Planetary systems need the right stuff to make planets, and some stars just don’t have it.
planetary evolution
Curiosity Digs Up Evidence of a Cold, Wet Martian Past
Amorphous materials, which are rarely studied on Earth, yield insights into the history of Gale Crater and the early Martian environment.
Lunar Lava Tube Revealed Beneath Collapsed Pit
The Sea of Tranquility is home to at least one lunar lava tube, which could preserve a pristine and unweathered record of lunar volcanism.
Sedimentos radiactivos podrían haber construido los cratones de la Tierra
La meteorización de los primeros continentes podría haber puesto en marcha la formación de cratones, las raíces inmutables de los continentes.
Smells Like an Exoplanet
Hydrogen sulfide, spotted in the atmosphere of the exoplanet HD 189733 b, helps constrain how the planet formed.
First Samples from the Moon’s Farside Return on Chang’e-6
These samples could provide novel geologic insight into the Moon’s formation and history.
Radioactive Sediments May Have Built Earth’s Cratons
Weathering of the earliest continents could have set in motion the formation of cratons, the immutable roots of continents.
Magnetic Barriers Might Explain Mysterious Hot Jupiters
Hot Jupiters might end up very close to stars because a magnetic field halts their progress—and future observations could confirm the idea.
The Moon’s Mantle Did a Flip—and Scientists May Now Have Evidence
For decades, a lunar whodunit has puzzled scientists: Did the Moon’s internal layers flip during its formation? Old data might hold the evidence to solve this cold case.
Los planetas enanos muestran evidencias de reciente actividad geológica
Los grandes cuerpos del Cinturón de Kuiper y más allá podrían haber albergardo océanos en la subsuperficiales.