Does This Photo Prove The Earth Is Flat?

  • by Becky Oskin

Oliver Kreylos, a project scientist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, used advanced 3D computer graphics to analyze a photograph allegedly proving the Earth is flat. The photograph is a stunning long-distance shot of Mt. San Jacinto taken from Point Dume in Malibu, 122 miles (197 kilometers) away. Spoiler alert: the Earth is round. Watch and find out why.

Sarah Stewart TED talk

Where Did the Moon Come From? A New Theory

  • by Becky Oskin

The Earth and Moon are like identical twins, made up of the exact same materials — which is really strange, since no other celestial bodies we know of share this kind of chemical relationship. What's responsible for this special connection? Looking for an answer, professor Sarah Stewart discovered a new kind of astronomical object — a synestia — and a new way to solve the mystery of the Moon's origin. Watch the talk on TED.com.

Eretmorhipis fossil

Researchers Describe New Reptile Platypus From the Early Triassic

  • by Becky Oskin
No animal alive today looks quite like a duck-billed platypus, a semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammal hailing from eastern Australia. But about 250 million years ago, something very similar swam the shallow seas in what is now China, finding prey by touch with a cartilaginous bill. The newly discovered marine reptile Eretmorhipis carrolldongi from the lower Triassic period is described in the journal Scientific Reports Jan. 24. 
Remote-operated vessel

Exploring a Strange Underwater World

  • by Becky Oskin
Robert Zierenberg, professor emeritus in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has studied seafloor vents since the first ones were discovered in the eastern Pacific Ocean in 1977.
UC Davis GEL 138 class

Cool Class: Volcanic Adventure

It’s 3 a.m. and a group of UC Davis students are beginning an hours-long trek across barren lava fields under a sky crowded with stars. The sunrise trek is part of Geology 138, a class that vividly brings to life the basics of volcanology — how a volcano works and what are the signs of unrest.

2003 - Mike Bezemek

  • by Becky Oskin

For Mike Bezemek (B.A., geology, ’03), outdoor adventure was as important as academics to his college experience. Bezemek, a freelance writer and photographer, has crafted a career that combines his passion for natural landscapes with his love of literature and writing. 

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