The Earth–Moon system as a research area encompasses the coupled dynamical, geophysical, geochemical, and space-environment interactions between Earth and its natural satellite, studied using observational, theoretical, and numerical methods. It includes investigations of orbital and rotational dynamics, tidal dissipation, angular momentum exchange, and long-term evolution of the Earth–Moon distance and obliquity. Research targets internal structure and thermal histories inferred from gravity, seismology, and magnetic data; surface and exospheric processes; impact cratering; and volatile and isotopic compositions. The field also examines Earth–Moon space weather, plasma and magnetospheric interactions, and implications for planetary system formation, comparative planetology, and future exploration architectures.
A team of international scientists has unveiled groundbreaking research on the origins of lunar water, offering insights that could reshape our understanding of the Earth-moon system and the broader solar system. Published ...
Space Exploration
Dec 19, 2024
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After its formation, the moon may have been the scene of such immense volcanic activity that its entire crust melted several times and was completely churned through. At that time, the moon orbited significantly closer to ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 18, 2024
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The Earth and moon have been locked in a gravitational dance for billions of years. Each day, as the Earth turns, the moon tugs upon the oceans of the world, causing the rise and fall of tides. As a result, the Earth's day ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 12, 2024
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125
An international team of astronomers has reported the detection of a new super-Jupiter exoplanet as part of the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). The newfound alien world, located some 1,430 light years away, is nearly ...
As ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense departed its homeworld, it looked back to Earth to show the moon orbiting around it. In this sequence of images the terrestrial disk gradually shrinks as the spacecraft recedes ...
Space Exploration
Nov 5, 2024
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October's supermoon is the closest of the year and it's teaming up with a comet for a rare stargazing two-for-one.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 16, 2024
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From Aug. 19–20, ESA's (European Space Agency's) Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission made history with a daring lunar-Earth flyby and double gravity assist maneuver, a spaceflight first. As the spacecraft zipped past ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 1, 2024
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Over six missions to the moon, from 1969 to 1972, Apollo astronauts collected more than 800 pounds of lunar rock and soil. Chemical and isotopic analysis of that material showed that it was similar to the rock and soil on ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 27, 2024
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An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new extrasolar world orbiting a nearby star known as HD 86728. This is the first exoplanet detection made as part of the NEID Earth Twin Survey (NETS). The finding ...
