Some icy exoplanets may have habitable oceans and geysers
A NASA study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could.....»»
Two Neptune-sized exoplanets discovered with TESS
An international team of astronomers reports the detection of two new exoplanets orbiting a bright star known as TOI-5126, using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The newfound alien worlds are similar in size to the solar system's.....»»
Hurricanes are now twice as likely to zip from minor to whopper than decades ago, study says
With warmer oceans serving as fuel, Atlantic hurricanes are now more than twice as likely as before to rapidly intensify from wimpy minor hurricanes to powerful and catastrophic, a study said Thursday......»»
We landed a camera on Venus before seeing parts of our own oceans—time to ramp up observations closer to home
Viewed from the Voyager 1 space probe as it passed beyond the edge of the solar system, Earth and Venus might not look too different—same diameter, similar mass and distance from the sun......»»
How an ancient society in the Sahara Desert rose and fell with groundwater
With its low quantities of rain and soaring high temperatures, the Sahara Desert is often regarded as one of the most extreme and least habitable environments on Earth. While the Sahara was periodically much greener in the distant past, an ancient so.....»»
The changing climate creates more noise in the oceans
Due to the changing climate, the underwater world is getting ever noisier. That is the main conclusion of a study that was published today in the journal PeerJ. "In some places, by the end of this century, the sound of ships, for example, will be fiv.....»»
Study shows live plant pathogens can travel on dust across oceans
Plant pathogens can hitch rides on dust and remain viable, with the potential for traveling across the planet to infect areas far afield, a finding with important implications for global food security and for predicting future outbreaks......»»
New fish species found in the Great Barrier Reef
At a time when marine life is disappearing from the world's oceans, researchers are celebrating the discovery of a new species of coral reef fish in the southern waters of the Great Barrier Reef......»»
New observations of flares from distant star could help in search for habitable planets
Astrophysicists have used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to take a close look at a volatile star......»»
Can JWST tell the difference between an exoEarth and an exoVenus?
As of October 2023, astronomers have discovered 5,506 exoplanets orbiting other stars. That number is growing daily, and astronomers are hoping, among other things, to find Earth-like worlds. But will we know one when we see it? How might we be able.....»»
Old stars don"t have hot Jupiters, suggests study
As we began to discover hundreds, then thousands of exoplanets, we found that there were two types of worlds unlike anything in our solar system. The first are super-Earths. These worlds straddle the line between large rocky worlds like Earth and sma.....»»
Atmospheric microplastic transport predominantly derived from oceans, study finds
Microplastics in our natural environments are of increasing concern as these tiny particles (.....»»
A new planet-hunting instrument has been installed on the Very Large Telescope
Exoplanet studies have come a long way in a short time. To date, 5,523 exoplanets have been confirmed in 4,117 systems, with another 9,867 candidates awaiting confirmation. With all these planets available for study, exoplanet researchers have been s.....»»
Jellyfish: Our complex relationship with the oceans" anti-heroes
Ding! The courier hands me an unassuming brown box with "live animals" plastered on the side. I begin carefully unboxing. The cardboard exterior gives way to a white polystyrene clamshell, cloistering a pearly sphere-shaped, water-filled bag. Lightly.....»»
What Will Plants Be Like on Alien Worlds?
Scientists know enough about exoplanets to speculate about how simple plants might arise on them. But don't count on them being green......»»
Did animal evolution begin with a predatory lifestyle?
Were the first animals predators or filter feeders like the sponges living in today's oceans? And what role did symbiosis with algae play, as with reef-building corals? Surprising findings by a research group led by Prof. Dr. Thomas W. Holstein of He.....»»
Superbolts: Scientists figure out what causes Earth"s strongest lightning
Superbolts are more likely to strike the closer a storm cloud's electrical charging zone is to the land or ocean's surface, a new study finds. These conditions are responsible for superbolt "hotspots" above some oceans and tall mountains......»»
Keck Cosmic Web Imager offers best glimpse yet of the filamentous network that connects galaxies
Like rivers feeding oceans, streams of gas nourish galaxies throughout the cosmos. But these streams, which make up a part of the so-called cosmic web, are very faint and hard to see. While astronomers have known about the cosmic web for decades, and.....»»
Accounting for oxygen in modeling coastal ecosystems
Driven by climate change and pollution, the decline of oxygen levels in oceans is altering biogeochemical cycles, threatening marine plants, animals and ecosystems. But how accurately are we projecting the fate of marine life? If models of marine eco.....»»
Tropical climates are the most biodiverse on Earth, but it"s not only because of how warm and wet they are
Life exists in every conceivable environment on Earth, from the peaks of towering mountains to the remote stretches of isolated islands, from sunlit surfaces to the darkest depths of the oceans. Yet, this intricate tapestry of existence isn't spread.....»»
Study sheds new light on strange lava worlds
Lava worlds, massive exoplanets home to sparkling skies and roiling volcanic seas called magma oceans, are distinctly unlike the planets in our solar system......»»