Planetary Science
- Planetary Science
Marsquakes and meteorite hits show Mars has a dense liquid metal core
Mars’ dense liquid iron core is wrapped in a layer of molten rock, which threw off previous measurements of the Red Planet’s heart.
- Planetary Science
Giant planet ‘destabilization’ may have coincided with the birth of Earth’s moon
New meteorite data suggest the orbits of the giant planets abruptly changed about 60 million to 100 million years after the solar system started forming.
- Planetary Science
Here’s another strike against Venus having copious lightning
Past data and the Parker Solar Probe’s new discovery of weird whistler waves overturn the idea that Venus’ hellish atmosphere has a lot of lightning.
- Planetary Science
In a first, astronomers spot the afterglow of an exoplanet collision
A surge of infrared light from a remote star might have been a glow cast by the vaporized leftovers of an impact between Neptune-sized worlds.
- Planetary Science
How drones are helping scientists find meteorites
Searching for fallen space rocks is labor intensive. A team of researchers in Australia is speeding things up with drones and machine learning.
- Planetary Science
Flashes in Venus’ atmosphere might be meteors, not lightning
With upcoming missions planned for Venus, scientists are eager to figure out the origin of the mysterious flashes.
- Earth
50 years ago, mysterious glass hinted at Earth’s violent past
Like Hansel and Gretel followed a trail of breadcrumbs, scientists have followed tektites to the sites of major meteorite impacts.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s DART mission lofted a swarm of boulders into space
Hubble telescope images of the asteroid Dimorphos reveal a halo of 37 dim, newfound objects — most likely boulders shaken loose from the surface.
- Planetary Science
Granite likely lurks beneath the moon’s surface
Without plate tectonics or water, granite is hard to make. But a 50-kilometer-wide hunk sits beneath the moon’s surface, lunar orbiter data suggest.
- Planetary Science
A rain of electrons causes Mercury’s X-ray auroras
The first direct measurement of electrons raining down on Mercury suggests this particle precipitation causes most auroras in the solar system.
- Astronomy
Ryugu asteroid samples are sprinkled with stardust older than the solar system
Slivers of the asteroid appear to be from the fringes of the solar system and could reveal bits of the history of the sun and its planets.
- Astronomy
‘Under Alien Skies’ imagines what the sky looks like on other planets
Astronomer Philip Plait’s new book takes readers on a thrilling ride to Mars, Pluto and even a black hole.
