Showing 20 articles starting at article 241
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Geoscience: Volcanoes, Space: The Solar System
Published Venus had Earth-like plate tectonics billions of years ago, study suggests



Venus, may have once had tectonic plate movements similar to those believed to have occurred on early Earth, a new study found. The finding sets up tantalizing scenarios regarding the possibility of early life on Venus, its evolutionary past and the history of the solar system.
Published Scientists discover molten layer covering Martian core



NASA's InSight mission to Mars helped scientists map out Mars' internal structure, including the size and composition of its core, and provided general hints about its tumultuous formation. But findings from a new paper could lead to reanalysis of that data. An international team of researchers discovered the presence of a molten silicate layer overlying Mars' metallic core -- providing new insights into how Mars formed, evolved and became the barren planet it is today.
Published Solar farms in space are possible



It's viable to produce low-cost, lightweight solar panels that can generate energy in space, according to new research.
Published Astrophysicists scan the Galaxy for signs of life



Astrophysicists are scanning the Universe for 'technosignatures' emanating from distant planets that would provide support for the existence of intelligent, alien life. Researchers plan to monitor millions of star systems.
Published Curiosity rover finds new evidence of ancient Mars rivers, a key signal for life



New analysis of data from the Curiosity rover reveals that much of the craters on Mars today could have once been habitable rivers.
Published Researchers capture first images of a radio 'ring of fire' solar eclipse



Researchers have recorded images of a solar eclipse with the 'ring of fire' effect in radio waves.
Published Researchers probe how a piece of the moon became a near-Earth asteroid



Two years after the striking discovery that a near-Earth asteroid could be a chunk of the moon, another UArizona research group has found that a rare pathway could have enabled this to happen.
Published The Moon is 40 million years older than previously thought



By analyzing tiny lunar crystals gathered by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972, researchers recalculated the age of the Earth's Moon. Although previous assessments estimated the Moon as 4.425 billion years old, the new study discovered it is actually 4.46 billion years old -- 40 million years older than previously thought.
Published NASA's Webb discovers new feature in Jupiter's atmosphere



NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a new, never-before-seen feature in Jupiter's atmosphere. The high-speed jet stream, which spans more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) wide, sits over Jupiter's equator above the main cloud decks. The discovery of this jet is giving insights into how the layers of Jupiter's famously turbulent atmosphere interact with each other, and how Webb is uniquely capable of tracking those features.
Published California supervolcano is cooling off but may still cause quakes



New high-resolution images of the Long Valley Caldera indicate that the subsurface environment is cooling off, releasing gas and fluids that contribute to seismic activity.
Published Source of largest ever Mars quake revealed



Scientists have announced the results of an unprecedented collaboration to search for the source of the largest ever seismic event recorded on Mars. The study rules out a meteorite impact, suggesting instead that the quake was the result of enormous tectonic forces within Mars' crust.
Published Signatures of the Space Age: Spacecraft metals left in the wake of humanity's path to the stars



Using tools hitched to the nose cone of their research planes and sampling more than 11 miles above the planet's surface, researchers have discovered significant amounts of metals in aerosols in the atmosphere, likely from increasingly frequent launches and returns of spacecraft and satellites. That mass of metal is changing atmospheric chemistry in ways that may impact Earth's atmosphere and ozone layer.
Published Removal of magnetic spacecraft contamination within extraterrestrial samples easily carried out, researchers say



By demonstrating that spaceflight doesn’t adversely affect the magnetism of moon rocks, researchers underscore the exciting potential of studying the magnetic histories stored in these samples.
Published Researchers capture first-ever afterglow of huge planetary collision in outer space



A chance social media post by an eagle-eyed amateur astronomer sparked the discovery of an explosive collision between two giant planets, which crashed into each other in a distant space system 1,800 light years away from planet Earth.
Published 'Starquakes' could explain mystery signals



Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are an astronomical mystery, with their exact cause and origins still unconfirmed. These intense bursts of radio energy are invisible to the human eye, but show up brightly on radio telescopes. Previous studies have noted broad similarities between the energy distribution of repeat FRBs, and that of earthquakes and solar flares. However, new research has looked at the time and energy of FRBs and found distinct differences between FRBs and solar flares, but several notable similarities between FRBs and earthquakes. This supports the theory that FRBs are caused by 'starquakes' on the surface of neutron stars. This discovery could help us better understand earthquakes, the behavior of high-density matter and aspects of nuclear physics.
Published Source of electron acceleration and X-ray aurora of Mercury local chorus waves detected



Observations during two flybys by the Mio spacecraft as part of the BepiColombo International Mercury Exploration Project have revealed that chorus waves occur quite locally in the dawn sector of Mercury. Mercury's magnetic field is about 1% of that of Earth, and it was unclear whether chorus waves would be generated like on Earth. The present study reveals that the chorus waves are the driving source of Mercury's X-ray auroras, whose mechanism was not understood.
Published Astronomers discover first step toward planet formation



Astronomers have gotten very good at spotting the signs of planet formation around stars. But for a complete understanding of planet formation, we also need to study examples where planet formation has not yet started. Looking for something and not finding it can be even more difficult than finding it sometimes, but new detailed observations of the young star DG Taurus show that it has a smooth protoplanetary disk without signs of planet formation. This successful non-detection of planet formation may indicate that DG Taurus is on the eve of planet formation.
Published Scientists discover the highest energy gamma-rays ever from a pulsar



Scientists have detected the highest energy gamma rays ever from a dead star called a pulsar. The energy of these gamma rays clocked in at 20 tera-electronvolts, or about ten trillion times the energy of visible light. This observation is hard to reconcile with the theory of the production of such pulsed gamma rays, as the international team reports.
Published Plot thickens in hunt for ninth planet



A pair of theoretical physicists are reporting that the same observations inspiring the hunt for a ninth planet might instead be evidence within the solar system of a modified law of gravity originally developed to understand the rotation of galaxies.
Published Volcanic ash effects on Earth systems



To bridge the knowledge gap between volcanologists and atmospheric scientists working on climate change and observing global systems, researchers have characterized volcanic ash samples from many explosive eruptions of a broad compositional range.