Planetary Science
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Planetary Science
Uninhabitable Earth
A recent estimate of the lifetimes of the habitability zones of Earth and various exoplanets suggests Earth could become unable to support life as soon as 1.75 billion years from now, when the sun brightens before dying out.
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Astronomy
Moon’s craters remeasured
Large craters cover more of the moon’s surface on its nearside than its farside, according to new maps from NASA’s GRAIL spacecrafts.
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Planetary Science
Meteor explosions like this year’s Russian fireball more common than thought
Chelyabinsk-sized rocks may come to Earth every 30 years, on average.
By Andrew Grant -
Planetary Science
Moon material on Earth
Scientists now think that tektites are a type of impactite, formed during the rapid heating and cooling of material ejected when a meteorite strikes Earth.
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Astronomy
An Earth-sized hell circles faraway star
Kepler-78b, an Earth-sized, extremely hot exoplanet made of rock and iron, is the smallest with known diameter and mass.
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Astronomy
Solar system with seven planets discovered
Kepler data has identified a star with a seven-planet system structured similarly to the sun’s clutch of planets.
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Planetary Science
Carbonation may have grounded Mars’ atmosphere
The chemical interaction could have forced Red Planet’s atmospheric carbon dioxide into the dirt.
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Planetary Science
A grander canyon on Mars
Hebes Chasma, a huge trough on Mars, reflects the Red Planet’s tumultuous and varied past.
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Astronomy
Water seen in rubble around star
Hubble sees debris that was part of an asteroid with the ingredients for habitable planets.
By Meghan Rosen