Planets/Moons

Tyler Robinson recognized for academic leadership, research quality and innovationCredit: Northern Arizona University A Northern Arizona University astronomer who studies the atmospheres of solar system worlds, exoplanets and brown…

Results have implications for life on MarsCredit: Photo courtesy Justine Sauvage NARRAGANSETT, R.I. - February 26, 2021 - A team of researchers from the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography and their…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Volcanic rock samples collected during NASA's Apollo missions bear the isotopic signature of key events in the early evolution of the Moon, a new analysis found. Those events include the formation of the Moon's iron…

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Laboratory/Guillermo Stenborg and Brendan Gallagher NASA's Parker Solar Probe captured stunning views of Venus during its close flyby of the planet in July 2020. Though Parker Solar…

Research finds that airborne dust plumes are produced by sliding blocks of dry ice each springCredit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Systems (CTX) & NASA/JPL/University of Arizona (HiRISE)] SAN ANTONIO -- Feb. 24, 2021 -- A Southwest…

Hebrew University finds first evidence of delayed radio flares after star is destroyed by black holeCredit: Hebrew University A team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) led by Dr. Assaf Horesh have discovered…

Juno's UVS instrument makes relatively rare observation of common eventsCredit: SwRI SAN ANTONIO -- Feb. 22, 2021 -- From aboard the Juno spacecraft, a Southwest Research Institute-led instrument observing auroras serendipitously…

Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI). Astronomers have long been looking into the vast universe in hopes of discovering alien civilisations. But for a planet to have life, liquid water must be present. The chances of that finding…

Study shows sending microbes to Earth's stratosphere, to test their endurance to Martian conditions, can reveal their potential use and threats to space travelCredit: NASA Some microbes on Earth could temporarily survive on the surface…

Experiments in a chamber under Martian-like conditions in a University of Oregon lab suggest that small sparks may be triggered by friction under normal atmospheric conditions EUGENE, Ore. -- Feb. 19, 2021 -- Friction caused by dry Martian…

Radiocarbon measurements on the remains of 42.000 years old New Zealand kauri trees provide the basis for better calibration of geological archives of this periodCredit: Nelson Parker The last complete reversal of the Earth's…

Innovative program to bring NASA subject matter experts, research findings, and educational resources into science classrooms of community collegesCredit: NASA, Tallahassee Community College February 17, 2021, Mountain View, CA -- The SETI…

Credit: Peter Bucktrout, British Antarctic Survey Lakes underneath the Antarctic ice sheet could be more hospitable than previously thought, allowing them to host more microbial life. This is the finding of a new study that could…

In the search for planets capable of sustaining life, an international research team with members from ETH has taken a significant step forward. As the researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications, they found signs…

Astrophysicists from Göttingen University involved in construction of high-resolution research instrumentCredit: ESO The astronomy research instrument CRIRES+ is designed to study planets outside our solar system. It is now in…

Credit: Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Download high-resolution images from NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio Using observations from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of…

New planetary system offers glimpse into how planets evolveCredit: Illustration courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center HANOVER, N.H. - February 12, 2021 - A newly discovered planetary system will provide researchers with the…

Peter Plavchan, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, received $50,000 from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for a project in which he and his collaborators will use the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) iSHELL spectrometer…

Credit: Elle Starkman / PPPL Office of Communications A novel computer algorithm, or set of rules, that accurately predicts the orbits of planets in the solar system could be adapted to better predict and control the behavior of the…

Updated models predict that NASA's Perseverance rover will encounter more ancient surfacesCredit: SwRI SAN ANTONIO -- Feb. 10, 2021 -- A Southwest Research Institute scientist has updated Mars chronology models to find that terrains…