Planetary Science News

Phosphorus in the form of orthophosphate (e.g., HPO4-2) is likely abundant in the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus; a soda or alkaline ocean (containing NaHCO3 and/or Na2CO3) inside of Enceladus interacts geochemically with a rocky core; modeling indicates that this interaction promotes the dissolution of phosphate minerals, making orthophosphate readily available to possible life in the ocean; because phosphorus is an essential ingredient for life, this finding bolsters mounting evidence for habitability within this small Saturnian moon. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute.

Subsurface Ocean of Enceladus is Rich in Phosphorus, Suggests Study

Sep 20, 2022 by News Staff

Enceladus is one of the prime targets in the search for life in our Solar System. Observations made by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft show that this small...

These craters were formed by a meteoroid impact on Mars on September 5, 2021, the first to be detected by NASA’s InSight lander; taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, this enhanced-color image highlights the dust and soil disturbed by the impact in blue in order to make details more visible to the human eye. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

NASA’s InSight Lander Detects Seismic and Acoustic Waves from Meteoroid Impacts on Mars

Sep 20, 2022 by News Staff

The Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure (SEIS) seismometer on NASA’s InSight lander picked up vibrations and sounds from four space rocks that...

This image shows a rocky outcrop called Wildcat Ridge, where NASA’s Perseverance rover extracted two rock cores and abraded a circular patch to investigate the rock’s composition. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU / MSSS.

Perseverance Detects Organics in New Samples from Martian Jezero Crater

Sep 19, 2022 by News Staff

In 2014, NASA’s Curiosity rover found evidence of organic matter in rock-powder samples from Gale crater, and NASA’s Perseverance rover has detected...

Composite of a true color image of Saturn, observed by Cassini in 2016, overlaid with a false color representation of the ultraviolet aurora in the northern hemisphere as observed on August 20, 2017. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute / A. Bader, Lancaster University.

Destroyed Moon Could Explain Saturn’s Young Rings and Present-Day Tilt

Sep 16, 2022 by News Staff

Saturn’s rings — thought to have formed a mere 100 million years ago — are one of the most distinctive planetary features in our Solar System....

Images of graphite, lonsdaleite, and diamond in ureilite meteorites: (A) reflected light image showing folded crystalline graphite, with fold morphology defined by graphite cleavage; different shading in the graphite is produced by axial planar kink bands; (B) reflected light image (stacked foci) showing an example of the inherited fold morphology preserved in lonsdaleite; (C) cathodoluminescence map of the same area as (B) indicating different phases of carbon, where the green regions are lonsdaleite and the red areas on the periphery (including the purple dashed circle) are cubic diamond (blue is the cathodoluminescence response from olivine); (D) scanning TEM image of a region cut out of the area indicated by yellow circle in (C), highlighting dark lonsdaleite crystals. Image credit: Tomkins et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2208814119.

Strange Meteoritic Diamonds Came from Mantle of Destroyed Dwarf Planet, Study Says

Sep 13, 2022 by News Staff

Lonsdaleite, a rare hexagonal form of diamond found in ureilite meteorites, formed shortly after an inner solar system dwarf planet collided with a large...

This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows a portion of the Uzboi-Ladon-Morava outflow system. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter Focuses on Holden Basin

Sep 5, 2022 by News Staff

The new images, taken with the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft on April 24, 2022, show the Holden Basin in...

Patchy proton aurora on Mars. Image credit: EMM / EMUS / UAE Space Agency.

MAVEN and EMM Orbiters Observe ‘Patchy’ Proton Aurora on Mars

Aug 31, 2022 by News Staff

Even though Mars does not have a global magnetic field like the Earth, it still possesses multiple kinds of aurora. One of these is proton aurora, which...

This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Perseverance rover. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Perseverance Provides Insights into History and Composition of Rocks in Martian Jezero Crater

Aug 26, 2022 by News Staff

According to a series of four papers by the Perseverance science team, the floor of Jezero crater had eroded more than planetary researchers expected....

