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.…
Lucy Shows Its Flyby Target Dinkinesh is Actually Binary Asteroid
On November 1, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew by not just its first asteroid — the small main-belt asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh — but its first two. The first images returned by…
Juno Detects Various Salts and Organic Compounds on Ganymede
Using data from the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary scientists have detected hydrated sodium chloride, ammonium chloride and sodium/ammonium carbonate, as well as organic compounds…
InSight Finds Evidence for Molten Silicate Layer above Martian Metallic Core
Mars’ liquid iron alloy core is surrounded by a layer of fully molten silicate (magma) about 150 km thick, according to a pair of papers published in the journal Nature.…
Ancient Mars was Planet of Rivers, Planetary Scientists Say
Ancient river deposits exist across Mars and can be identified in satellite data by erosional landforms called fluvial ridges. Fluvial ridges take the shape of ancient river deposits, and are…
InSight’s Largest Marsquake Was Likely Caused by Geological Processes, Study Says
During its time on Mars, NASA’s InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) lander recorded over 1,300 seismic events, known as marsquakes. Of these, a number were…
Planetary Researchers Probe Origin of Complex Organics on Ceres
How aliphatic organic compounds originated on the dwarf planet Ceres has been the subject of intensive research since their discovery by NASA’s Dawn mission in 2017. Some studies have concluded…
Sample Material from Asteroid Bennu Contains Carbon and Water, NASA Scientists Say
The sample was collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security, Regolith Explorer) spacecraft on October 20, 2020 and arrived on Earth on September 24, 2023. A…
Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth’s Large Mounds Have Common Origin, New Study Suggests
The 5-km-long mounds that dominate the appearance of the larger lobe of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth are similar enough to suggest a common origin, according to new research. New…
Saturn’s Rings May Have Formed Following Massive Collision between Two Moons, Scientists Say
Saturn’s rings could have evolved from the debris of two progenitor icy moons that collided and shattered a few hundred million years ago; debris that didn’t end up in the…