Study shows the Earth formed from dry, rocky building blocks

Billions of years ago, in the giant disk of dust, gas, and rocky material that orbited our young sun, larger and larger bodies coalesced to eventually give rise to the planets, moons, and asteroids we see today.

Rare meteorites created in violent celestial collision

A tiny fraction of meteorites on earth contain strikingly beautiful, translucent, olive-green crystals embedded in an iron-nickel matrix. Called pallasites, these "space gems" have fascinated scientists since they were first ...

Earth's inner core is melting... and freezing

The inner core of the Earth is simultaneously melting and freezing due to circulation of heat in the overlying rocky mantle, according to new research from the University of Leeds, UC San Diego and the Indian Institute of ...

Rising silicon-rich snow in the Earth's outer core

Deep below the Earth's surface lies the outer core, which is made up 2000-km thick liquid iron alloy layer. Despite being located 3000-km deep from the surface, it still affects our surface habitability as it is the region ...

Vesta—Ceres' little sister

Only around 60 million kilometres closer to the Sun than Ceres, another large rock is orbiting in the remote asteroid belt: Vesta. Although its diameter of approximately 530 kilometres makes it a bit too small to be counted ...

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