In a new study that expands our understanding of how humans contribute to global warming, scientists have discovered that human activity has changed the terrestrial biosphere to make it a significant contributor to climate change. Published in Nature, the study looked at the net balance of the three major greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and […]
The discovery that ancient rocks harbored microbial life deep below the seafloor confirms a long-standing hypothesis that interactions between mantle rocks and seawater can create potential for life. The scientists behind the discovery, from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Virginia Tech, and the University of Bremen, have reported their findings in theProceedings of the […]
The Kepler mission has found the first near-Earth-size planet – called Kepler-452b – in the “habitable zone” around a G2 star much like our own sun. The Kepler-452 system is located 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. “On the 20th anniversary year of the discovery that proved other suns host planets, the Kepler exoplanet […]
It’s known that airplane crews at high altitude are exposed to potentially harmful levels of radiation from cosmic rays, but could these cosmic rays pose hazards even at sea level? A new study into these potential terrestrial effects has just been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Study co-author Adrian Melott, professor of physics […]
Our planet’s long path around and through the Milky Way means that dark matter could be the ultimate wild card in our ability to predict asteroid strikes, and scientists are now speculating that dark matter could also be affecting the Earth’s core, potentially leading to major volcanic events. In a new paper in Monthly Notices […]
Pivoting planets that lean one way and then change orientation within a relatively short time period might be surprisingly habitable. That’s according to NASA scientists who say the climate effects generated on these wobbling worlds could prevent them from turning into glacier-covered ice lockers, even if those planets are somewhat far from their stars. “Planets […]
For decades, astronomers have known that the atmospheres surrounding stars are often “polluted” with elements like carbon, silicon, and iron. How these elements came to be there has been an intriguing mystery that an international team of astronomers believe they have now solved. Led by Professor Martin Barstow, President-elect of the Royal Astronomical Society, the […]
The chance discovery of a sample of a mineral called ringwoodite provides strong evidence for scientific theories about vast volumes of water trapped 410 to 660 kilometers (250 – 400 miles) beneath the surface of the Earth. University of Alberta scientist Graham Pearson (pictured) said the discovery was almost accidental in that his team had […]
Scientists have discovered that when tiny interplanetary dust particles are battered by the solar wind, the ion bombardment can free oxygen and hydrogen atoms from the dust, creating water molecules that can nurture microscopic life in space. The discovery, detailed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was made by researchers from the University […]
Earth resides between two major spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy in what was thought to be a smaller spur structure called the Local Arm. Now, however, new observations indicate that our Local Arm is in fact much more like the adjacent major arms. “Our new evidence suggests that the Local Arm should appear […]
