Cosmic dust demystified

The solar system is a dusty environment, with trillions of cosmic dust particles left behind by comets and asteroids that orbit the sun. All this dust forms a relatively dense cloud through which the Earth travels, sweeping ...

MAVEN spacecraft gears up to observe global dust storm on Mars

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN Mission (MAVEN) orbiter will have a front-row seat to watch a marvelous dusty spectacle in late 2016. The spacecraft, nearing its second anniversary in Martian orbit, has already ...

Effects of Saharan dust transport on climate change under study

Studying the processes of transport and deposition of dust from the Sahara desert and African fires is the main objective of scientific expedition JC134 of the Royal Research Ship James Cook. The purpose of the study is to ...

Cosmic dust reveals Earth's ancient atmosphere

Using the oldest fossil micrometeorites - space dust - ever found, Monash University-led research has made a surprising discovery about the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere 2.7 billion years ago.

How long is a day on Mars?

Mars represents something of a conundrum for scientists. In many respects, it is significantly different from Earth. It's cold, it's dry, there is little atmosphere or precipitation to speak of, and nothing grows there. ...

Dunes, dust devils and the Martian weather

I study how windblown desert features can be used to monitor wind patterns and atmospheric conditions in remote places, such as Mars, where there are plenty of pictures of the surface but not many instruments on the ground.

Dust from the Sahara Desert cools the Iberian Peninsula

Spanish and Portuguese researchers have analysed the composition and radiative effect of desert aerosols during two episodes which simultaneously affected Badajoz (Spain) and Évora (Portugal) in August 2012. Results show ...

Dust cloud, aurora detected around Mars

A NASA spacecraft circling Mars has detected a mysterious dust cloud and a vibrant aurora, both unexpected phenomena on Earth's neighboring planet, researchers said Wednesday.

page 7 from 14