Christian Thorsberg

Christian Thorsberg

Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer and photographer from Chicago. His work, which often centers on freshwater issues, climate change and subsistence, has appeared in Circle of Blue, Sierra magazine, Discover magazine and Alaska Sporting Journal.

Ritual sticks, between 11,000 and 12,000 years old, were discovered in Cloggs Cave.

Sticks Discovered in Australian Cave Shed New Light on an Aboriginal Ritual Passed Down for 12,000 Years

Both Western analyses and traditional Aboriginal knowledge helped the research team learn about a cultural practice dating to the last ice age

An artist’s rendering of the creature called Gaiasia jennyae

Before the Dinosaurs, This Massive Salamander-Like Predator Ruled Earth’s Swamps

Fossils unearthed in present-day Namibia tell an intriguing story of tetrapod evolution

Gilkey Trench in the Juneau Icefield

Alaska's Juneau Icefield Is Melting at an 'Incredibly Worrying' 50,000 Gallons per Second, Researchers Find

Between 2010 and 2020, the icefield lost 1.4 cubic miles of ice each year, according to a new study

The International Space Station, as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2007.

NASA Will Pay SpaceX Up to $843 Million to Destroy the International Space Station

After the end of this decade, the company will guide the aging laboratory into the Pacific Ocean, where many retired spacecrafts have been deposited

An illustration of debris and satellites in the geostationary ring around Earth.

ISS Astronauts Forced to Briefly Take Shelter as Russian Satellite Suddenly Breaks Up in Orbit

Officials are unsure why the satellite fractured unexpectedly, splintering into nearly 200 pieces

The new blood test, researchers hope, will help doctors diagnose Parkinson's disease years before symptoms occur, helping them provide more proactive treatments.

New Blood Test for Predicting Parkinson's Disease With A.I. Shows Promise, Study Suggests

In preliminary research, scientists identified eight protein anomalies in the blood of patients with Parkinson's, which they say can help diagnose the disease up to seven years before symptoms appear

The European Space Agency's Planetary Defense Office tracks and observes near-Earth objects passing by our planet, such as those shown in this illustration. 

Two Massive Asteroids Will Fly Past Earth This Week. Here's What to Know

Within 42 hours of each other, the pair of large asteroids, which both have no chance of impacting our planet, will approach Earth as they orbit the sun

The return capsule of the Chang'e-6 probe lands in China on June 25, 2024, with lunar samples inside.

China Brings Samples From the Moon's Far Side to Earth in First-Ever Feat

The China National Space Administration retrieved more than four pounds of lunar soil samples, which scientists hope will shed light on the early history of Earth and the moon

A firefighter stands in a blaze at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in 2009.

Extreme Wildfires Became Twice as Frequent and Intense in 20 Years, Study Finds

As measured by satellites, wildfires have markedly increased in boreal and temperate conifer forests, and rising nighttime temperatures allow flames to keep burning intensely after dark

An illustration of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, currently docked to the International Space Station as engineers troubleshoot helium leaks and thruster issues.

Starliner Astronauts Will Remain on Space Station Until July Amid Technical Issues

NASA and Boeing have delayed the crewed mission's return to Earth again, as engineers assess helium leaks and a thruster issue on the spacecraft's service module

A new study sheds light on the timeline of the human immune response when confronted with SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases.

Why Are Some People Seemingly Immune to Covid-19? Scientists May Now Have an Answer

Researchers tracked the immune responses of 16 people intentionally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and pinpointed a gene that seems to help resist the virus before it can take hold

Air temperatures in Joshua Tree, California, exceeded triple-digits on June 5, 2024.

Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke Should Be Considered 'Major Disasters' by FEMA Amid Climate Crisis, Advocates Say

Despite killing more people in the U.S. each year than hurricanes, floods or tornadoes, heat waves aren’t currently eligible for emergency funding from the disaster relief agency

An artist's rendering of the Voyager 1 spacecraft entering interstellar space.

After Months of Glitches and Gradual Fixes, Voyager 1 Is Fully Operational Once Again

Currently 15 billion miles away from Earth, one of NASA’s longest-tenured spacecraft is back from the brink after a technical failure last year put its future in question

Purple squares illustrate auroras on Mars, as detected by NASA’s MAVEN orbiter between May 14 and May 20. The brighter the purple, the more auroras present.

Mars Was Hit With a Solar Storm Days After Earth's Aurora Light Show, NASA Says

Studying this event could hold lessons for scientists about how to protect astronauts from radiation on future trips to the Red Planet

Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the heliosphere of a young star, LL Orionis, collides with an interstellar medium of dust. A similar event with our own sun, researchers say, might have occurred between two and three million years ago.

A Giant Interstellar Cloud May Have Once Enveloped Earth, Potentially Causing Ice Ages

Astronomers suggest this cold, dense cloud compressed our sun's protective field between two and three million years ago, leaving the Earth exposed to cosmic material

An endangered Przewalski's horse is released into the Altyn Dala "Golden Steppe" in central Kazakhstan.

Endangered Wild Horses Return to Kazakhstan for the First Time in at Least 200 Years

The international effort, led by the Prague Zoo, released seven Przewalski’s horses to their native steppe habitat in central Asia

A simulated perspective of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, with water frost at its peak.

Astronomers Discover Water Frost on Mars' Tallest Volcanoes

On early winter mornings, a thin layer of ice forms in craters atop the Red Planet's towering peaks, near its equator, according to a new study

Taken in December 1968 during NASA's Apollo 8 mission, William Anders' iconic "Earthrise" photograph galvanized environmental movements and inspired people on Earth.

William Anders, NASA Astronaut Who Captured Iconic 'Earthrise' Photograph, Dies at 90

The Apollo 8 lunar module pilot also served in the U.S. Air Force and worked extensively on nuclear energy projects

A horse herder in Inner Mongolia, China, in July 2019.

When Did Humans Domesticate Horses? Scientists Find Modern Lineage Has Origins 4,200 Years Ago

A new study suggests people in the Eurasian steppe bred horses around 2200 B.C.E., challenging earlier ideas about the beginnings of horse husbandry

Sue O'Connor (left) and Shimona Kealy (right) study some of the artifacts found in Timor-Leste, which offer clues that early humans took a more northern path from Southeast Asia to Australia tens of thousands of years ago.

Archaeologists Discover Clues to Ancient Migration Route That Brought Humans to Australia

New research offers evidence that humans did not inhabit the island of Timor until around 44,000 years ago, suggesting it was not part of the original migration route from Southeast Asia to Australia

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