Martian meteorite upsets planet formation theory

A new study of an old meteorite contradicts current thinking about how rocky planets like the Earth and Mars acquire volatile elements such as hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and noble gases as they form. The work is published ...

Rocky exoplanets are even stranger than we thought

An astronomer from NSF's NOIRLab has teamed up with a geologist from California State University, Fresno, to make the first estimates of rock types that exist on planets orbiting nearby stars. After studying the chemical ...

Rocky planets might need to be the right age to support life

Extrasolar planets are being discovered at a rapid rate—4,531 planets in 3,363 systems (with another 7,798 candidates awaiting confirmation). Of these, 166 have been identified as rocky planets (also known as "Earth-like"), ...

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