Planetary Science News

Large Planetesimals Delivered More Mass to Proto-Earth than Previously Thought

Marchi et al modeled the protracted period of bombardment after the Moon formed, determining that impactor metals may have descended into Earth’s core. This artistic rendering illustrates a large impactor crashing into the young Earth. Light brown and gray particles indicate the projectile’s mantle (silicate) and core (metal) material, respectively. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute.
Dec 5, 2017 by News Staff

After the Moon’s formation, Earth experienced a protracted bombardment by large (over 1,500 km in diameter) planetesimals. Dr. Simone Marchi, a researcher at the Southwest Research Institute, and co-authors recently modeled this process. Based on their simulations, the researchers say that the large planetesimals delivered more mass to our planet than previously thought. Marchi et al modeled the protracted period of bombardment after the Moon...

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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.

Research Provides New Evidence of Plate Tectonics in Europa’s Ice Shell

Dec 5, 2017 by News Staff

A process called subduction — when a tectonic plate slides underneath another and sinks deep into a planetary body’s interior — is physically...

Titan’s south polar vortex stands out against the orange and blue haze layers that are characteristic of the hazy moon’s atmosphere. This view looks towards the trailing hemisphere of Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 km across). North on Titan is up and rotated 17 degrees to the left. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 30, 2013. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 895,000 miles (1.441 million km) from Titan. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

New Study Explains Unexpected Cooling of Titan’s Polar Atmosphere

Nov 24, 2017 by News Staff

A study published in the journal Nature Communications has shown that a recently reported unexpected polar vortex behavior on Saturn’s hazy moon Titan...

According to Zhang et al, Pluto’s atmosphere is unique among Solar System planetary atmospheres, as its equilibrium temperature is controlled primarily by solid-phase haze particles instead of gas molecules. This artist’s impression shows a view of the moon Charon through Pluto’s atmospheric haze layers above the mountain landscape of bedrock water ice covered partially with deposition of dark, reddish haze particles. Image credit: X. Liu.

Haze Particles Cool Pluto’s Atmosphere, New Research Finds

Nov 21, 2017 by News Staff

It turns out solid-phase haze particles help cool the atmosphere of the dwarf planet Pluto. That’s according to new research by planetary scientists...

This false-color image demonstrates how use of special filters available on Curiosity’s Mastcam camera can reveal the presence of certain minerals in target rocks. It is a composite of images taken through three ‘science’ filters chosen for making hematite stand out as exaggerated purple. Mastcam’s narrow-band filters used for this view help to increase spectral contrast, making blues bluer and reds redder, particularly with the processing used to boost contrast in each of the component images of this composite. Fine-grained hematite preferentially absorbs sunlight around in the green portion of the spectrum around 527 nm. That gives it the purple look from a combination of red and blue light reflected by the hematite and reaching the camera through the other two filters. Bright lines within the rocks are fractures filled with calcium sulfate minerals. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds Mineral Hematite on Mars

Nov 12, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Curiosity rover has found spectral evidence of an iron-oxide mineral called hematite (Fe2O3) on a rock near Mount Sharp in Gale Crater, Mars. This...

This graphic illustrates how water might be heated inside Enceladus. Over time, cool ocean water seeps into the moon’s porous core. Pockets of water reaching deep into the interior are warmed by contact with rock in the tidally heated interior and subsequently rise owing to the positive buoyancy, leading to further interaction with the rocks. The heat deposited at the boundary between the seafloor and ocean powers hydrothermal vents. Heat and rocky particles are transported through the ocean, triggering localized melting in the icy shell above. This leads to the formation of fissures, from which jets of water vapor and the rocky particles from the seafloor are ejected into space. In the graphic, the interior ‘slice’ is an excerpt from a new model that simulated this process. The orange glow represents the parts of the core where temperatures reach at least 194 degrees Fahrenheit. Tidal heating owing to the friction arising between particles in the porous core provides a key source of energy, but is not illustrated in this graphic. The tidal heating results primarily from the gravitational pull from Saturn. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute / LPG-CNRS / University of Nantes / University of Angers / ESA.

Enceladus’ Highly Porous Core Keeps Its Subsurface Ocean Warm, New Study Says

Nov 8, 2017 by News Staff

A new modeling study led by the University of Nantes is the first to explain several key characteristics of Saturn’s moon Enceladus observed by NASA’s...

Artist’s impression of a comet. Image credit: DLR / CC-BY 3.0.

Cometary Ice and Organics are Mostly Older than Our Solar System, Rosetta Scientists Say

Oct 31, 2017 by News Staff

Analysis of data from ESA’s Rosetta mission continues to yield insights into the nature of cometary ice and organics. Artist’s impression of a comet....

