Martian ‘Spiders’ Re-Created in Lab for First Time
Martian ‘spiders’ are small, dark, spider-shaped features up to 1 km (0.6 miles) across. The leading theory is that they form when spring sunshine falls on layers of carbon dioxide…
Planetary Scientists Create Map of Ceres’ Cold Traps
The dwarf planet Ceres hosts permanently shadowed areas in its polar regions, and these regions are an interesting analog to Mercury and the Moon. Ceres’ permanently shadowed regions were mapped…
‘Magic Islands’ on Titan’s Hydrocarbon Lakes Are Floating Chunks of Porous Organic Solids
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
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,…
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…
New Research Sheds More Light on Evolution of Europa’s Interior
Many planetary scientists studying Jupiter’s moon Europa assumed that it formed with a metallic core during or shortly after accretion. New research from Arizona State University contradicts that prediction, instead…
Planetary Scientists Create Two New Forms of Extraterrestrial Ice
University of Washington researcher Baptiste Journaux and colleagues believe the newly-created substances could form at the surface and bottom of deep oceans on Jupiter’s icy moons Europa and Ganymede. This…