Astronomers Directly Detect Atomic Oxygen on Venus
Atomic oxygen is produced on the dayside of Venus by photolysis of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Atomic oxygen is a key species in the mesosphere and thermosphere of Venus.…
Venus May Have Once Had Earth-Like Plate Tectonics
Venus is the least understood of the terrestrial planets. Despite broad similarities to the Earth in mass and size, Venus has no evidence of plate tectonics recorded on its young…
Europa’s Carbon Dioxide Originates from Source within Its Subsurface Ocean, Planetary Scientists Say
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa has an ocean beneath a crust of water ice. Solid carbon dioxide has previously been observed on the surface, but the source was unknown. Two teams…
Martian Gullies Could Have Been Formed by On-And-Off Periods of Liquid Meltwater
Some steep slopes on Mars have gullies with morphologies suggesting that they were formed by a liquid. However, the planet’s current climate is not conducive to the melting of water…
Iron-Rich Meteoritic and Volcanic Particles May Have Promoted Origin of Life Reactions on Early Earth
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…