Tag: Solar System

Earth’s plate tectonics fired up hundreds of millions of years earlier than we thought, ancient crystals reveal

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The plate tectonics that cause earthquakes, build mountains and split continents may have started when Earth was in its infancy, new research finds — significantly earlier than many scientists previously thought.  The new study suggests plate tectonics started more than 4 billion years ago — not long after the planet formed 4.5 billion years ago. In this era, known as the Hadean, Earth was fresh and piping hot, with an ammonia-and-methane atmosphere imbued with enough water to eventually condense into a planet-wide ocean. During this period, Earth cooled enough to…

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Sun blasts out most powerful flare of current solar cycle, sends massive coronal mass ejection into space (video)

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On Tuesday (July 23), Europe’s Solar Orbiter (SolO) spacecraft witnessed an extremely powerful X14 class solar flare erupt from the far side of the sun. Although it was not the most powerful flare ever recorded, which was estimated at roughly a X45 back in 2003, solar flares of this magnitude can result in longer-lived radiation storms and even world-wide blackouts if they are directed at Earth. The X-class are the leaders on the classification scale, and blast out energy 10 times more powerful than M class flares, which is second…

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Discovery of ‘dark oxygen’ from deep-sea metal lumps could trigger rethink of origins of life

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Potato-size metallic nodules strewn across the Pacific Ocean seafloor produce oxygen in complete darkness and without any help from living organisms, new research reveals. The discovery of this deep-sea oxygen, dubbed “dark oxygen,” is the first time scientists have ever observed oxygen being generated without the involvement of organisms and challenges what we know about the emergence of life on Earth, researchers say. “When we first got this data, we thought the sensors were faulty, because every study ever done in the deep sea has only seen oxygen being consumed…

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Jupiter’s surreal clouds swirl in new van Gogh-esque view from NASA’s Juno probe (photo)

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Vivid clouds swirl across Jupiter’s skies like colorful brushstrokes across a painting in a new photo from NASA‘s Juno spacecraft.  The image, taken during the spacecraft’s 61st close flyby of Jupiter on May 12, 2024, hones in on activity in the planet’s northern hemisphere. Juno was approximately 18,000 miles (29,000 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops when it captured this new view, highlighting the planet’s persistent storms and colorful bands created by strong winds in its atmosphere.  “It provides a detailed view of chaotic clouds and cyclonic storms in an area…

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Mercury has a layer of diamond 10 miles thick, NASA spacecraft finds

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The solar system’s tiniest planet may be hiding a big secret. Using data from NASA‘s MESSENGER spacecraft, scientists have determined that a 10-mile-thick diamond mantle may lie beneath the crust of Mercury, the closest planet to the sun.  Mercury has long puzzled scientists as it possesses many qualities that aren’t common to other solar system planets. These include its very dark surface, remarkably dense core, and the premature end of Mercury’s volcanic era.  Also among these puzzles are patches of graphite, a type (or “allotrope”) of carbon on the surface…

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Europe on the moon: ESA targeting 2031 for 1st ‘Argonaut’ lunar lander mission

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A European moon lander being developed to provide the continent autonomous access to the moon is targeted to launch in 2031, according to a development call published last week by the European Space Agency (ESA).  The robotic lander, called Argonaut, is expected to lift off on an Ariane 6 rocket, which after a long series of delays made its debut flight on July 9.  ESA wants Argonaut to perform multiple deliveries of cargo and science instruments to the moon. The lander will be capable of ferrying up to 4,600 pounds…

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‘A dark day for lunar science:’ Scientists shocked as NASA cancels VIPER moon rover

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It is a classic wait-a-minute Moon moment. The message from NASA last week: “NASA Ends VIPER Project, Continues Moon Exploration.” The space agency’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) project had undergone a comprehensive internal review. NASA found price tag sticker shock, delays to the launch date, and risk of future cost growth – reasons to “stand down” the lunar ice-hound mission.  Some disassembly required At this point in time, NASA had put in $450 million into VIPER. NASA said it’s planning to disassemble and reuse VIPER’s instruments and components…

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Sun blasts out 2nd X-class flare this week, triggers more radio blackouts (video)

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The sun continues firing off solar flares during what has been a period of intense activity.  Sunspot AR3738 might be making its exit as it rotates out of our view on the sun’s western limb, but not before firing off a powerful X-class solar flare, the strongest of its kind. The solar flare from sunspot AR3738 occurred Tuesday morning (July 16) at 9:26 a.m. EDT (1326 GMT). A shortwave radio blackout in conjunction with the latest event was reported over mostly the Atlantic Ocean and also noted across much of Africa, Europe, and…

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Scientists call the region of space influenced by the sun the heliosphere – but without an interstellar probe, they don’t know much about its shape

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This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Sarah Spitzer is a research fellow in Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan. The sun warms the Earth, making it habitable for people and animals. But that’s not all it does, and it affects a much larger area of space. The heliosphere, the area of space influenced by the sun, is over a hundred times larger than the distance from the sun to the Earth. The sun is a…

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Is Earth’s weather getting weirder?

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Severe turbulence, record rainfall, killer heatwaves and raging wildfires to name but a few: is it just me, or is “Is Earth’s weather getting weirder?” The answer? Yes. Well, sort of.  These weather events have happened in the past, but the problem is nowadays they’re happening more frequently and to a far greater extent.  What’s causing this uptick in “global weirding” and is there anything we can do about it? Space.com spoke with a leading climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe to learn more about this strange surge in weird weather events…

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