A new study of data from NASA’s bountiful Cassini mission shows that Titan’s largest methane sea, Kraken Mare, is at least 1,000 feet – 300 meters – deep near its center. That’s plenty of room for a future robotic submarine to explore. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/titans-largest-sea-kraken-mare-is-1000-feet-deep…
Tag: early earth
Supercomputer simulations could unlock mystery of Moon’s formation
Astronomers have taken a step towards understanding how the Moon might have formed out of a giant collision between the early Earth and another massive object 4.5 billion years ago. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-supercomputer-simulations-mystery-moon-formation.html…
Top 10 things to know about asteroid Bennu
Take a video tour of asteroid Bennu’s remarkable terrain and read a list of 10 cool things scientists know about this pristine remnant from the early days of our solar system. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/top-10-things-to-know-about-asteroid-bennu-video-tour…
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…
What are comets?
Comets are loosely packed balls of ice and dust orbiting our sun, that sometimes become visible in Earth’s skies. A comet’s tail may stretch across millions of miles of space. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-are-comets…
Earth may have formed with enough water to fill the oceans three times
A fresh look at the type of space rocks thought to have formed our planet suggests they contain more water than we thought, indicating early Earth was very wet Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2252735-earth-may-have-formed-with-enough-water-to-fill-the-oceans-three-times/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
A proposed new mission to Venus
The proposed VERITAS mission to Venus is one of the finalists for NASA’s Discovery Program. If selected, it will revolutionize our knowledge about the planet’s geology and how this formerly habitable world became a fiery wasteland. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/veritas-mission-venus-surface-interior-geology…
The moon may have stopped the early Earth from being a frozen snowball
Astronomers have long been puzzled by the faint young sun paradox, which says the sun would not have been bright enough in the past to keep Earth warm. Now it seems the moon may have helped Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2248638-the-moon-may-have-stopped-the-early-earth-from-being-a-frozen-snowball/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Alternative Earths: Characterizing the Earth during different stages of its 4.5-billion-year existence
Three billion years ago, Earth was a very different place. The sun that shone on its oceans and continents was not as bright as it is today, and rather than the oxygen-rich atmosphere humans need to survive, methane played a much bigger role in the gas layer that encased our young planet. Despite their differences, this early Earth and our current…