Sid Perkins

Sid Perkins is a freelance science writer based in Crossville, Tenn.

All Stories by Sid Perkins

  1. Earth

    Toppling icebergs sped breakup of Larsen B ice shelf

    Scientists now think they know what accelerated the rapid disintegration of most of Antarctica's Larsen B ice shelf early this year after a strong summer storm pummeled the region.

  2. Earth

    Contrails forecast on the horizon

    Studies of the contrails generated by jets flying high over Alaska may lead to improved techniques for predicting the formation of the artificial clouds, which some scientists suggest have a warming effect on Earth's climate.

  3. Earth

    Contrails forecast on the horizon

    Studies of the contrails generated by jets flying high over Alaska may lead to improved techniques for predicting the formation of the artificial clouds, which some scientists suggest have a warming effect on Earth's climate.

  4. Earth

    Warm arctic summer melted much ice

    Satellite observations of the Arctic Ocean show that the amount of sea ice there this year was the lowest it's been in more than 20 years.

  5. Earth

    Warm arctic summer melted much ice

    Satellite observations of the Arctic Ocean show that the amount of sea ice there this year was the lowest it's been in more than 20 years.

  6. Planetary Science

    Fresh crater found on lunar images

    Scientists analyzing images of the moon's surface taken from lunar orbit believe they've identified the crater that formed when a small asteroid slammed into the moon almost 5 decades ago.

  7. Planetary Science

    Fresh crater found on lunar images

    Scientists analyzing images of the moon's surface taken from lunar orbit believe they've identified the crater that formed when a small asteroid slammed into the moon almost 5 decades ago.

  8. Earth

    Solving Hazy Mysteries

    Aerosols such as smoke, soot, and sea spray make for hazy vistas and stunning sunrises, but they also play major roles in Earth's climate and atmospheric chemistry.

  9. Earth

    El Niños came more often in Middle Ages

    Analyses of layered sediments from a South American lake suggest that the worldwide warm spells known as El Niños occurred more frequently about 1,200 years ago, when Europe was entering the Middle Ages, than they do today.

  10. Paleontology

    Forged fossil is a fish-eating fowl

    Detailed analyses of Archaeoraptor, a forged fossil once thought to be a missing link between dinosaurs and birds, reveal that the majority of that fake comes from an ancient, fish-eating bird.

  11. Earth

    Outside-In: Clearing up how cloud droplets freeze

    A fresh look at old experimental data suggests that water droplets in clouds freeze from the outside inward rather than from their core outward.

  12. Earth

    Bursting in Air: Satellites tally small asteroid hits

    On average, a small asteroid slams into Earth's atmosphere and explodes with the energy of 1,000 Hiroshima-size blasts once every thousand years or so, a rate that is less than one-third as high as scientists previously supposed.