Posts Tagged ‘planetary science’
Tiny planet triplets orbit dwarf star
CALTECH (US) — Astronomers have discovered the three smallest confirmed planets ever detected outside our solar system. Continue…
Friday, January 13, 2012 12:55 - 5 Comments
Top Stories - Jan 12, 2012 2:04 - 0 Comments
Odd eclipse reveals ‘Saturn on steroids’
U. ROCHESTER (US) — A team of astrophysicists has discovered a Saturn-like ring system in the constellation Centaurus. (more…)
Top Stories - Jan 5, 2012 12:17 - 5 Comments
Computer model explains Titan mystery
CALTECH (US) — A new computer model may explain the mysterious polar lakes, rainstorms, and clouds on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 23, 2011 10:30 - 1 Comment
Two new planets survive red-giant blast
IOWA STATE (US) — Astronomers have discovered two Earth-sized planets that survived getting caught in the red-giant expansion of their host star. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2011 20:21 - 1 Comment
‘Slam-dunk’ proof of water on Mars
CORNELL (US) — The discovery of a bright vein of gypsum in ancient rock proves that water once flowed underground on Mars, researchers say. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 23, 2011 12:14 - 2 Comments
Evidence of ‘great lake’ on Jupiter’s moon
U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — In the search for life beyond Earth, scientists have made a potentially significant finding: A body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 27, 2011 9:27 - 0 Comments
Planets hiding in stars’ spiral arms?
U. WASHINGTON-SEATTLE (US) — A new image of a gas-and-dust disk around a sun-like star is the first astronomers have seen that displays structures that look like spiral arms. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 26, 2011 11:18 - 1 Comment
Mineral on Mars needs water to form
SYRACUSE U. (US) — A mineral common to both Mars and Earth may be an effective tool in determining when and under what conditions water was present on the red planet. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 24, 2011 9:06 - 3 Comments
Comets deliver water to dry planets?
U. MICHIGAN (US) — A sprawling cloud of water vapor discovered around an emerging solar system is cold enough to form comets, which could eventually deliver oceans to dry planets. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 13, 2011 12:08 - 1 Comment
‘Super-Earth’ found orbiting Kepler 18
U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — A “super-Earth” and two Neptune-sized planets have been discovered orbiting Kepler 18, a star that is 10 percent larger than the Sun with 97 percent of the Sun’s mass. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 12, 2011 15:30 - 0 Comments
Early Mars likely warm and wet
CALTECH (US) — Researchers have directly determined the surface temperature of early Mars for the first time, providing evidence that’s consistent with a warmer and wetter Martian past. (more…)
Top Stories - Oct 10, 2011 9:56 - 2 Comments
First comet found with ‘ocean water’
U. MICHIGAN (US) — For the first time, researchers have detected ocean-like water in a comet—new evidence supporting the theory comets delivered a significant portion of Earth’s oceans. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 4, 2011 10:33 - 8 Comments
Solar wind whips up Mercury’s poles
U. MICHIGAN (US) — Sodium and oxygen particles kicked up by a blistering solar wind at Mercury’s poles are the primary components of the planet’s wispy atmosphere, according to data from NASA’s Messenger spacecraft. (more…)
Top Stories - Sep 16, 2011 12:04 - 2 Comments
Mars rover finds early rock at crater’s rim
WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — The Mars rover Opportunity is poised on the edge of the vast Endeavour Crater, sampling a rock unlike any other examined during its mission. (more…)
Top Stories - Jul 26, 2011 10:04 - 0 Comments
Moon hot spot is volcanic bull’s eye
WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — A curious “hot spot” on the far side of the Moon is actually a small volcanic province with a surprising composition of lava that could force scientists to rethink the Moon’s volcanic history. (more…)
Top Stories - Jun 30, 2011 10:26 - 0 Comments
Gassy Neptune’s spots track its day
U. ARIZONA (US) — A day on Neptune lasts precisely 15 hours, 57 minutes and 59 seconds—the first accurate measurement of any gas planet in the solar system in almost 350 years. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 23, 2011 12:36 - 0 Comments
Is Saturn moon hiding a salty ocean?
U. COLORADO-BOULDER (US) — Samples of icy spray ejected from a Saturn moon and collected by the Cassini spacecraft make a strong case for the existence of a subterranean saltwater ocean. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 10, 2011 10:15 - 0 Comments
Oddball supernova bright and baffling
CALTECH (US) — Bright blue supernovae that are among the most luminous in the cosmos and are unlike any seen before, may help explain star formation, distant galaxies, and what the early universe might have been like. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 25, 2011 16:35 - 3 Comments
Mars grew fast but stayed small
U. CHICAGO (US) — Mars formed quickly—in as little as two to four million years after the birth of the solar system—which helps explain why it is so small, say researchers. (more…)
