About Half of the Water You Drink is Older than the Sun
New research reveals that as much as one half of all of Earth’s current water supply is older than the Sun. An international team of scientists led by Ilse Cleeves at the University of Michigan looked back into creation of Earth and our solar system to find out where all of the water came from. […]
Are Oceans of Water Hiding Beneath Earth’s Surface?
Scientists have discovered the first-ever earthly sample of a water-rich mineral they say provides new proof that there are vast oceans of water deep beneath the Earth’s surface. The team, led by Graham Pearson from Canada’s University of Alberta, found a mineral called ringwoodite in a sample of rock taken from a Brazilian riverbed. Ringwoodite […]
Ancient Zircon Reveals Age of Earth’s Crust
A tiny sliver of ancient zircon reveals the crust of our planet formed at least 4.4 billion years ago—160 million years after the birth of the solar system, according to a new study. Earth itself is believed to be about 4.5 billion years old. The researchers examined some of the oldest materials ever found on […]
Ultra-Light Planet Found Outside Solar System
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has discovered what appears to be the lightest planet ever to be directly observed outside of our Solar System. Astronomers made the discovery using the Very Large Telescope (VLT), located in Chile, which captured the faint object moving near a bright star about 300 light years from Earth. The possible […]
Evidence of Water Found on Mars
The Curiosity rover has discovered an ancient stream bed that suggests water, possibly lots of it, once flowed on Mars. In a new study, scientists say their findings represent the first on-site evidence of sustained water flow on the Martian landscape. The discovery also supports the theory Mars would have once been able to host […]
Water on the Moon
Looking up at the Moon from our blue planet Earth, it’s hard to see anything other than a barren landscape. Devoid of any life, it’s a visual study in dusty shades of gray. But recently scientists from Case Western Reserve University, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and Brown University have found that parts of the […]