Volcanic Activity Created Martian Geological Oddity
Scientists have long been puzzled by a mysterious formation located near the equator of Mars called Medusae Fossae. A new study from a pair of scientists – Lujendra Ojha and Kevin Lewis – at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore suggests that the large deposit of soft rock was probably formed as a result of violent volcanic eruptions that […]
Curiosity Finds a Couple of Life’s Building Blocks on Mars
NASA says their Mars roaming laboratory, Curiosity, has found fresh evidence near the surface of the Red Planet that suggests it could have once supported ancient life. The rover also found evidence, in the Martian Atmosphere, that could link into the space agency’s search for current life on the planet. According to NASA, the new […]
ESA Mars Orbiter Gets A Software Upgrade
If you own any kind of computing device, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer, you know sooner or later that you’re going to have to update or install new software to keep it functioning. The same thing can also be said about spacecraft that have been in service for a while. The […]
Black Hole Mass Measured; Ice Sheets on Mars; Saliva Diagnoses Disease
Astronomers Precisely Measure Black Hole Mass A group of astronomers have been able to determine the precise mass of a distant black hole in the center of an enormous elliptical galaxy 73 million light years away. The galaxy is called NGC 1332 and is located in the direction of the southern constellation Eridanus. To measure […]
Mercury’s Surface ‘Painted’ With Carbon from Comets
A first glance, the planet Mercury looks a lot like our Moon, both gray and pockmarked with craters after being bombarded with meteorites and blasted by the solar wind over the millennia. Some take the similarity further, referring to them as “twins.” The color of Mercury’s surface though is much darker than the moon, so […]
Mars Meteorite Sparks New Questions About Red Planet
Scientists have determined a meteorite discovered in the Sahara Desert in 2011 is about 2.1 billion years old and could be the first meteorite to come from the surface of Mars. The meteorite, designated NWA (North West Africa) 7034 and nicknamed “Black Beauty,” weighs about 320 grams and is loaded with Martian water. It is […]