EARTH

A sophisticated satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) has mapped Earth's gravity with unprecedented precision, helping scientists have clearer understanding of the variation in the gravitational force in different parts of the planet and how this may affect crucial events like an earthquake.

The rare earth minerals company Molycorp Inc has announced that it has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory.

Some of the world's top international collectors, philanthropists, celebrities and designers were present at the 2011 Christie's Green Auction, Bid to Save the Earth, on March 29, 2011 at Rockefeller Center in New York.

The world turned off its lights on March 26 for an hour from 8.30 p.m. local time as a show of support for tougher action to confront climate change.

The symbolic action of turning lights out for an hour in an expression of concern for the environment is in the process of being officially observed in thousands of communities across 134 countries and territories on Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Lights being turned off in homes, businesses and public buildings in Fiji and New Zealand at 8:30 PM local time marked the commencement of Earth Hour 2011, with widespread endorsement of the message that the world and its environment need commitments for action going “beyond the hour”.

As the world joins in the fight against climate change today, during the Earth Hour 2011, US-based Australian model and global ambassador of 2011 Earth Hour Miranda Kerr reaches out to her Myspace audiences through a unique program called Hijack.

Earth Hour has already passed for Asia and Australia. For the Middle East and Africa, it's hours away. For North America and Europe, there is plenty of time to prepare for Earth Day.

While countries around the world wait for clock to strike 8.30 p.m. tonight, here's an Earth Hour 2011 official video showing the world during the past years' Earth Hour campaign.

Two weeks has passed since a massive earthquake and the ensuing tsunami struck Japan to cause one of the most severe natural disasters in Japanese history.

At 8:30 PM on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour.

The triple disaster in Japan and the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa likely would have only a limited impact on the global economy - provided the twin shocks of higher oil prices and the supply chain disruptions from Japan do not get much worse, market research firm IHS said.

Corrects story from March 22 to make fourth paragraph read “on a free on board basis” instead of “including the cost of insurance and freight”

China's exports of rare earth metals burst through the $100,000-per-tonne mark for the first time in February, up almost ninefold from a year before, while the volume of trade stayed far below historical averages.

Once every few years, the moon makes a closer-than-usual approach, offering better views, higher tides, and a bit more light.

Researchers have ruled out an alternate theory on the nature of dark energy after recalculating the expansion rate of the universe with the help of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as mounting fears about Japan's escalating nuclear crisis sparked sell-offs in financial markets around the world, but positive remarks from the Federal Reserve helped the indexes rebound from the day’s lows.

As Japan continues to reel under the after effects of the powerful earthquake that struck the country's Pacific Coast on Friday afternoon, the world still stands aghast at the devastation caused by the quake and the consequent tsunami. As the rescue, rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts start, the country is under severe threat of a nuclear disaster as the plants continue to report explosions and fires.

The aftermath of Japan's disastrous earthquake and tsunami could temporarily ease the rise in rare earth prices, but overall demand is likely to continue to outstrip supply for the next few years, an industry executive said.

The Japanese earthquake shook the Earth so violently that it likely moved it from its axis and shortened the day.

Earth has been shifted on its axis by almost 4 inches (10 centimeters) during the Japan earthquake, and according to some reports, the cataclysmic incident has a moon connection.