Enrico de Lazaro, Author at rustleeast

Planetary Researchers Solve Mystery of How Pluto Got Its Pear-Shaped Feature

By Enrico de Lazaro April 16, 2024

Pluto’s surface is dominated by the huge, pear-shaped basin Sputnik Planitia. It appears to be of impact origin, but modeling has not yet explained its peculiar geometry. Planetary scientists at…

Wild 2 Comet Contains High Fraction of Dust from Young Solar System, Study Shows

By Enrico de Lazaro January 17, 2024

NASA’s Stardust mission returned rocky material from the coma of comet 81P/Wild 2 (pronounced ‘Vilt 2’) to Earth on January 15, 2006. Comet Wild 2 contains volatile ices and likely…

Combination of Two Minerals Can Explain Mysterious UV Absorber in Clouds of Venus

By Enrico de Lazaro January 8, 2024

The clouds of Venus are believed to be composed of sulfuric acid and minor constituents including iron-bearing compounds. Respective concentrations of these compounds vary with height in the thick atmosphere…

‘Magic Islands’ on Titan’s Hydrocarbon Lakes Are Floating Chunks of Porous Organic Solids

By Enrico de Lazaro January 8, 2024

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, has a unique atmosphere that transforms simple gases like methane and nitrogen into more complex organic compounds. In a new study, planetary researchers at…

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Asteroids Predate Our Solar System, New Study Shows

By Enrico de Lazaro December 22, 2023

Astronomical observations show that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are abundant and widespread in the interstellar medium. PAH molecules consist of several adjacent aromatic rings terminated by hydrogens. In new research,…

Two Fragments of Protoplanet Theia Lie Deep within Earth, Geoscientists Say

By Enrico de Lazaro November 1, 2023

A giant collision between the ancient protoplanet Theia and the proto-Earth about 4.5 billion years ago may have formed Earth’s Moon as well as two continent-sized regions — formally known…

Lucy Sends Back Its First Images of Main-Belt Asteroid Dinkinesh

By Enrico de Lazaro September 12, 2023

The small main-belt asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh was recently added to NASA’s Lucy mission and will be the first fly-by target on November 1, 2023. This image of the main-belt asteroid…

Iron-Rich Meteoritic and Volcanic Particles May Have Promoted Origin of Life Reactions on Early Earth

By Enrico de Lazaro May 26, 2023

Precursors of the molecules needed for the origin of life may have been generated by chemical reactions promoted by meteoritic and volcanic particles approximately 4.4 billion years ago, says a…

Genetically Modified Rice Could Actually Grow in Martian Regolith, New Study Suggests

By Enrico de Lazaro April 27, 2023

One of the biggest challenges to growing food on Mars is the presence of perchlorate salts, which have been detected in the Martian regolith (soil) and are generally considered to…

Sabaean Inscription Points to Connections between King Solomon’s Israel and Kingdom of Sheba

By Enrico de Lazaro April 3, 2023

During the 2012 excavations in Jerusalem, Israel, a partially preserved inscription engraved on the shoulder of a pithos was found in a context dated to the 10th century BCE. Although…