Tag Archive for 'Atmosphere'

Map of MAVEN’s auroral detections in December 2014 overlaid on the surface of Mars: the map shows that the aurora was widespread in the northern hemisphere, not tied to any geographic location. Image credit: University of Colorado.

MAVEN Sheds New Light on Atmosphere of Mars

Jun 24, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft has observed three phenomena in the atmosphere of Mars: a polar plume of escaping atmospheric...

Small pollen particles can hold condensation for cloud formation. Image credit: Brin Weins.

Pollen Grains Can Influence Climate, Scientists Say

May 6, 2015 by News Staff

According to a team of researchers led by Prof Allison Steiner of the University of Michigan, tiny pollen particles may make it rain. Small pollen particles...

A hypothetical mini-Neptune. Image credit: DLR Institute of Planetary Research.

Astronomers Discover Brightly Illuminated mini-Neptune

May 4, 2015 by News Staff

A group of astronomers led by Benjamin Montet of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, has discovered a highly irradiated mini-Neptune exoplanet...

Dr Martin Vollmer and his colleagues detected a rapid accumulation of anesthetic gases isoflurane, desflurane, and sevoflurane, in the global atmosphere. Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Anesthetic Gases Contribute to Climate Change, Say Atmospheric Chemists

Apr 9, 2015 by News Staff

Desflurane, isoflurane, sevoflurane and halothane – clinically used inhalation anesthetic agents – are accumulating in the atmosphere of our...

Intensification of agriculture is a driver of changes in the seasonal characteristics of the global carbon cycle.

Agricultural Production Affects Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Cycle

Nov 21, 2014 by News Staff

Crop production may generate up to a quarter of the increase in the seasonal cycle of atmospheric carbon dioxide, with corn playing a leading role, according...

GEOS-5 has given researchers a stunning new look at how CO2 in the atmosphere travels around the globe. Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / K. Sharghi.

GEOS-5 Computer Model Provides High-Resolution Look at Key Greenhouse Gas

Nov 19, 2014 by News Staff

A new computer model called GEOS-5 has provided a high-resolution look at how carbon dioxide (CO2) – the key driver of global warming – moves...

This is an artist’s impression of habitable Mars (Daein Ballard / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Volcanic Eruptions May Have Triggered Episodic Water Flow on Ancient Mars

Nov 18, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists from Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Brown University suggest that water flow and warm temperatures on early Mars were likely related...

Colorized infrared image of Uranus obtained on August 6, 2014, with adaptive optics on the 10-meter Keck telescope; white spots are large storms. Image credit: Imke de Pater, University of California, Berkeley / Keck Observatory images.

Astronomers Spot Large Storms on Uranus

Nov 14, 2014 by News Staff

A team of astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii has detected eight massive storms on the northern hemisphere of Uranus, the seventh planet...

This image is a composite of several images taken during two separate Titan flybys in 2006. The large circular feature near the center of Titan's disk may be the remnant of a very old impact basin. The mountain ranges to the southeast of the circular feature, and the long dark, linear feature to the northwest of the old impact scar may have resulted from tectonic activity on Titan caused by the energy released when the impact occurred. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

Astronomers Intrigued by Mysterious Zones of Organic Molecules on Titan

Oct 23, 2014 by News Staff

A multinational team of astronomers studying the chemical make-up of the atmosphere on Saturn’s moon Titan has revealed large zones of two organic...

This artist's conception shows W0855, the coldest known brown dwarf. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Penn State University.

Water Ice Clouds Found in Atmosphere of Brown Dwarf Just 7.2 Light-Years Away

Sep 11, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers led by Dr Jacqueline Faherty from Carnegie Institution of Washington and American Museum of Natural History have discovered evidence of water...

Scientists Discover Four New Ozone-Depleting Gases

Mar 10, 2014 by News Staff

European and Australian researchers have identified three new ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, dubbed CFC-112, CFC-112a, CFC-113a, and one new ozone-depleting...

Barrow, Alaska. Image credit: Bob Johnston / CC BY 2.0.

Scientists Find High Levels of Atmospheric Molecular Chlorine in Alaska

Jan 14, 2014 by News Staff

A large multinational team of researchers has documented very high levels of molecular chlorine – as high as 400 parts per trillion – in the...

This is an artist's impression of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Bacon, STScI / L. Kreidberg and J. Bean, University of Chicago / H. Knutson, California Institute of Technology.

GJ 1214b, GJ 436b: Astronomers Reveal Weather on Two Exoplanets

Jan 2, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have characterized the atmospheres of two nearby exoplanets: the super-Earth GJ 1214b and the Neptune-sized...

Propylene: Ingredient of Household Plastic Detected in Atmosphere of Saturn’s Moon Titan

Oct 2, 2013 by News Staff

Planetary scientists using the Composite InfRared Spectrometer aboard NASA/ESA’s Cassini spacecraft have detected propylene in the lower atmosphere...

Some of the rocks that Dr Crowe and his colleagues studied in South Africa. Image credit: Nic Beukes.

Oxygen Appeared in Earth’s Atmosphere 3 Billion Years Ago

Sep 26, 2013 by Natali Anderson

An analysis of three-billion-year-old soils from South Africa shows that oxygen appeared in the atmosphere more than 600 million years earlier than previously...

This is an artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft approaching Mars. The Curiosity rover is safely tucked inside the spacecraft's aeroshell. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Curiosity Finds No Methane in Atmosphere of Mars

Sep 20, 2013 by News Staff

NASA scientists reported Thursday that the Mars rover Curiosity has not found any clear signs of methane, a gas that on our planet is a strong indicator...

This artist's impression shows how Gliese 1214b may look as it transits its parent star. Image credit: NAOJ.

Super-Earth Gliese 1214b Has Water-Rich Atmosphere, Japanese Astronomers Say

Sep 5, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers from Japan using NAOJ’s Subaru Telescope have found that the extrasolar planet Gliese 1214b has a water-rich atmosphere. This artist’s...

Water-carved valley on Mars. The researchers have found that some of these valleys appear to have been formed by orographic precipitation - rain or snow that falls when moist air is pushed upward by mountain ridges or raised crater rims. The findings suggest that at least some of the water on ancient Mars fell from the atmosphere, rather than bubbling up from the subsurface (NASA)

Water-Carved Valleys Point to Ancient Snowfalls on Mars

Jul 24, 2013 by News Staff

According to a new study published online in the Geophysical Research Letters, some water-carved Martian valleys appear to have been caused by runoff from...

No Rain on Nearby Exoplanet

Jul 11, 2012 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of astrophysicists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has detected meteorological variations in the atmosphere of the exoplanet...

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