Despite centuries of study and many spacecraft visits, the Red Planet still holds secrets. Here are just a few.
News
Water Corridors Helped Homo sapiens Disperse out of Africa
Wetland conditions during the last interglacial period in parts of the Levant helped propel our ancestors into Arabia, new research suggests.
River Recovery from Drought Can Take Years
Climate change has created increasingly volatile weather and a drier atmosphere, making it harder for rivers to recuperate after a drought.
Millions Likely Live in Areas Contaminated by Mining Runoff
Heavy metal contaminants from mining can live in ecosystems for centuries. A new global database shows where the problem is worst.
Rogues’ Gallery Comes in Pairs
A new trove of free-floating planets, smaller and paired up more than expected, challenges stellar and planet formation models.
Registros de eclipses fechan erupciones volcánicas de los siglos XII y XIII
Registros antiguos de lunas oscuras y lunas de sangre ayudan a los científicos a vislumbrar erupciones pasadas y sus efectos en el clima global.
A Strong Quake (or Two) Rattled Puget Sound 1,100 Years Ago
Tree rings hint that two neighboring faults ruptured within 6 months of each other and suggest that the maximum magnitude of quakes around Puget Sound could exceed previous estimates.
Ham Radios Crowdsourced Ionospheric Science During Eclipse
Amateur radio operators who study space physics and the upper atmosphere probed the ionosphere’s response to the 2023 annular solar eclipse using shortwave transmissions.
Biodegradable Sensors Could Explore the Seas More Sustainably
Researchers are developing environmentally friendly instruments to monitor the oceans.
Popping Bubbles Make Glaciers Melt Faster
Accounting for the newfound bubble effect could improve estimates of how sea-terminating glaciers melt underwater—and better anticipate their shrinkage as oceans warm.