Check out this amazing new video from NASA’s Perseverance rover, showing its own descent and landing on the surface of Mars last week. Truly, it’s like nothing seen before! Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/video-perseverance-rover-descent-and-touchdown-on-mars…
Tag: Planetary Science
Astronomers confirm orbit of most distant object ever observed in our solar system
A team of astronomers, including associate professor Chad Trujillo of Northern Arizona University’s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, have confirmed a planetoid that is almost four times farther from the Sun than Pluto, making it the most distant object ever observed in our solar system. The planetoid, which has been nicknamed “Farfarout,” was first detected in 2018, and the team…
Get ready for Perseverance’s landing on Mars February 18
Some call attempts to land on Mars “7 minutes of terror.” The Perseverance mission will provide the most detailed video and photos of a landing yet. We’ll watch ourselves land on another planet, for the first time ever. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/get-ready-nasa-perseverance-landing-feb2021…
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…
The seven rocky planets of TRAPPIST-1 seem to have very similar compositions
A new international study led by astrophysicist Eric Agol from the University of Washington has measured the densities of the seven planets of the exoplanetary system TRAPPIST-1 with extreme precision, with the values obtained indicating very similar compositions for all the planets. This fact makes the system even more remarkable and helps to better understand the nature of these fascinating worlds….
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…
Ice-rich flow features in Martian southern hemisphere reveal effects of recent climate cycles
A large, previously unrecognized reservoir of water ice on Mars is well preserved and formed within the past few million years, says a paper led by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Daniel C. Berman. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-ice-rich-features-martian-southern-hemisphere.html…
2019 LD2: A very interesting orbit-hopping comet
Prior to Comet 2019 LD2, discovered last year, astronomers had never witnessed a comet in the process of orbiting from being between Jupiter and Neptune to orbiting inside Jupiter’s orbit. Now … witness the power of gravity! Source: https://earthsky.org/space/comet-2019-ld2-transitioning-orbit-hopping-jupiter-family…
Pluto’s landscape more like Earth’s than previously thought
New analysis of data gathered from New Horizons’ 2015 flyby of Pluto shows evidence of Earth-like snow-capped mountains and the potential for glaciers made of methane ice. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/pluto-landscape-more-like-earths-than-previously-thought…
Scientists discover ancient lake bed deep beneath Greenland ice
The ancient lake bed, sealed more than a mile under Greenland ice, may be hundreds of thousands or millions of years old, and contain unique fossil and chemical traces of past climates and life. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ancient-lake-bed-deep-beneath-greenland-ice…