How mantle movements shape Earth"s surface
The movement of tectonic plates shapes the rocky features of Earth's surface. Plates' convergence can form mountain ranges or ocean trenches, and their divergence can form oceanic ridges. But it's not just the plates themselves that influence Earth's.....»»
How to spot the ‘comet of the century’ next month
Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is passing by the sun and will soon pass by Earth, and could be a spectacularly bright object by mid-October......»»
Ryugu samples call into question previous ideas about the formation of carbon-rich asteroids
Asteroid Ryugu possibly did not travel as far from its place of origin to its current near-Earth orbit as previously assumed. New research published in the journal Science Advances suggests that Ryugu was formed near Jupiter......»»
Another building block of life can handle Venus" sulfuric acid
Venus is often described as a hellscape. The surface temperature breaches the melting point of lead, and though its atmosphere is dominated by carbon dioxide, it contains enough sulfuric acid to satisfy the comparison with Hades......»»
NASA confirms space station cracking a “highest” risk and consequence problem
NASA and Roscosmos have not agreed on the point at which the leak rate is untenable. Enlarge / A high-resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite owned by Maxar captured this view of the International Space Station on June 7 wi.....»»
Marine dust identifies 1.5 million year Oldest Ice near South America
Earth's climate has experienced major shifts over its billions of years of history, including numerous periods where ice proliferated across the planet. Today, ice cores can be a valuable resource for understanding these periods of Earth's history as.....»»
Study uncovers first evidence of a volcanic spatter cone on Mars
While working under Erika Rader, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences at University of Idaho, a postdoctoral researcher identified a volcanic vent on Mars as a potential spatter cone and compared it to a spatter cone.....»»
Study suggests moon may have been captured from space rather than formed from collision particles
Over six missions to the moon, from 1969 to 1972, Apollo astronauts collected more than 800 pounds of lunar rock and soil. Chemical and isotopic analysis of that material showed that it was similar to the rock and soil on Earth: calcium-rich, basalti.....»»
Advanced data shed light on gravitational basins of attraction that shape the movement of galaxies
A new study has mapped out the gravitational basins of attraction in the local universe, offering fresh insights into the large-scale cosmic structures that shape the movement of galaxies. The study has been published in Nature Astronomy......»»
Injecting manure into growing cover crops can cut pollution, support corn crops
Nitrogen in the soil, where plants can readily utilize it, benefits crop growth and health. However, nitrogen leaving the soil—whether through leaching into the groundwater table, flowing with surface runoff into streams or escaping into the air as.....»»
Existence of an Earth-like planet around a dead sun offers hope for our planet"s ultimate survival
The discovery of an Earth-like planet 4,000 light years away in the Milky Way galaxy provides a preview of one possible fate for our planet billions of years in the future, when the sun has turned into a white dwarf, and a blasted and frozen Earth ha.....»»
Researchers explore novel approach to map forest dieback in satellite images
Forests and woodlands cover one third of Earth's surface and play a critical role in carbon sequestration, water regulation, timber production, soil protection, and biodiversity conservation. Accelerated by climate change, the decline of these and ot.....»»
Robotic moving "crew" preps for work on moon
As NASA moves forward with efforts to establish a long-term presence on the moon as part of the Artemis campaign, safely moving cargo from landers to the lunar surface is a crucial capability......»»
Climate change is easier to study when it"s presented as a game, says researcher
Climate change is among the more difficult but important topics to teach to young people. It involves complicated science and data, and it can be really depressing, given the bleak picture it paints of Earth's future......»»
How a nearby supernova left its mark on Earth life
When a massive star explodes as a supernova, it does more than release an extraordinary amount of energy. Supernovae explosions are responsible for creating some of the heavy elements, including iron, which is blasted out into space by the explosion......»»
Study shows Mars" early thick atmosphere could be locked up in the planet"s clay surface
Mars wasn't always the cold desert we see today. There's increasing evidence that water once flowed on the red planet's surface, billions of years ago. And if there was water, there must also have been a thick atmosphere to keep that water from freez.....»»
Nuking a huge asteroid could save Earth, lab experiment suggests
Humanity could use a nuclear bomb to deflect a massive, life-threatening asteroid hurtling towards Earth in the future, according to scientists who tested the theory in the laboratory by blasting X-rays at a marble-sized "mock asteroid"......»»
Sound provides new information about the secret lives of sperm whales
Sperm whales are the loudest animals on Earth and rely on sound to find food in the sprawling darkness of the deep sea. MBARI technology allows us to listen in, gaining new insight into the mysterious lives of these animals......»»
Can the "hard steps" in the evolutionary history of human intelligence be recast with geological thresholds?
What took so long for humans to appear on Earth? The Earth is 4.6 billion years old, and life began about 4 billion years ago, yet humans—the only intelligent, technological species we know of in the universe—have existed only for the last 200,0.....»»
Afar mantle plume study offers new insight into deep Earth processes
Sophisticated analysis of tiny bubbles of ancient gas trapped in volcanic rocks, combined with new geophysical modeling, has cast new light on long-held assumptions about the deep Earth......»»
Nanostructures in the deep ocean floor hint at life"s origin
Researchers led by Ryuhei Nakamura at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan and The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of Tokyo Institute of Technology have discovered inorganic nanostructures surrounding deep-ocean hydro.....»»