Tag Archive for 'Lava'

The Reiner Gamma formation is a well known lunar swirl region, due to its nearside location. Swirls are described by curving, diffuse bright patterns, which are interspersed with darker lanes. These anomalous albedo patterns are associated with local magnetic anomalies of varying intensities; swirl complexes are often extensive and may stretch across thousands of kilometers, well beyond localized magnetic anomalies. Image credit: NASA / LPI.

Lunar Swirls May Be Produced by Strongly Magnetized Lava

Sep 7, 2018 by News Staff

Planetary researchers from Rutgers University and the University of California, Berkeley may have solved the mystery behind lunar swirls, wispy bright...

Mount Etna, with Catania in the foreground. Image credit: Ben Aveling / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Small Volcanic Crystals Could Help Predict Eruptions

Jan 23, 2018 by News Staff

Tiny crystals of clinopyroxenes that form deep in volcanoes may be the key for advance warnings before volcanic eruptions, according to a team of vulcanologists...

This global view of Io was obtained by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft on 19 September 1997 at a range of more than 500,000 km (310,000 miles). In this image, deposits of sulfur dioxide frost appear in white and grey hues while yellowish and brownish hues are probably due to other sulfurous materials. Bright red materials and ‘black’ spots with low brightness mark areas of recent volcanic activity and are usually associated with high temperatures and surface changes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona.

Astronomers Spot Huge Lava Lake at Volcano Loki on Io

May 26, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists analyzing high-resolution images from the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory in Arizona have discovered an enormous lava lake on Io, the...

Top: the full Moon as seen from the Earth, with the Procellarum border structures superimposed in red. Image credit: Kopernik Observatory / NASA / Colorado School of Mines / MIT / JPL / Goddard Space Flight Center. Bottom: global maps of lunar properties – topography and gravity gradient. Image credit: Jeffrey C. Andrews-Hanna et al.

Planetary Researchers Solve Mystery of Moon’s Oceanus Procellarum

Oct 2, 2014 by News Staff

According to a new study led by Prof Maria Zuber of MIT, Oceanus Procellarum – a vast mare on the western edge of the Moon’s near side –...

New Form of Lava Flow Discovered on Mars

Apr 27, 2012 by News Staff

Arizona State University graduate student Andrew Ryan has discovered a new form of Martian lava flow that resembles snail or nautilus shells. More than...