Although Mars may have once resembled Earth, the rocky red planet now appears far from hospitable. Still, certain details—such as ice-bound water—pique researchers' curiosity. As on Earth, ice on Mars contains valuable records ...
Astrobiology
Sep 30, 2026
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36
The Van Allen radiation belts are huge, doughnut-shaped regions of highly energetic charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetosphere. These charged particles play a major role in space weather, so studying them is important ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 22, 2026
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34
The European Space Agency–led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through an S-shaped kink known as a "switchback" in the solar wind's magnetic field. By fingerprinting the elusive particles within the switchback, Solar Orbiter ...
Astronomy
Oct 8, 2026
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33
It's a busy skywatching month ahead. The first full week of October sees two top-notch skywatching events, with Saturn reaching opposition and the moon occulting Jupiter for North America on Oct. 6.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 30, 2026
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32
Most of our experience with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has focused on capturing radio signals that alien species have sent out, whether intentionally or unintentionally. That creates a huge "synchronicity" ...
Astrobiology
Sep 15, 2026
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32
Carbonate minerals are among the best records of past liquid water on Mars: They form when water carrying dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with rock, and their composition reflects the chemistry of both. Yet Mars has surprisingly ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 17, 2026
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29
Is there life elsewhere, or is Earth unique in the universe? This is one of humanity's great unanswered questions. One way to approach this mystery is to investigate how life began here on Earth. Our research explores the ...
Astrobiology
Sep 30, 2026
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27
Most kids learn in elementary school that the seasons are caused by Earth rotating on a tilted axis during its yearly orbit around the sun. The substantial tilt, about 23.5 degrees, is thought to be the result of an ancient ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 22, 2026
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24
Astronomers using Georgia State University's Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array have found that nearby stars darken toward their edges more strongly at near-infrared wavelengths than predicted by several ...
Astronomy
Oct 2, 2026
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24
Where is Earth's center of mass? The answer seems trivially obvious. It's right in the middle of the planet. Ah, but that kind of thinking won't get you a paper in the Geophysical Journal International. It's also not a trivial ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 21, 2026
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