Beth Johnson – Medium

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Earth 2.0 Could be Young, Rocky Exoplanet

New research narrows down candidates for other Earths by restricting them to younger, rocky planets still capable of mantle degassing. — A lot of time has been spent talking about the so-called Goldilocks Zone when it comes to the search for Earth 2.0. The Kepler mission was designed basically to do just that — stare at stars similar to our Sun and look for rocky planets in that region where liquid…

Space

2 min read

Earth 2.0 Could be Young, Rocky Exoplanet

23 hours ago

Differences Fall Away Like Sand on Titan

New research looks at ooids on Earth to model how grains of sediment made of hydrocarbon sand could form and last on the surface of Titan. — New research published in Geophysical Research Letters and led by Mathieu Lapôtre models just how grains of sediment could form and exist on the large moon. On Earth, our sediment consists primarily of silicate rocks and minerals, which erode down into grains over very long periods of time. Silica is…

Space

2 min read

Differences Fall Away Like Sand on Titan

2 days ago

Dark Horizon Marks Intriguing Layer on Mars

HiRISE images reveal an intriguing marker horizon among the rocks near Mount Sharp is Gale Crater, which is more erosion resistant than layers above and below. — A press release was issued from the Planetary Science Institute that looks at an intriguing darker layer of rocks on Mars at Mount Sharp, near where Curiosity is roving. This layer is “darker, stronger, flatter” than the surrounding sulfate-bearing rocks and has been observed using orbital data from the HiRISE…

Space

2 min read

Dark Horizon Marks Intriguing Layer on Mars

4 days ago

Methanogens in the Middle East

Researchers recently analyzed rocks from the Persian Gulf near Oman in an effort to understand just where microorganisms called methanogens could exist. — While space rocks are great for gathering all kinds of data about our solar system, they are also rather difficult to get your hands on. Sure, tons of space matter enters our atmosphere every day, but most of it burns up before it hits the ground, and if it doesn’t…

Science

3 min read

May 13

Genetic Blueprint Pieces Found in Asteroids

The final two nucleobases — cytosine and thymine — were recently discovered in meteorites using new extraction and analysis techniques. — This is another story where I again have to stipulate that I am not a biologist, so apologies if we trip over that aspect of the science at some point. In a new paper published in Nature Communications and led by Yasuhiro Oba, scientists have revealed that the last two…

Space

2 min read

Genetic Blueprint Pieces Found in Asteroids

May 11

Martian Volcanoes Once Chose Violence

Structures in rocks imaged by the Spirit rover reveal similarities to ignimbrite rocks here on Earth, which means some very ancient eruptions were more explosive than expected. — We now turn to volcanos on Mars. And specifically, we’re going to talk about a point in time when some of those volcanoes may have chosen violence. First, some background information. Almost twenty years ago, there were two little rovers that landed on Mars — Spirit and Opportunity. They were…

Space

4 min read

May 7

Flowing Carbon Dioxide Glaciers on Mars

Carbon dioxide glaciers on Mars are found to be still flowing today, moving 100 times faster than water ice under Martian conditions when on a slope. — One of the places that we would love to explore but are not currently allowed because of potential biological contamination is the glaciers on Mars. First, some of them are made of carbon dioxide, which is interesting on its own. …

Space

2 min read

May 4

Exoplanetary Atmosphere Categorization Begins

A new paper presented a catalog of 25 exoplanets observed using hundreds of hours of observing time on the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. — Not every world we talk is, of course, in our own solar system. There are over 5,000 confirmed exoplanets out there in our galaxy, and every day, we learn more and more about them. …

Space

2 min read

Exoplanetary Atmosphere Categorization Begins

May 3

Greenland Structures Provide Clue for Europan Ice

Ice-penetrating radar observations of “double-ridge” features in the Greenland Ice Sheet match similar features found on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. — While Io is a volcanic and lava-covered little world, Europa is known as an icy world. It’s another of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, and it’s considered a potential location for life beyond Earth. …

Space

2 min read

Greenland Structures Provide Clue for Europan Ice

Apr 29

Jupiter’s Moon Io has Dunes!

Dunes observed on Io may be caused hot lava mixing with subsurface sulfur dioxide which then vents and causes grain movement on the surface. — My favorite moon, Io, the smallest of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, has dunes, which is… strange if you think about the fact that Io is an incredibly volcanic world without an atmosphere. And dunes on Earth and on Mars form with wind, which, again, usually requires an atmosphere.

Space

2 min read