually rare thunderstorm clouds called a supercells. The colossal storm systems center on mesocyclones, which are rotating updrafts that can span several kilometers and deliver torrential rain and high winds including tornadoes. The first of several superstorm images below was photographed by Sean R. Heavey just [...]

Scientists believe they have made the first ever recording of a tree gasping for water. Just as humans make a noise as they desperately try to gulp air, living trees make ultrasonic popping noises as they draw in as much moisture as possible to survive during a drought. The sounds are a hundred times faster than can be heard by [...]

A toothy predator fish nicknamed Frankenfish is lurking in the lakes of Central Park, conservation workers believe. Officials are set to survey one particular lake this week, searching for the northern snakehead fish that they say threatens to disrupt the ecosystem in Manhattan’s premier ponds. The fish, native to China, Russia and Korea, has been spotted in Queens and in [...]

They may look like a scene from the sci-fi movie Contact but in fact these incredible photos which could have been taken on a different planet are of a Californian beach. The eerie out-of-this world glow hovering above the ocean is caused by a bioluminescent algae bloom commonly known as a red tide. But a chemical reaction caused by the [...]

At least 156 people have been killed and thousands more left injured after a powerful earthquake jolted China’s Sichuan province near the same area where a devastating quake struck five years ago. More than 5,500 people are reported to have been injured in the earthquake which struck mountainous Lushan county shortly after 8am this morning local time, and 19 people [...]