The lunar meteorite sample Tara Hayden investigated and successfully discovered the water-bearing mineral apatite. Credit: Tara Hayden New research from a Western University postdoctoral fellow shows the early lunar crust, which makes up the surface of the moon, was considerably enriched in water more than 4 billion years ago, counter to previously held understanding. The…
Category: Planets
Water may have flowed intermittently in Martian valleys for hundreds of millions of years
Detail of an unnamed valley network on Mars. Impact craters are marked with blue and red circles. Craters marked in red postdate the valley network, while those marked in blue predate the valley network. Dashed circles have a lower degree of superposition certainty with the valley network. The dashed black line is the mapped valley…
Cosmic building blocks of life discovered through the electron microscope
SEM-BSE (back-scattered electron) micrographs at low magnification of typical organic particle morphologies in Winchcombe. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45064-x A team of researchers has examined the Winchcombe meteorite and demonstrated the existence in it of nitrogen compounds such as amino acids and heterocyclic hydrocarbons—without applying any chemical treatment and by using a new type…
Hubble finds water vapor in small exoplanet's atmosphere
Credit: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak and Ralf Crawford (STScI) Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observed the smallest exoplanet where water vapor has been detected in its atmosphere. At only approximately twice Earth’s diameter, the planet GJ 9827d could be an example of potential planets with water-rich atmospheres elsewhere in our galaxy. GJ 9827d…
Meteorite analysis shows Earth's building blocks contained water
Ni and CI-chondrite normalized bulk Ni, Co and Fe contents in the parent cores of magmatic iron meteorites. (Co/Ni)CI ratios of NC and CC irons are close to 1 (except for group IID) and do not show any systematic differences between NC and CC irons. (Fe/Ni)CI ratios of both NC and CC irons are both…
After three years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter mission ends
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen Aug. 2, 2023, in an enhanced-color image captured by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and…
Jupiter has at least three magnetosheath jets, finds Voyager 2 data study
Second and third jets encountered by Voyager 2. The displayed quantities are magnetic field in JSO (Jupiter-Sun-Orbit) a Cartesian coordinates and b spherical coordinates; c ion bulk velocity; number density and temperature of the d cold ion component and the e hot ion component; f ion dynamic pressure. The scales at the top of a…
Scientists investigate how heat rises through Europa's ocean
Europa, one of Jupiter’s many moons, may be capable of supporting life because its icy surface likely obscures a deep, salty ocean. Europa’s ocean is also in direct contact with its mantle rocks, and interactions between rock, water, and ice could provide energy to sustain life. D. G. Lemasquerier and colleagues examined the way heating…
Potential solvents identified for building on the moon and Mars
Credit: The Journal of Physical Chemistry B (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04057 Researchers have taken the first steps toward finding liquid solvents that may someday help extract critical building materials from lunar- and Martian-rock dust, an important part of making long-term space travel possible. Using machine learning and computational modeling, Washington State University researchers have found about…
Secrets of a hot Saturn and its spotted star unlocked
Credit: NASA/Eyes on Exoplanets A team of astronomers including McGill Professor Nicolas Cowan has unraveled the enigmatic atmosphere of the exoplanet HAT-P-18 b, shedding light on its intriguing blend of gases, clouds, and even the effects of its star’s activity Exoplanets, planets located beyond our solar system, captivate both scientists and the public, holding the…