A hidden treasure in the Large Magellanic Cloud

(Phys.org)—Nearly 200 000 light-years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, floats in space, in a long and slow dance around our galaxy. Vast clouds of gas within it slowly collapse ...

Researchers first to identify nature of historic meteorite

(Phys.org)—When an asteroid streaked across the sky over California and Nevada and exploded last spring, scientists from across the world rushed to the scene to recover as many pieces of the space rock as possible.

Even brown dwarfs may grow rocky planets

(Phys.org)—Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array have for the first time found that the outer region of a dusty disc encircling a brown dwarf contains millimetre-sized solid grains like those ...

Magnesium oxide: From Earth to super-Earth

The mantles of Earth and other rocky planets are rich in magnesium and oxygen. Due to its simplicity, the mineral magnesium oxide is a good model for studying the nature of planetary interiors. New work from a team led by ...

Asteroid belts of just the right size are friendly to life

(Phys.org)—Solar systems with life-bearing planets may be rare if they are dependent on the presence of asteroid belts of just the right mass, according to a study by Rebecca Martin, a NASA Sagan Fellow from the University ...

Giant impact scenario may explain the unusual moons of Saturn

Among the oddities of the outer solar system are the middle-sized moons of Saturn, a half-dozen icy bodies dwarfed by Saturn's massive moon Titan. According to a new model for the origin of the Saturn system, these middle-sized ...

Nearby super-Earth likely a diamond planet

(Phys.org)—New research led by Yale University scientists suggests that a rocky planet twice Earth's size orbiting a nearby star is a diamond planet.

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