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Saturn's Supersized Ring
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| Topic: Saturn system |
10/09/09 |
| Summary: Astronomers have discovered an enormous ring around Saturn that may be linked to the moon, Phoebe. The finding highlights connections between the moons and rings of Saturn. The research could help in determining how the Saturn system was formed and, ultimately, the habitability of moons orbiting the giant planet. |
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Hot Debate over Icy Moon
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| Topic: Enceladus |
10/08/09 |
| Summary: The Cassini spacecraft spotted plumes of water vapor erupting from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The discovery has set off a heated debate over whether this tiny frigid moon has an ocean beneath the ice. |
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Dirty Stars are Popular Hosts
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/07/09 |
| Summary: New research indicates that the composition of a star may indicate whether or not the star supports orbiting planets. 'Dirty' stars form from clouds of dust and gas that contain lots of heavy elements... and scientists believe these stars are good candidates for hosting solar systems. |
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Islands of Life Across Space and Time
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/06/09 |
| Summary: Scientists have provided the first quantitative evaluation of planetary habitability. The study shows how the habitability of Earth has changed in the past, and will aid astrobiologists in evaluating the habitability of other planets in our solar system and beyond. |
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Searching for Alien Life, on Earth
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
10/05/09 |
| Summary: Mono Lake, just east of Yosemite National Park, is a place of bizarre natural beauty. It also boasts one of the highest natural concentrations of arsenic on Earth. The latter fact, says geomicrobiologist Felisa Wolfe-Simon, makes it a good spot to look for alien life. |
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Streams of the Sun
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| Topic: Sun |
10/04/09 |
| Summary: Contrary to popular belief, the number of sunspots visible on the sun may not be an indication of changes in the sun's impact on Earth. Last year, the Earth was bombarded with high levels of solar energy - even though the sun was in a quiet phase of its 11-year cycle and sunspots had virtually disappeared. |
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Cloudy, with Pebble Showers
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| Topic: New Planets |
10/03/09 |
| Summary: A newly-discovered exoplanet has an atmosphere that contains the same ingredients as rocks. In fact, a storm on COROT-7b may include pebbles condensing out of the air to rain into lakes of lava. COROT-7b is less than twice the size of Earth and can help astronomers understand how small, rocky planets form and evolve. |
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Dinosaur-Killer was Soft on Algae
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
10/02/09 |
| Summary: Molecular fossils of algae in the so-called “K-P boundary” point to a very fast recovery of these organisms following the meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs. |
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Seeking Life’s Shadow
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| Topic: Mars |
10/01/09 |
| Summary: New research on ancient fossils also may offer insight into finding signs of life in Martian rocks. |
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Double Dust Disks
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| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
09/30/09 |
| Summary: Astronomers have explored one of the most compact dust disks ever resolved around another star, where an inner disk is accompanied by an outer disk. The finding may be an example of a young planetary system just entering the last phase of planet formation and could teach us about the evolution and formation of habitable planets. |
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