While the moon lacks any breathable air, it does host a barely-there atmosphere. Since the 1980s, astronomers have observed a very thin layer of atoms bouncing over the moon's surface. This delicate atmosphere—technically ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 2, 2024
1
236
El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a climate phenomenon occurring every 2–7 years in the tropical Pacific Ocean, associated with changes in air pressure east to west.
A large team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S., Spain, France and Finland has found that frequent dust devils and daytime upslope winds are the reason for Mars's constant atmospheric haze. In ...
Planetary scientist Erdal Yiğit, with George Mason University, has published a Perspective piece in the journal Science suggesting that upper atmospheric interactions with solar wind cannot fully explain the loss of surface ...
The westerlies—or westerly winds—play an important role in weather and climate both locally and on a global scale, by influencing precipitation patterns, impacting ocean circulation and steering tropical cyclones. So, ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 6, 2021
2
81
A phenomenon first detected in the solar wind may help solve a long-standing mystery about the sun: why the solar atmosphere is millions of degrees hotter than the surface.
Astronomy
Dec 7, 2020
6
314
To the surprise of many planetary scientists, the oxidized iron mineral hematite has been discovered at high latitudes on the Moon, according to a study published today in Science Advances led by Shuai Li, assistant researcher ...
Space Exploration
Sep 2, 2020
8
470
Beyond Earth's atmosphere are swirling clouds of energized particles—ions and electrons—that emanate from the sun. This "solar wind" buffets the magnetosphere, the magnetic force field that surrounds Earth.
General Physics
Jan 14, 2020
17
777
New Earth-based telescope observations show that auroras at Jupiter's poles are heating the planet's atmosphere to a greater depth than previously thought—and that it is a rapid response to the solar wind.
Space Exploration
Apr 9, 2019
34
343
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Japan, examining data from that country's moon-orbiting Kaguya spacecraft, has found evidence of oxygen from Earth's atmosphere making its way to ...
