For the first time, astronomers have detected the vaporized remains of the crusts of long-dead Earth-like and Mars-like planets in the atmospheres of white dwarf stars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/vaporized-earth-like-mars-like-crusts-white-dwarf-stars…
Tag: mantle
Moon’s largest crater holds clues about early lunar mantle
Despite our long history with Earth’s closest celestial neighbor, much remains unknown about the moon, including about asymmetries between its near side and far side, for example, in crustal thickness and evidence of volcanic activity. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-moon-largest-crater-clues-early.html…
The deep mantle may be pushing the Atlantic Ocean apart
Sizzling-hot rocks are rising up and pushing on the plates on either side of the Atlantic. Source: https://www.livescience.com/atlantic-ocean-widening-mantle-upwelling.html
Update on the 7 Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby TRAPPIST-1
A new study of the seven Earth-sized exoplanets around TRAPPIST-1 indicate that all 7 planets are extremely similar to each other in makeup, but potentially quite different from Earth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/7-trappist-1-planets-similar-composition-unlike-earth…
Earth’s outer shell ballooned during massive growth spurt 3 billion years ago
Zircon crystals found in stream sediments in Greenland have revealed how the Earth’s crust rapidly grew during peak mantle activity. Source: https://www.livescience.com/earths-crust-growth-spurt.html
Scientists and Philosopher Team Up, Propose a New Way To Categorize Minerals
An anonymous reader shares a report: Some diamonds were formed billions of years ago in space as the carbon-rich atmospheres of dying stars expanded and cooled. In our own planet’s lifetime, high-temperatures and pressures in the mantle produced the diamonds that are familiar to us as gems. 5,000 years ago, a large meteorite that struck a carbon-rich sediment on Earth produced…
Ancient fragment of the Pacific Ocean found buried 400 miles below China
Scientists have identified an old piece of the Pacific Ocean – the ancient remains of its long-ago seabed – extending hundreds of miles underneath China, as it is pulled downward into Earth’s mantle transition zone. Source: https://www.livescience.com/ancient-fragment-of-pacific-ocean-under-china.html
Hubble telescope reveals asteroid Psyche’s rusty surface
Scientists already had Psyche classified as a metallic asteroid, but new observations with the Hubble telescope reveal its rusty surface and provide scientists with a unique view into what Earth-like planets are like during their formation. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/hubble-asteroid-psyche-iron-nickel-rust-protoplanet…
The magnetic fields of a jellyfish galaxy
New work reveals the intricate relationship between so-called jellyfish galaxies, and the magnetic environment through which they move. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/magnetic-fields-jellyfish-galaxy-jo206…
Gamma Cephei: A future Pole Star
About two thousand years from now, Gamma Cephei, an inconspicuous star in the constellation Cepheus, will become our North Star. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/star-errai-future-north-star…