Researchers at the SETI Institute say that unusual dark streaks on sun-facing slopes on Mars, debated about for years, may be small landslides caused by a combination of salts and melting ice just below the surface. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-dark-streaks-melting-ice-recurring-slope-lineae…
Tag: Atacama Desert
Astronomers agree: Universe is nearly 14 billion years old
From an observatory high above Chile’s Atacama Desert, astronomers have taken a new look at the oldest light in the universe. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-astronomers-universe-billion-years.html…
Clues to Mars life in Earth’s Atacama Desert
Researchers in the U.S. and Spain have discovered a plethora of previously unknown microbes living in wet clay layers below Chile’s arid Atacama Desert. The finding will help future rovers search for life on Mars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/microbes-clay-atacama-desert-life-on-mars…
Ancient microbial life used arsenic to thrive in a world without oxygen
Today, most life on Earth is supported by oxygen. But ancient microbial mats existed for a billion years before oxygen was present in the atmosphere. So what did life use instead? Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ancient-microbial-life-arsenic…
Climate change impacts astronomical observations
Climate changes associated with global warming can affect astronomical observations. That is the result of a study involving scientists from the University of Cologne. The international research team investigated a range of climate parameters at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal in the Atacama Desert in Chile, where the European Southern Observatory (ESO) operates its telescopes. Among other things,…
New view of old light adds twist to debate over universe’s age
Observations of the cosmic microwave background by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in Chile suggest that the universe is 13.8 billion years old. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-view-old-light-twist-debate-universes-age…
ALMA spots the twinkling heart of our Milky Way
Astronomers used the ALMA telescope in Chile to observe irregular flickers in millimeter-waves from the center of our Milky Way galaxy: the twinkling heart of the galaxy. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/alma-gaseous-disk-black-hole-milky-way…
Meet the giant exoplanet where it rains iron
The temperatures on the day side of giant exoplanet WASP-76b are scorching, high enough for metals to be vaporized. But the night side is cooler, and winds carry an iron “rain” from the day side to the night side. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/wasp-76b-exoplanet-iron-rain-espresso…
Watch for the moon and Venus this week
You might not see the moon on February 24. It might be too close to the sunset. Observers in North America, though, do have a shot at Monday evening’s moon. And every evening after that, you’ll surely see the waxing crescent moving up past bright Venus! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/young-moon-beneath-venus-after-sunset…
An ancient star burst in the Milky Way’s center
New observations reveal that – about a billion years ago – the center of our Milky Way galaxy underwent a period of intense star formation, resulting in over 100,000 supernovae. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/milky-way-center-star-formation-burst-100000-supernova…