Scanning for traces of faraway worlds, TESS will make observations over an area hundreds of times larger than that observed by its predecessor, the Kepler Space Telescope.
planetary evolution
Posted inScience Updates
Signs of Water in a Moon Rock
NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Lunar Volatiles Workshop; Laurel, Maryland, 15–17 November 2016
Posted inNews
Meet KELT-9b, the Hottest Exoplanet Ever Discovered
The exoplanet’s host star blasts it with so much radiation that it will someday evaporate.
Posted inNews
A Volcanic Trigger for Earth’s First Mass Extinction?
Abnormally high levels of mercury in Ordovician rocks may imply that a huge surge of volcanism took place at a time when much of the planet’s ocean life vanished.
Posted inNews
Starlike Brown Dwarf? Not Anymore
Because of a new, surprisingly smaller mass estimate for a much-studied, nearby brown dwarf, astronomers now regard the familiar object as merely planetlike.
Posted inNews
A New Theory May Explain “Impossible” TRAPPIST-1 Planets
The proposed formation scenario relies on unconventional processes to account for a bevy of seven Earth-sized exoplanets recently found orbiting an unlikely star.
Posted inNews
Seven Earth-Sized Planets Seen Whizzing Around One Cool Star
Although all the exoplanets orbit closer than Mercury does to our Sun, liquid water may persist on some of them because their star radiates so little heat.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Unprecedented Views of Mercury Constrain Hollow Formation
The consistently shallow depths of the depressions scattered across Mercury's surface suggest their morphology is not determined by the thickness of a volatile-rich outer layer.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mars’s Climate May Have Been Wet Much Later Than Thought
Water-carved valleys may be relatively young, challenging assumptions about the history of the Red Planet's climate.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Minerals Hint at Liquid Groundwater, More Oxygen in Mars's Past
Manganese deposits in Gale Crater fractures are similar to Earth features that usually require flowing water and highly oxidizing conditions.