The hunt for meteorites may have just gotten some new leads. A powerful new machine learning algorithm has identified over 600 hot spots in Antarctica where scientists are likely to…
Category: Planetary Science
Organic molecules in an ancient Mars meteorite formed via geology, not alien life
When researchers in 1996 reported they had found organic molecules nestled in an ancient Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica, it caused quite a buzz. Some insisted the compounds were big-if-true…
Oxygen-rich exoplanets may be geologically active
Humble oxygen is more than just a building block of life. The element could also help scientists sneak a peek into the innards of planets orbiting faraway stars, a new…
Enceladus’ plumes might not come from an underground ocean
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus sprays water vapor into space. Scientists have thought that the plumes come from a deep subsurface ocean — but that might not be the case, new…
Ingenuity is still flying on Mars. Here’s what the helicopter is up to
The Ingenuity Mars helicopter was never supposed to last this long. NASA engineers built and tested the first self-powered aircraft to fly on another planet to answer a simple question:…
A space rock called Kamoʻoalewa may be a piece of the moon
The moon’s violent history is written across its face. Over billions of years, space rocks have punched craters into its surface, flinging out debris. Now, for the first time, astronomers…
Pluto’s dark side reveals clues to its atmosphere and frost cycles
Pluto’s dark side has come into dim view, thanks to the light of the dwarf planet’s moon. When NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto in 2015, almost all the…
What the Perseverance rover’s quiet landing reveals about meteor strikes on Mars
The lander was listening. On February 18, NASA’s InSight lander on Mars turned its attention to the landing site for another mission, Perseverance, hoping to detect its arrival on the…
5 cool things to know about NASA’s Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids
For the first time, a spacecraft is headed to Jupiter’s odd Trojan asteroids. What Lucy finds there could provide a fresh peek into the history of the solar system. “Lucy…
Earth is reflecting less light. It’s not clear if that’s a trend
The amount of sunlight that Earth reflects back into space — measured by the dim glow seen on the dark portions of a crescent moon’s face — has decreased measurably…
