Meteorites picked up from the Sahara Desert are beginning to complicate the quiet assumptions scientists often make about the early solar system. It’s not the kind of object that catches one’s attention at first glance, just a fragment of black rock with strange mineral spots when viewed under a microscope. However, the chemistry inside it … Read more
Scientists involved in the study of planet formation, meteorites and the early solar system have long wondered about the origins of the ingredients that make up Earth. Studies of carbonaceous chondrites, isotopic compositions and planetary accretion suggest that elements required for life on Earth, such as carbon, water and volatiles, may have come from primitive … Read more
According to Kepler observations, the most numerous planets in the Milky Way are super-Earths. These planets are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and they have been observed in many planetary systems in the Milky Way. Super-Earths are 1 to 4 times the size of Earth and are found in many solar systems. Their … Read more
Astronomers have discovered something unusual in a comet passing through the solar system. 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar visitor confirmed so far, and it appears to be filled with methanol, an alcohol you might find in a lab rather than your drink. Researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile reportedly measured levels … Read more