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Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?

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A research group from Kobe University has demonstrated that the heat generated by the impact of a small astronomical body could enable aqueous alteration and organic solid formation to occur on the surface of an asteroid.

They achieved this by first conducting high-velocity impact cratering experiments using an asteroid-like target material and measuring the post-impact heat distribution around the resulting crater.

From these results, they then established a rule-of-thumb for maximum temperature and the duration of the heating, and developed a heat conduction model from this. [Read more…] about Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?

An unbroken record of climate during the age of dinosaurs

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A scientific drilling project in China has retrieved a continuous history of conditions from Earth’s most recent “greenhouse” period that may offer insights about future climate scenarios.

In the Cretaceous period, 100 million years ago give or take a few tens of millions, Earth was a very different place than today. Flowering plants and trees had only recently evolved to coexist with conifers, ferns, cycads, and other groups, while a diverse array of dinosaurs was the dominant form of megafauna on land.

The global climate in which these plants and animals lived was also very different: warmer, steamier, and virtually devoid of ice. [Read more…] about An unbroken record of climate during the age of dinosaurs

Related Posts

  • Will global warming bring a change in the winds? Dust from the deep sea provides a clue
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    Will global warming bring a change in the winds? Dust from the deep sea provides a clueThe westerlies – or westerly winds – play an important role in weather and climate both locally and on a global scale, by influencing precipitation patterns, impacting ocean circulation and steering tropical cyclones. So, finding a way to assess how they will change as the climate warms is crucial. Typically,…
    Tags: will, climate, change, earth, future, years, cores, today, news, environment
  • Fossil trees on Peru's Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental change
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    Fossil trees on Peru's Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental changeOn an expedition to the Central Andean Plateau, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and colleagues were astounded to find a huge fossil-tree buried in the cold, grassy plain. The plant fossil record from this high-altitude site in southern Peru contains dramatic reminders that the environment in the…
    Tags: climate, years, record, meters, today, carbon, project, will, conditions, al
  • Population and climate change point to future water shortages
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    Population and climate change point to future water shortagesA new study suggests that reductions in agricultural water use will probably play the biggest role in limiting future water shortages. Climate change plus population growth are setting the stage for water shortages in parts of the U.S. long before the end of the century, according to a new study…
    Tags: future, will, climate, news, environment

Oldest human traces from the southern Tibetan Plateau in a new light

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Stone tools have been made by humans and their ancestors for millions of years. For archaeologists these rocky remnants – lithic artefacts and flakes – are of key importance.

They are among the most common findings in archaeological excavations because of their high preservation potential.

Worldwide, numerical dating of these lithic artefacts, especially when they occur as surface findings, remains a major challenge. Usually, stone tools cannot be dated directly, but only when they are embedded in sediment layers together with, for example, organic material. [Read more…] about Oldest human traces from the southern Tibetan Plateau in a new light

How long is a day on Venus? Scientists crack mysteries of our closest neighbor

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Venus is an enigma. It’s the planet next door and yet reveals little about itself. An opaque blanket of clouds smothers a harsh landscape pelted by acid rain and baked at temperatures that can liquify lead.

Now, new observations from the safety of Earth are lifting the veil on some of Venus’ most basic properties.

By repeatedly bouncing radar off the planet’s surface over the last 15 years, a UCLA-led team has pinned down the precise length of a day on Venus, the tilt of its axis and the size of its core. The findings are published today in the journal Nature Astronomy. [Read more…] about How long is a day on Venus? Scientists crack mysteries of our closest neighbor

A new super-Earth detected orbiting a red dwarf star

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In recent years there has been an exhaustive study of red dwarf stars to find exoplanets in orbit around them. These stars have effective surface temperatures between 2400 and 3700 K (over 2000 degrees cooler than the Sun), and masses between 0.08 and 0.45 solar masses.

In this context, a team of researchers led by Borja Toledo Padrón, a Severo Ochoa-La Caixa doctoral student at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), specializing in the search for planets around this type of stars, has discovered a super-Earth orbiting the star GJ 740, a red dwarf star situated some 36 light years from the Earth.

