The SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO) has been successfully installed at the Paranal Observatory and has obtained its first engineering and calibration images—a process known as first light. After finishing this commissioning ...
Astronomy
Dec 5, 2018
0
13
When it comes to the search for extra-terrestrial life, scientists have a tendency to be a bit geocentric – i.e. they look for planets that resemble our own. This is understandable, seeing as how Earth is the only planet ...
Astronomy
Nov 6, 2018
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19
Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid the size of a small city smashed into the earth. This impact, the one that would lead to the end of the dinosaurs, left a scar several miles underground and more than 115 miles wide.
Earth Sciences
Oct 24, 2018
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109
Astrophysicists Mattia Galiazzo and Rudolf Dvorak from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with Elizabeth A. Silber (Brown University, U.S.) investigated the long-term path development of centaurs, solar system minor ...
Astronomy
Oct 10, 2018
2
207
A study simulating the final stages of terrestrial planet formation shows that 'hit-and-run' encounters play a significant role in the acquisition of water by large protoplanets, like those that grew into Mars and Earth. ...
Space Exploration
Sep 19, 2018
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24
For decades, scientists have pondered how Earth acquired its only satellite, the Moon. Whereas some have argued that it formed from material lost by Earth due to centrifugal force, or was captured by Earth's gravity, the ...
Space Exploration
May 9, 2018
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41
In a new study published today in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA, share new findings about how the presence of "giant" ...
Astronomy
Apr 4, 2018
0
104
A hot, metallic, Earth-sized planet with a density similar to Mercury—situated 340 light years away—has been detected and characterised by a global team of astronomers, including the University of Warwick.
Astronomy
Mar 27, 2018
3
440
For many reasons, Venus is sometimes referred to as "Earth's twin" (or "sister planet," depending on who you ask). Like Earth, it is terrestrial (i.e. rocky) in nature, composed of silicate minerals and metals that are differentiated ...
Space Exploration
Dec 11, 2017
1
20
(Phys.org)—John Chambers, a planetary scientist with the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at Carnegie Institution has suggested a new theory regarding the formation of gas giant planets. In his paper uploaded to the ...
