Tag: Caltech

Unusually high methane levels detected on Mars

Last week, the Curiosity rover detected its largest yet measurement of methane. It’s exciting because microbial life is an important source of methane on Earth, though it can also be created in other ways. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/unusually-high-methane-levels-detected-mars…

edX Partners Top QS World University Rankings 2020

The QS World University Rankings 2020 list was released last week, and we are excited to announce that seven of the top 10 universities in the world are edX partners! edX founding universities MIT and Harvard University took spots in the top three on the list, with edX partners Caltech, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University of Chicago and ETH Zurich…

Table salt compound spotted on Jupiter’s moon Europa

Europa has an ocean, hidden beneath its icy crust. The discovery of sodium chloride – aka table salt – on the moon’s surface might be strong evidence that Europa’s ocean is very similar to Earth’s. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/europa-sodium-chloride-table-salt-ocean…

Do toxic gases make advanced extraterrestrial life less likely?

A new study suggests that many exoplanets – worlds orbiting distant stars – might have an overabundance of toxic gases in their atmospheres. If so, that would make the evolution of complex life forms more difficult. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/toxic-gases-habitable-zones-complex-life-exoplanets…

Exciting progress on NASA’s next Mars mission

The Mars Helicopter – which will launch with Mars 2020 – has now passed some key tests. Plus engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, celebrate with a selfie after attaching the Mars 2020 rover’s remote sensing mast. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-2020-update-mars-helicopter-rover-mast…

Table salt compound spotted on Europa

A familiar ingredient has been hiding in plain sight on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Using a visible light spectral analysis, planetary scientists at Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech manages for NASA, have discovered that the yellow color visible on portions of the surface of Europa is actually sodium chloride, a compound known on Earth as table…

Is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot disintegrating?

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is a giant storm, the largest known in our solar system. It’s been seen through earthly telescopes for more than 300 years. Lately, it’s been showing signs of breaking apart. Is this the beginning of the end for the beloved Spot? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/is-jupiters-great-red-spot-disintegrating…

Martian sands move in unearthly ways

Mars is a desert world, with sand dunes similar to those on Earth. But the processes that create them can be quite different from those on our planet, according to a new study from the University of Arizona. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/sand-dunes-deserts-mars-earth-hirise-mro-university-of-arizona-space…

Curiosity sees noctilucent clouds shining in Mars’ sky

Late last month, the Curiosity rover picked up wonderful images of noctilucent – or “night-shining” – clouds in the Martian sky. Plus – if you’re at a high latitude on Earth now – it’s time to start looking for these clouds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/noctilucent-clouds-night-shining-mars-earth-2019…