The planet orbits its star with a period of 2.4 days and its mass is around 3 times the mass of the Earth. Because the star is so close to the Sun, and the planet so close to the star, this new super-Earth could be the object of future researches with very large diameter telescopes towards the end of this decade. The results of the study were recently published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. [Read more…] about A new super-Earth detected orbiting a red dwarf star

Related Posts

  • On the quest for other Earths
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    On the quest for other EarthsIn the search for planets capable of sustaining life, an international research team with members from ETH has taken a significant step forward. As the researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications, they found signs of a Neptune-sized planet in the Alpha Centauri star system, a mere 4.4 light years…
    Tags: planets, stars, data, planet, earth, signal, exoplanets, search, star, planet's

Raindrops also keep fallin’ on exoplanets

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One day, humankind may step foot on another habitable planet. That planet may look very different from Earth, but one thing will feel familiar – the rain.

In a recent paper, Harvard researchers found that raindrops are remarkably similar across different planetary environments, even planets as drastically different as Earth and Jupiter.

Understanding the behavior of raindrops on other planets is key to not only revealing the ancient climate on planets like Mars but identifying potentially habitable planets outside our solar system. [Read more…] about Raindrops also keep fallin’ on exoplanets

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  • Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth's ecosystem
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    Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth's ecosystemResearchers in the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group – including Jessica Hellmann from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment – explored the effect of solar climate interventions on ecology, and their results were published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. Composed of climate scientists and ecologists from…
    Tags: solar, climate, earth, paper, cloud, space, understanding, sciences, university, surface

Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth’s ecosystem

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Researchers in the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group – including Jessica Hellmann from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment – explored the effect of solar climate interventions on ecology, and their results were published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.

Composed of climate scientists and ecologists from leading research universities internationally, the team found that more research is needed to understand the ecological impacts of solar radiation modification (SRM) technologies that reflect small amounts of sunlight back into space.

The team focused on a specific proposed SRM strategy – referred to as stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI) – to create a sulfate aerosol cloud in the stratosphere to reduce a portion of incoming sunlight and radiation. In theory, this cloud could be controlled in size and location. [Read more…] about Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth’s ecosystem

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  • Raindrops also keep fallin’ on exoplanets
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    Raindrops also keep fallin’ on exoplanetsOne day, humankind may step foot on another habitable planet. That planet may look very different from Earth, but one thing will feel familiar – the rain. In a recent paper, Harvard researchers found that raindrops are remarkably similar across different planetary environments, even planets as drastically different as Earth…
    Tags: surface, climate, earth, understanding, paper, cloud, sciences, university, solar, news

Was there ever life on Mars?

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The Mars rover exists for one reason: To find out if there was ever life on Mars.

NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021, marking a major step in a mission that has captured the hearts and minds of space enthusiasts around the world – and that will pave the way for human expeditions by the 2030s.

And, as with just about any space mission, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that will determine whether the mission succeeds. Perseverance’s job is to drill into the Martian surface to collect rock and soil samples. Those samples will be stored in sealed tubes and wait to be ferried back to Earth for analysis on a future mission. [Read more…] about Was there ever life on Mars?

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  • Earthlings send three separate missions to Mars
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    Earthlings send three separate missions to MarsEarthlings have sent three separate missions to Mars which will all reach the Red Planet within the next few days. One of them was sent by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is scheduled to land on 18th February 2021. NASA’s spacecraft carried the Perseverance Rover…
    Tags: space, mars, will, nasa, mission, human, robotic, rover, earth, planet

There might be many planets with water-rich atmospheres

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An atmosphere is what makes life on Earth’s surface possible, regulating our climate and sheltering us from damaging cosmic rays. But although telescopes have counted a growing number of rocky planets, scientists had thought most of their atmospheres long lost.

However, a new study by University of Chicago and Stanford University researchers suggests a mechanism whereby these planets could not only develop atmospheres full of water vapor, but keep them for long stretches.

Published March 15 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, the research expands our picture of planetary formation and could help direct the search for habitable worlds in other star systems. [Read more…] about There might be many planets with water-rich atmospheres