This false-color image shows the dwarf planet Ceres. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Ceres Once Had Global Ocean, Studies Suggest

Oct 30, 2017 by News Staff

Ceres’ crust, with its mixture of ice, salts and hydrated materials, represents most of the dwarf planet’s ancient ocean, according to two new studies...

Itokawa’s curious, varied terrain and lack of impact craters indicate it is a rubble pile asteroid. Image credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Asteroid Itokawa Had Violent Past, Planetary Researchers Say

Oct 26, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research has shed light on the collisional history of one of the most famous asteroids. Itokawa’s curious, varied terrain and lack of impact craters...

This artist’s painting of the south polar region of Enceladus shows massive jets of water ice being blasted into space. Image credit: Karl Kofoed / NASA.

Saturn Moons Stained by Enceladus’ ‘Ingredients for Life’

Oct 25, 2017 by James Romero

Weathered organic material once dissolved in Enceladus’ subsurface ocean is coating Saturn’s inner moons, explaining surprising variations in their...

Dawn data show a region around Ceres’ Ernutet crater where organic concentrations have been discovered; the color coding shows the surface concentration of organics, as inferred from the visible and near infrared spectrometer; the inset shows a higher resolution enhanced color image of the crater acquired by Dawn’s framing camera; regions in red indicate higher concentration of organics. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / ASI / INAF / MPS / DLR / IDA.

New Research Reveals Origin of Ceres’ Organic Matter

Oct 23, 2017 by News Staff

Organic-rich materials found on Ceres by NASA’s Dawn orbiter are native to the dwarf planet, according to new research led by Southwest Research Institute...

Volcanic activity 3.5 billion years ago released 1019 g of volatiles around the Moon. Image credit: NASA.

Moon Once Had Atmosphere, New Research Says

Oct 20, 2017 by News Staff

About 3.5 billion years ago volcanic activity on Earth’s only permanent natural satellite produced an atmosphere 1.5 times thicker than is currently...

Artist’s conception of the complex magnetic field environment at Mars. Yellow lines represent magnetic field lines from the Sun carried by the solar wind, blue lines represent Martian surface magnetic fields, white sparks are reconnection activity, and red lines are reconnected magnetic fields that link the surface to space via the Martian magnetotail. Image credit: Anil Rao / University of Colorado / MAVEN / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Mars Has a Twisted Magnetotail, NASA Research Reveals

Oct 20, 2017 by News Staff

According to new research using data from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft, the Red Planet has an invisible magnetic...

This view of Titan is among the last images NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sent to Earth before it plunged into the giant planet’s atmosphere. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Toxic Ice Cloud Found in Titan’s Stratosphere

Oct 19, 2017 by News Staff

Planetary researchers with NASA’s Cassini mission have detected a cloud of toxic hybrid ice high above the south pole of Saturn’s hazy moon, Titan. This...

Powerful Solar Storms Could Electrically Charge Mars’ Moon Phobos

Oct 18, 2017 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Advances in Space Research suggests that solar storms create a complex electrical environment around Phobos, giving...

It’s raining on Titan. Image credit: David A. Hardy, AstroArt / NASA.

Heavy Methane Rainstorms Batter Titan, Researchers Say

Oct 13, 2017 by News Staff

Saturn’s hazy moon has surprisingly extreme rainstorms, according to new research published in the journal Nature Geoscience. It’s raining on Titan....

Mars’ Eridania Basin Once Held Vast Sea

Oct 9, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has identified what appear to be ancient hydrothermal deposits in the Eridania region in the southern highlands...

Mars Odyssey spotted possible water ice in the Medusa Fossae area of Mars, which is in an equatorial region of the planet to the lower left in this view. Image credit: Steve Lee, University of Colorado / Jim Bell, Cornell University / Mike Wolff, Space Science Institute / NASA.

NASA’s Mars Odyssey Orbiter Spots Possible Water Ice near Martian Equator

Oct 2, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft has discovered evidence of significant hydration near the Martian equator. Mars Odyssey spotted possible water ice in...

Pluto’s bladed terrain as seen from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its July 2015 flyby. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

Planetary Researchers Solve Mystery of Pluto’s ‘Bladed Terrain’

Sep 27, 2017 by News Staff

Strange formations are found at the highest altitudes on the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto. They resemble giant knife blades of ice and can soar many...

A young planetary system. Image credit: NASA / FUSE / Lynette Cook.

Research Sheds Light on Sequence of Events that Led to Creation of Earth and Mars

Sep 27, 2017 by News Staff

New research, reported in the journal Nature, changes scientists’ understanding of how terrestrial planets attain their physical and chemical characteristics. A...

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