Could a collision between 2 asteroids millions of miles away cause an ice age on Earth, some 460 million years ago? A new study of earthly rocks and sediments – plus micrometeorites that fell in Antarctica – suggest it’s possible. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/did-an-asteroid-collision-cause-an-ice-age-on-earth…
Tag: helium
Is K2-18b really a habitable super-Earth?
It was exciting last week when scientists announced water vapor in a super-Earth’s atmosphere. But, even as the announcement came, other scientists were cautioning that the planet – K2-18b – is probably less like a super-Earth and more like a planet Neptune. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/k2-18b-habitable-super-earth-or-mini-neptune…
Scientists detect water vapor on distant exoplanet
Whoa! It’s a first-ever detection of water vapor in the atmosphere of a potentially habitable super-Earth, located 110 light-years away. The discovery supports the possibility that our galaxy contains many such habitable worlds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/water-vapor-potentially-habitable-exoplanet-super-earth-k2-18b…
Ka-bam! Signs of a giant impact with Jupiter
Scientists used Juno spacecraft data and models of how Jupiter’s inner core should look to probe the giant planet’s early history. They now think an object with 10 times Earth’s mass might have struck Jupiter billions of years ago. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/core-shows-possible-giant-impact-for-jupiter…