Deep inside super-Earths—rocky planets with masses between 1 and 10 times that of Earth—high pressure can cause familiar minerals to take forms rarely seen on Earth. Understanding more about the temperature and pressure conditions ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 6, 2026
1
35
Sub-Neptunes are the most common type of planet in our galaxy. Bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, these worlds remain deeply mysterious because scientists still do not know what they are made of. What astronomers ...
Astronomy
Jul 10, 2026
0
18
In May 2018, the island of Mayotte, between Madagascar and Mozambique, began to experience a series of earthquakes that led to the discovery of an underwater volcano, now called Fani Maoré. Multiple scientific expeditions ...
Uranus and Neptune remain two of the most mysterious objects in the solar system, primarily because they have been visited only by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986 and 1989, respectively. Their "ice giant" moniker comes ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 26, 2026
0
205
In rocky planets such as Earth and Mars, the oxidation state of the mantle is thought to strongly influence the melting temperature of mantle materials (i.e., magma generation), the composition of volcanic gases, and ultimately ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 16, 2026
0
12
Venus' bizarre and extraordinarily slow retrograde rotation on its axis has long puzzled planetary scientists. But in a new paper presented at the recent European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna, the authors ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 15, 2026
0
47
Researchers have developed the Smaller Than Earth Habitability Model (STEHM) to assess which planets can maintain life-supporting atmospheres, focusing on size and atmospheric dynamics.
Astrobiology
Jun 4, 2026
0
36
4.5 billion years ago was an interesting time for Earth. The atmosphere was thick and what we would now think of as toxic. The moon, which was freshly formed, looks much more massive than it does today and faintly glows with ...
Astrobiology
Jun 1, 2026
5
32
Bizarre Venus surface formations (or coronae) are likely key to understanding our twin planet's heretofore inscrutable interior. Using NASA Magellan spacecraft data from decades past, Anna Gulcher, an Earth and planetary ...
Planetary Sciences
May 18, 2026
0
27
The search for Earth 2.0 has begun in earnest. But there's a huge variety of exoplanets out there, so narrowing down the search to focus valuable telescope time on only the best candidates is critical. One variable of a planet ...
Planetary Sciences
May 11, 2026
0
29