Related Posts

  • AI and photonics join forces to make it easier to find 'new Earths'
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    AI and photonics join forces to make it easier to find 'new Earths'Australian scientists have developed a new type of sensor to measure and correct the distortion of starlight caused by viewing through the Earth's atmosphere, which should make it easier to study the possibility of life on distant planets. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, University of Sydney optical scientists have…
    Tags: planets, university, earth, telescopes, scientists, atmosphere, planet, telescope, star, planet's
  • On the quest for other Earths
    42
    On the quest for other EarthsIn the search for planets capable of sustaining life, an international research team with members from ETH has taken a significant step forward. As the researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications, they found signs of a Neptune-sized planet in the Alpha Centauri star system, a mere 4.4 light years…
    Tags: planets, planet, earth, telescope, atmosphere, water, star, planet's, universe
  • Earth has a hot new neighbour – and it's an astronomer's dream
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    Earth has a hot new neighbour – and it's an astronomer's dreamA newly discovered planet could be our best chance yet of studying rocky planet atmospheres outside the solar system, a new international study involving UNSW Sydney shows. The planet, called Gliese 486b (pronounced Glee-seh), is a “super-Earth”: that is, a rocky planet bigger than Earth but smaller than ice giants…
    Tags: planet, atmosphere, planets, star, rocky, earth, planet's
  • First transiting exoplanet's 'chemical fingerprint' reveals its distant birthplace
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    First transiting exoplanet's 'chemical fingerprint' reveals its distant birthplaceAstronomers have found evidence that the first exoplanet that was identified transiting its star could have migrated to a close orbit with its star from its original birthplace further away. Analysis of the planet's atmosphere by a team including University of Warwick scientists has identified the chemical fingerprint of a…
    Tags: atmosphere, star, planet, water, planets, university, hydrogen, atmospheres, planet's, universe
  • Study warns of 'oxygen false positives' in search for signs of life on other planets
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    Study warns of 'oxygen false positives' in search for signs of life on other planetsIn the search for life on other planets, the presence of oxygen in a planet's atmosphere is one potential sign of biological activity that might be detected by future telescopes. A new study, however, describes several scenarios in which a lifeless rocky planet around a sun-like star could evolve to…
    Tags: atmosphere, water, planet, planets, universe, planet's

Earth has a hot new neighbour – and it’s an astronomer’s dream

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A newly discovered planet could be our best chance yet of studying rocky planet atmospheres outside the solar system, a new international study involving UNSW Sydney shows.

The planet, called Gliese 486b (pronounced Glee-seh), is a “super-Earth”: that is, a rocky planet bigger than Earth but smaller than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus. It orbits a red dwarf star around 26 light-years away, making it a close neighbour – galactically speaking.

With a piping-hot surface temperature of 430 degrees Celsius, Gliese 486b is too hot to support human life. But studying its atmosphere could help us learn whether similar planets might be habitable for humans – or if they’re likely to hold other signs of life. [Read more…] about Earth has a hot new neighbour – and it’s an astronomer’s dream

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  • The seven rocky planets of TRAPPIST-1 seem to have very similar compositions
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    The seven rocky planets of TRAPPIST-1 seem to have very similar compositionsA new international study led by astrophysicist Eric Agol from the University of Washington has measured the densities of the seven planets of the exoplanetary system TRAPPIST-1 with extreme precision, the values obtained indicating very similar compositions for all the planets. This fact makes the system even more remarkable and…
    Tags: planets, earth, study, planet, space, planet's, science
  • Life from Earth could temporarily survive on Mars
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    Life from Earth could temporarily survive on MarsSome microbes on Earth could temporarily survive on the surface of Mars, finds a new study by NASA and German Aerospace Center scientists. The researchers tested the endurance of microorganisms to Martian conditions by launching them into the Earth's stratosphere, as it closely represents key conditions on the Red Planet.…
    Tags: space, earth, life, atmosphere, planet, study, red
  • Young stars ‘destroy Earth-like atmospheres’
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    Young stars ‘destroy Earth-like atmospheres’The discoveries of thousands of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system have made questions about the potential for life to form on these planets fundamentally important in modern science. Fundamentally important for the habitability of a planet is whether or not it can hold onto an atmosphere, which requires…
    Tags: planets, atmosphere, planet, space, life, star, earth
  • Study warns of 'oxygen false positives' in search for signs of life on other planets
    45
    Study warns of 'oxygen false positives' in search for signs of life on other planetsIn the search for life on other planets, the presence of oxygen in a planet's atmosphere is one potential sign of biological activity that might be detected by future telescopes. A new study, however, describes several scenarios in which a lifeless rocky planet around a sun-like star could evolve to…
    Tags: atmosphere, life, planet, planets, planet's, science
  • There might be many planets with water-rich atmospheres
    42
    There might be many planets with water-rich atmospheresAn atmosphere is what makes life on Earth's surface possible, regulating our climate and sheltering us from damaging cosmic rays. But although telescopes have counted a growing number of rocky planets, scientists had thought most of their atmospheres long lost. However, a new study by University of Chicago and Stanford…
    Tags: planets, atmosphere, star, rocky, earth, planet, planet's