If life is abundant in the universe, atmospheric methane may be the first sign of life beyond Earth detectable by astronomers. Although nonbiological processes can generate methane, a new study by scientists at UC Santa Cruz ...
Astrobiology
Mar 28, 2022
1
731
On June 7, 2021, NASA's Juno spacecraft flew closer to Jupiter's ice-encrusted moon Ganymede than any spacecraft in more than two decades. Less than a day later, Juno made its 34th flyby of Jupiter, racing over its roiling ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 14, 2021
1
3682
A study published in Science analyses multiple rocks found at the bottom of Jezero Crater on Mars, where the Perseverance rover landed in 2020, revealing significant interaction between the rocks and liquid water. Those rocks ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 24, 2022
1
2999
The Juno Waves instrument "listened" to the radio emissions from Jupiter's immense magnetic field to find their precise locations.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 16, 2021
22
433
For the first time, a spacecraft on another planet has recorded the sounds of a separate spacecraft. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used one of its two microphones to listen as the Ingenuity helicopter flew for the fourth ...
Planetary Sciences
May 7, 2021
13
3250
An unknown methane-producing process is likely at work in the hidden ocean beneath the icy shell of Saturn's moon Enceladus, suggests a new study published in Nature Astronomy by scientists at the University of Arizona and ...
Astronomy
Jul 7, 2021
7
1181
Geologists love fieldwork. They love getting their specialized hammers and chisels into seams in the rock, exposing unweathered surfaces and teasing out the rock's secrets. Mars would be the ultimate field trip for many of ...
Space Exploration
Feb 26, 2021
0
1105
Like boulders, rocks, and pebbles scattered across a landscape, asteroids come in a wide range of sizes. Cataloging asteroids in space is tricky because they are faint and they don't stop to be photographed as they zip along ...
Astronomy
Apr 18, 2024
0
227
Nearly 40 years ago, scientists first predicted the existence of helium rain inside planets composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter and Saturn. However, achieving the experimental conditions necessary to ...
Planetary Sciences
May 27, 2021
0
327
New findings from NASA's Juno probe provide a fuller picture of how widespread the lava lakes are on Jupiter's moon Io and include first-time insights into the volcanic processes at work there. These results come courtesy ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 26, 2024
2
493