The detailed global map of hydrated mineral deposits on Mars; various landing sites and areas of interest are shown; Mawrth Vallis is an ancient water outflow channel that is rich in clays; Oxia Planum is another clay-rich region and has been selected as the landing site for ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover; Meridiani Planum straddles the Martian equator and was the landing spot for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004; Valles Marineris is one of the largest canyons in the Solar System’ Gale crater and Jezero crater were the landing sites of NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers in 2012 and 2020, respectively. Image credit: ESA / Mars Express / NASA / Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Planetary Scientists Create First Global High-Resolution Map of Martian Aqueous Minerals

Aug 23, 2022 by News Staff

The newly-released map shows the locations and abundances of secondary minerals formed through interaction with water on Mars. It is based on the analysis...

The surface of Europa looms large in this newly-reprocessed color view; image scale is 1.6 km per pixel; north on Europa is at right. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

Study Sheds More Light on Icy Shells of Europa and Other Ocean Worlds

Aug 15, 2022 by News Staff

The underwater snow is known to form in low temperature environments, e.g., beneath ice shelves, on Earth. New research led by University of Texas at Austin...

Since landing on Mars in August 2012, Curiosity has been exploring Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Celebrates Ten Years on Mars

Aug 5, 2022 by News Staff

NASA’s Curiosity rover successfully landed in Gale Crater on Mars on August 5, 2012, to search for evidence that the Red Planet could once have supported...

This illustration models the topography of Ceres from NASA’s Dawn mission, with green and blue colors. Image credit: King et al., doi: 10.1029/2021AV000571.

Hemisphere-Scale Instabilities Explain Many Puzzling Features on Dwarf Planet Ceres

Aug 3, 2022 by News Staff

Ceres is the largest body in the asteroid belt. Because Ceres is small, there was not enough gravitational energy when it formed to heat the interior....

Temperature measurements for the Mare Tranquillitatis pit. Image credit: Horvath et al., doi: 10.1029/2022GL099710.

Lunar Pits Stay Warmer than Surface During Night, Finds New Study

Jul 29, 2022 by News Staff

Lunar pits, and caves to which they may lead, would make thermally stable sites — around a comfortable 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit)...

(a) Location of the Buckskin mudstone sample (red star) in Gale Crater, Mars; (b and c) images from the Mars Hand Lens Imager onboard the Curiosity rover of (b) Lamoose, a local float block adjacent to Buckskin within the Murray formation showing laminations, and (c) Buckskin. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

Rare Mineral from Martian Crater was Created in Explosive Volcanic Eruption Over 3 Billion Years Ago

Jul 26, 2022 by News Staff

Tridymite is a high-temperature, low-pressure form of quartz that is extremely rare on Earth, and it wasn’t clear how a chunk of it ended up in Gale...

An artist’s rendering of Jupiter with rings that rival Saturn’s. Image credit: Stephen Kane / University of California, Riverside.

Study: Massive Galilean Moons Prevented Formation of Giant Ring System around Jupiter

Jul 21, 2022 by News Staff

Planetary rings are often speculated as being a relatively common attribute of giant planets, partly based on their prevalence within the Solar System....

This image, captured by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard ESA’s Mars Express on April 21, 2022, shows Ius and Tithonium Chasmata, which form part of Mars’ Valles Marineris canyon structure. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

Mars Express Spots Two Huge Canyons in Valles Marineris

Jul 21, 2022 by News Staff

The new image from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft shows sections of Ius Chasma and Tithonium Chasma —...

The global map of hydrogen abundances on the Moon after corrections for rare-earth element variations were made to the measured epithermal neutron data, and the count rates were calibrated using the linear relation. Image credit: Lawrence et al., doi: 10.1029/2022JE007197.

Scientists Create Global Map of Hydrogen Abundances across Moon

Jul 21, 2022 by News Staff

The new global map of bulk hydrogen abundances on the Moon’s surface allows planetary researchers to address many previously unexplored areas in the...

An artist’s impression of where an asteroid hit the surface of Mars 5-10 million years ago, ejected NWA 7034 and its transit to the Earth. Image credit: Curtin University.

Planetary Scientists Identify Home Crater of Famous Martian Meteorite

Jul 13, 2022 by Natali Anderson

New research shows that the Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, known more commonly as ‘Black Beauty,’ was ejected between 5 and 10 milliom...

An artist’s impression of the Gliese 414 system. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study: Location and Amount of Land on Planet’s Surface Can Significantly Impact Its Habitability

Jul 12, 2022 by News Staff

University of Toronto astronomer Evelyn Macdonald and her colleagues have identified substantial differences in surface temperature, sea ice and water...