News tagged with planets atmosphere

Solar Dynamics Observatory to observe Venus transit

On June 5, 2012 at 6:03 PM EDT, the planet Venus will do something it has done only seven times since the invention of the telescope: cross in front of the sun. This transit is among the rarest of planetary ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created 20 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Venus transit may boost hunt for other worlds

Astronomers around the world will be using advanced telescopes to watch Venus cross in front of the Sun on June 5 and 6 in the hopes of finding clues in the hunt for other planets where life may exist.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Mars methane linked to meteorites

Tiny amounts of methane in the Martian atmosphere may come not from living things, but from meteorites on the red planet's surface, the latest findings suggest.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 31, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Ultra-cool companion helps reveal giant planets

(Phys.org) -- An international team of astronomers led by David Pinfield of the University of Hertfordshire has found a brown dwarf that is more than 99% hydrogen and helium. Described as ultra-cool, it has ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 10, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fossil raindrop impressions imply greenhouse gases loaded early Earth's atmosphere

In ancient Earth history, the sun burned as much as 30 percent dimmer than it does now. Theoretically that should have encased the planet in ice, but there is geologic evidence for rivers and ocean sediments ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Mar 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Super-Earth unlikely able to transfer life to other planets

While scientists believe conditions suitable for life might exist on the so-called "super-Earth" in the Gliese 581 system, it's unlikely to be transferred to other planets within that solar system.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Mar 20, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (14) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Far-out photosynthesis

Photosynthesis maintains Earth's habitability for life as we know it, and shapes the way we search for habitable worlds around distant stars. Scientists have discovered a microbe that can use low-energy light ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 16, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Space weather: Explosions on Venus

In the grand scheme of the solar system, Venus and Earth are almost the same distance from the sun. Yet the planets differ dramatically: Venus is some 100 times hotter than Earth and its days more than 200 ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 05, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (9) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Antarctic salty soil sucks water out of atmosphere: Could it happen on Mars?

(PhysOrg.com) -- The frigid McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are a cold, polar desert, yet the sandy soils there are frequently dotted with moist patches in the spring despite a lack of snowmelt and no possibility ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Feb 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Scattered light could reveal alien atmospheres

The light scattered off distant worlds could help reveal details about their atmospheres that no other method could uncover, scientists find.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 20, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (13) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mars-bound NASA rover aiming for an August landing

A NASA spacecraft hurtling toward Mars prepared to fire its thrusters Wednesday to put itself on course for an August landing.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Life possible on 'large parts' of Mars: study

Australian scientists who modelled conditions on Mars to examine how much of the red planet was habitable said that "large regions" could sustain life.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (16) | comments 41

Tidal locking could render habitable planets inhospitable

Tidally-locked planets - planets with one side perpetually facing their star while the other remains shrouded in darkness - tend to be warmer on one side than the other. The presence of an atmosphere can help ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

New NASA missions to investigate how Mars turned hostile

(PhysOrg.com) -- Maybe because it appears as a speck of blood in the sky, the planet Mars was named after the Roman god of war. From the point of view of life as we know it, that's appropriate. The Martian ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 18, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Exploring the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-14b

First discovered in 2008, WASP 14b is an interesting exoplanet. It is roughly seven times as massive as Jupiter, but only 30% larger, making it among the densest known exoplanets. Recently, it was the target ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 15, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0