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Scientists could soon get a precise age for the giant impact basins on the moon, and a better understanding of the impact history of the young Earth, thanks to a new geological map of the moon’s youngest large impact site, the Mare Orientale basin. Mare Orientale sits on the edge of the face of the […]
Scientists have found what seems to be the oldest direct evidence of hot water flowing on Mars during its ancient past. The discovery could further indicate that the Red Planet, despite its arid and desolate appearance today, may have been capable of supporting life long ago. The evidence was delivered to Earth and sealed within […]
Our changing climate continues to contribute to another record-setting month, with temperature extremes and drought expansion across much of the US. Close to 80 climate stations across the country set new records reporting that October 2024 was the all-time driest month, according to a recent statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Major […]
For twelve years, we’ve watched Curiosity crawl its way over the rocky surface of Mars, decoding mysteries of the Red Planet and broadcasting back home pictures and data from the strange Martian environment. The Mars rover, built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), has slowly scaled Mount Sharp since 2014. This mountain, officially monikered “Aeolis […]
Artistic illustration of an ice-covered river sourced from meltwater beneath Mars’s south polar cap. Peter Buhler / PSI Mars is a frozen desert world, enshrouded in a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide. This atmosphere is so wispy, the pressure is less than 1% that of Earth’s air at sea level — too rarefied to enable […]
Here’s how distant, icy Makemake and its small, dark moon might appear.NASA / ESA / Alex Parker From the surface of distant Pluto, the Sun’s heat is so weak that the landscape features glaciers of solid nitrogen and plains of methane ice. We haven’t ever visited 136472 Makemake, Pluto’s neighbor in the Kuiper Belt, but […]
Ever since the ancient Greeks first made observations of the circular Moon and the skies, scientists have known that the Earth is a sphere. We’ve all seen beautiful images of the Earth from space, some photographed by astronauts and others collected remotely by orbiting satellites. So why doesn’t our planet look round when we’re standing […]
Rich in cyclic phenomena, astronomy has always been fertile ground for metaphors. Lunar occultations are a good example. When the Moon temporarily hides and then reveals a star, death and resurrection might come to mind. Or something less profound like a game of peekaboo. Both fit. It’s one of my favorite facets of the hobby […]
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has delivered breathtaking images of Jupiter, highlighting the planet’s swirling, multicoloured storms and unique moons. During Juno’s 66th close flyby on October 23, the spacecraft approached the planet’s polar regions and captured close-up views of its fifth-largest moon, Amalthea. The raw images collected by JunoCam have since been processed by citizen scientists, […]