Entropy could be key to a planet"s habitability
We all know that to have life on a world, you need three critical items: water, warmth, and food. Now add to that a factor called "entropy." It plays a role in determining if a given planet can sustain and grow complex life......»»
Vaporizing plastics recycles them into nothing but gas
Polypropylene and polyethylene can be broken down simultaneously. Enlarge (credit: Derek Berwin) Our planet is choking on plastics. Some of the worst offenders, which can take decades to degrade in landfills, are polypro.....»»
Citizen science collaboration yields precise data on exoplanet WASP-77 A b
A planet swings in front of its star, dimming the starlight we see. Events like these, called transits, provide us with bounties of information about exoplanets—planets around stars other than the sun. But predicting when these special events occur.....»»
Don"t overlook microorganisms" role in planet health, scientists warn
The tiniest and oldest creatures on—and in—Earth have a huge role in achieving a sustainable future for the planet, an international team of scientists, including faculty researchers from The Ohio State University, asserts in a new Cell article p.....»»
Scientists looked deep beneath the Doomsday Glacier. What they found spells potential disaster for the planet
Scientists looked deep beneath the Doomsday Glacier. What they found spells potential disaster for the planet.....»»
Detailed model suggests organic matter on Mars was formed from atmospheric formaldehyde
Although Mars is currently a cold, dry planet, geological evidence suggests that liquid water existed there around 3 to 4 billion years ago. Where there is water, there is usually life. In their quest to answer the burning question about life on Mars.....»»
Study reveals that future climate change may reduce the Amazon rainforest"s ability to act as a carbon sink
The Amazon, often called the "lungs of the planet," is the world's largest tropical forest, playing a crucial role in the global climate system due to its vast carbon storage. While it is typically warm and humid all year round, continued climate cha.....»»
Explaining dramatic planetwide changes after world"s last "Snowball Earth" event
Some of the most dramatic climatic events in our planet's history are "Snowball Earth" events that happened hundreds of millions of years ago, when almost the entire planet was encased in ice up to 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) thick......»»
An ambitious mission to Neptune could study both the planet and Triton
Mission concepts to the outer solar system are relatively common, as planetary scientists are increasingly frustrated by our lack of knowledge of the farthest planets. Neptune, the farthest known planet, was last visited by Voyager 2 in the 1980s......»»
The best movies on Hulu right now (September 2024)
The best movies on Hulu include Date Night, Sicario, Us, The Mask of Zorro, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Immaculate, Rachel Getting Married, and more......»»
Can we engineer our way out of the climate crisis? Scientists hope to find out
After decades of trying to stop Earth from heating up, scientists are exploring how to reverse climate change and maybe even cool the planet back down......»»
The skyscraper-sized tsunami that vibrated through the entire planet and no one saw
Earthquake scientists detected an unusual signal on monitoring stations used to detect seismic activity during September 2023. We saw it on sensors everywhere, from the Arctic to Antarctica......»»
The roles played by Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation
Indigenous Peoples play an indisputable and critical role in the conservation of the planet's biodiversity. Their lands and livelihoods sustain life in myriad forms. However, a study by researchers at the ICTA-UAB published in Nature concludes that t.....»»
Astronomers discover new planet in Great Bear constellation
Astronomers from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun have discovered a new planet in the constellation of the Great Bear. It has a mass as much as 11 times that of Jupiter, orbits its star in 14 years and has a temperature of no more than min.....»»
Amazon’s Shipping and Delivery Emissions Just Keep Going Up
A new report attempts to calculate how much damage shipping our Amazon orders is doing to the planet and how badly the company is missing its own targets......»»
New research reveals how El Niño caused the greatest ever mass extinction
Mega ocean warming El Niño events were key in driving the largest extinction of life on planet Earth some 252 million years ago, according to new research......»»
Report outlines a path to prosperity for planet and people if Earth"s critical resources are better shared
Earth will only remain able to provide even a basic standard of living for everyone in the future if economic systems and technologies are dramatically transformed and critical resources are more fairly used, managed and shared, according to an inter.....»»
Check out this incredible cloud atlas of Mars
Researchers recently presented a stunning cloud atlas of Mars: a database containing 20 years' worth of images of clouds and storms observed on the red planet......»»
NASA scientists recreate Mars"s spider-shaped geologic formations in lab for the first time
Tests on Earth appear to confirm how the red planet's spider-shaped geologic formations are carved by carbon dioxide......»»
Cloud atlas of Mars showcases array of atmospheric phenomena
Cloud enthusiasts have a new tool to investigate striking formations in the skies above the red planet. A browsable database of 20-years-worth of images of clouds and storms, created by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Berlin, is helping scientis.....»»
Bringing electricity to the smallest villages is not likely to reduce poverty
Nearly 800 million people in the world lack access to commercial electricity. It is easy to assume that connecting them to the grid will reduce poverty and improve lives. In fact, expanding energy infrastructure to everyone on the planet by 2030 is o.....»»