The development of plate tectonics and life on Earth provided avenues for mineral evolution that did not occur on Mars, resulting in relatively limited mineral diversity on the Red Planet.
Space & Planets
Posted inNews
Astronomers May Have Spotted the Birth of a Planet
Lumps of dust are spiraling around a young star 5,000 light-years away. They could be Jupiter-like planets in the making.
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Rare Granite Body Discovered on Moon’s Farside
The granite couldn’t have formed the same way that it does on Earth—with liquid water and plate tectonics. So how did it get there?
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Subsurface Oceans Could Boost Exoplanet Habitability
Researchers have shown that oceans buried below layers of ice are more common than previously thought.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Visualizing the Deep Insides of Planets and Moons
A novel method uses gravity data to determine where density anomalies lie inside planetary bodies.
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Precisely Synced Clocks Pave the Way for New Science
Researchers working on Hawaiian mountain tops precisely synchronized two clocks with unprecedented efficiency, demonstrating the potential to create networks of such clocks for geodesy and more.
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Dramatic Flyby Confirms That Mercury’s Radioactive Aurora Touches the Ground
Data collected by the BepiColombo spacecraft traces the causes of the strange aurora, which course through the planet’s weak magnetosphere.
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Essential Ingredient for Life Found on Enceladus
Icy plumes from Saturn’s moon Enceladus contain phosphorus, part of the biochemistry of life—the first time the element has been found in a liquid environment beyond Earth.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A Mystery About the Moon’s Deep Interior Endures
Geophysical data has suggested that the base of the Moon’s mantle is partially molten or contains ilmenite, but an improved rheology model puts the existence of this layer in doubt.
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A Planet Is Dramatically Losing Its Atmosphere
Helium that was once part of the atmosphere of the extrasolar planet HAT-P-32b is being ripped away and forming two giant streamers of gas several million kilometers long.