Researchers working in Chile’s Atacama Desert have collected thousands of “atacamaites” that suggest a meteorite struck the region roughly 8 million years ago.
Katherine Kornei
Katherine Kornei is a freelance science journalist covering Earth and space science. Her bylines frequently appear in Eos, Science, and The New York Times. Katherine holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Posted inNews
Thousands of Stars View Earth as a Transiting Exoplanet
Researchers have identified more than 2,000 stars whose past, present, or future vantage points afford a view of Earth passing directly in front of the Sun, a geometry useful for pinpointing planets.
Posted inNews
A Remarkably Constant History of Meteorite Strikes
Researchers dissolve chunks of the ancient seafloor to trace Earth’s impact history and find that colossal clashes between asteroids don’t often trigger an uptick in meteorite strikes.
Posted inNews
Gap in Exoplanet Size Shifts with Age
Smaller planets are scarcer in younger systems and larger planets are lacking in older systems, according to new research that analyzed hundreds of exoplanets.
Posted inNews
Species of Feces Help Phytoplankton Feed Itself
The unicellular plants more readily take up iron in the presence of salp feces than in krill feces, an experiment in Antarctica reveals.
Posted inNews
Record-Setting Flare Spotted on the Nearest Star to the Sun
Proxima Centauri recently let loose a blast of radiation, and ground- and space-based telescopes detected the record-setting event at wavelengths ranging from radio to the ultraviolet.
Posted inNews
Laser Flashes Shed Light on a Changing Arctic
An ongoing project in northern Alaska is using pulses of laser light to monitor anthropogenic activity, ice quakes, and marine wildlife.
Posted inNews
The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of the Polar Vortex
Here’s a rundown of what this atmospheric phenomenon really is and why it matters.
Posted inNews
Ocean Sensors Record Rare Triple Tsunami near New Zealand
A new suite of DART buoys in the South Pacific Ocean spotted waves set in motion by three tsunamigenic earthquakes that occurred within hours of one another.
Posted inNews
Rare Wintertime Thunderstorms Recorded over the U.S. Gulf Coast
“Thundersnow”—thunderstorm activity accompanying a winter storm—was spotted near southern Texas earlier this year.