Planetary Science
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EarthA moon-forming cataclysm could have also triggered Earth’s plate tectonics
Deeply buried remnants of a hypothetical planet that slammed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago might have set subduction into motion.
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SpaceWhat has Perseverance found in two years on Mars?
NASA's Perseverance rover has turned up volcanic rocks, signs of flowing water and some of the materials necessary for life.
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AstronomyThe Kuiper Belt’s dwarf planet Quaoar hosts an impossible ring
Quaoar’s ring lies outside the Roche limit, an imaginary line beyond which rings aren’t thought to be stable.
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AstronomyLots of Tatooine-like planets around binary stars may be habitable
A new simulation suggests that planets orbiting a pair of stars may be plentiful, and many of those worlds could be suitable for life.
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Planetary ScienceEnceladus is blanketed in a thick layer of snow
Pits on the Saturnian moon reveal the surprising depth of the satellite’s snow, suggesting its plume was more active in the past.
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Planetary ScienceMethylated gases could be an unambiguous indicator of alien life
On Earth, methylated gases are produced by organisms cleaning up their environment — and by little else. The same might be true on some exoplanets.
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SpaceIo may have an underworld magma ocean or a hot metal heart
New calculations support dueling ideas for what powers the ubiquitous volcanoes on the hellish surface of Jupiter’s innermost moon.
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Planetary ScienceThe last vital ingredient for life has been discovered on Enceladus
The underground ocean on Saturn’s icy moon may contain phosphorus in concentrations thousands of times greater than those found in Earth’s ocean.
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Planetary ScienceNASA’s Perseverance rover captured the sound of a dust devil on Mars
A whirlwind swept over Perseverance while its microphone was on, capturing the sound of dust grains hitting the mic or the NASA rover’s chassis.
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Planetary ScienceThe pristine Winchcombe meteorite suggests that Earth’s water came from asteroids
Other meteorites have been recovered after being tracked from space to the ground, but never so quickly as the Winchcombe meteorite.
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Planetary ScienceMarsquakes hint that the planet might be volcanically active after all
Seismic data recorded by NASA’s InSight lander suggest molten rock moves tens of kilometers below the planet’s fractured Cerberus Fossae region.
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MicrobesAncient bacteria could persist beneath Mars’ surface
Radiation-tolerant microbes might be able to survive beneath Mars’ surface for hundreds of millions of years, a new study suggests.