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Nickel is one of today's most popular metals, and chances are that, as we speak, you have at least a few nickel coins in your pocket. But, in spite of its massive use in several industries, no one really knew for sure, until just recently, how the metal came to form on our planet. A new research comes to clarify... |
21 November 2009
05:39 GMT |
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Scientists controlling space-based analysis instruments aimed at the Earth have known for a long time that the outlines of the Earth's continents can easily be distinguished from orbit from the outlines that they project onto clouds. This may be owed to the significant differences that appear between cloud cover... |
18 November 2009
10:52 GMT |
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Researchers proposed a long time ago that atmospheric pressure might be one of the key factors determining the habitability of Earth-like planets. Over geological timescales, of millions to billions of years, variations in this pressure may be what determines a planet's ability to foster primitive life. A new st... |
17 November 2009
03:22 GMT |
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The Rosetta spacecraft, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to an asteroid orbiting at the edge of the solar system, is scheduled to make its final flyby today, November 13. It already completed two similar swings, in 2005 and 2007, and the new flight will provide it with a sufficient speed boost to send it to its ... |
13 November 2009
05:49 GMT |
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Scientists from the University of Arkansas (UA) have recently released a new report, claiming that the entire planet might have been formed out of meteoritic materials. They base their claims on the fact that the Earth's mantle exhibits the same set of isotopic signatures for magnesium as asteroids do, which wou... |
11 November 2009
05:02 GMT |
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For a great many years, scientists have believed that the oceans on our planet were formed from water vapors emitted during volcanic eruptions that condensed and fell to the ground over millions of years. But a scientist now proposes that this might not have been the case. He argues that water is not something that o... |
10 November 2009
08:53 GMT |
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Some 251.4 million years ago, the Permian Age came to an abrupt end, when a massive extinction event, known among experts as the “Great Dying”, killed off just about everything on the planet, with just a few exceptions. The event marked the beginning of the Triassic Age, and experts have been puzzling ove... |
6 November 2009
15:41 GMT |
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Weather, in the strictest sense of the term, does not exist on Mars. The planet is surrounded by nothing more than an extremely thin atmosphere, which is about one percent as thick as our own. In spite of that, freezing temperatures, clouds, and dust storms like nothing seen on Earth exist there, and all these events... |
5 November 2009
17:41 GMT |
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In spite of being scheduled to open around 2012, the first space hotel already allows people to book stays in the Earth's orbit. The planned structure is on track to its scheduled opening date, although actual work on it may be delayed by external factors. Some space pioneers have already went through the necess... |
5 November 2009
02:38 GMT |
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Gathering and studying cometary dust is arguably one of the most difficult enterprises today, as the technology to do so is still some years away. But, in 2003, the proverbial mountain came to the scientists, in the form of an Earth-crossing comet that left behind a trail of material that got experts excited. High-fl... |
3 November 2009
05:09 GMT |
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At around 04:50 local time (0150 GMT) this morning, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity Satellite (SMOS), part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Living Planet Program, roared into the sky aboard a modified Russian Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) SS-19. The Rockot delivery system took off from the P... |
2 November 2009
05:02 GMT |
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People in central and eastern Asia will be very lucky this year, as the most wonderful sight of the renowned Leonid meteor shower will be observable form their region. Astronomers predict that as many as a few hundred balls of fire will become visible for brief periods during several hours. According to experts, the ... |
2 November 2009
02:07 GMT |
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According to a group of researchers, it may be that the earliest forms of life on the planet might have been made possible by the influence of thousands of small, nuclear fission reactors blasting everything around them with radiation. The model would account for the reason why a radioactive substance has all but dis... |
30 October 2009
19:51 GMT |
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Millions of people use the perks of the Global Positioning System (GPS) every day, but few of us take a moment to consider how this exceptional invention works. Most people know that it establishes the position of a GPS receiver, which may be installed in a car, for example, based on the time it takes for beams o... |
30 October 2009
07:07 GMT |
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Common scientific knowledge has it that, about 2.4 billion years ago, the levels of the chemical oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere began to suddenly climb, until they reached at one point concentrations similar to the ones existent today. The fact that the planet is able to support such a variety of life forms is... |
30 October 2009
02:14 GMT |
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Scientists have tried for a long time to figure out how the elements necessary for life might appear on other planets. One of the preferred ways to do this was with the help of a computer model, which simulated the interactions that appeared between a number of chemical elements, and determined the probability of the... |
29 October 2009
21:51 GMT |
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In a new scientific study that may improve conservation efforts for migratory birds, scientists demonstrate that, in European robins, a visual center in the brain and a special type of light-sensing cells in the eyes play a much more important part in guiding the bird on its migratory path than magnetic-sensing cells... |
29 October 2009
15:51 GMT |
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The High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) instrument is one of the most skilled in the world at finding exoplanets. This was evidenced by the fact that it recently helped identify no less than 32 new exoplanets, from the super-Earth (or Neptune-like) class. Thus far, the high-precision echelle spectro... |
19 October 2009
10:04 GMT |
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Beneath the planet's surface, there lies a wealth of mineral diversity, with materials featuring elements that are extremely rare to come by and that cannot be found inside the crust. For a very long time, geologists have been puzzled by how these chemicals came to exist on the Earth, when geological records poi... |
19 October 2009
03:57 GMT |
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Keeping in touch with landers, rovers and orbiters on the Red Planet is not as easy as it may seem. From time to time, the connection goes down for weeks, as the Sun moves in between the two planets, making any sort of radio communications impossible. When this is not the case, the star can still scramble or alter th... |
17 October 2009
06:11 GMT |
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Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently made a discovery that may open up the way of studying the planet's elusive nitrogen cycle. While the paths other chemicals, such as carbon, take are relatively well known, nitrogen is still a bit of a mystery in the way it takes to circle th... |
16 October 2009
18:41 GMT |
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Banded iron formations (BIF) is the name geologists gave to strikingly banded rock formations that existed around the world and that had been formed between 3.8 and 1.7 billion years ago. Their external appearance and inner composition hint at the history of the planet's climate as it was about two billion years... |
12 October 2009
04:49 GMT |
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If you are the kind of person that travels a lot and you own a camera I am sure that organizing the photos taken on each trip takes a lot of your valuable time. Not to mention that each time you want to share your fabulous experiences you find yourself in the position of thoroughly explaining details that cannot be c... |
12 October 2009
03:01 GMT |
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One of the most famous asteroids was, for the scientific community, a space rock known as 2008 TC3, which was among the first to be scientifically observed as it entered the Earth's atmosphere, and burned down on descent. It was first spotted in 2008, and tracked until there was nothing left of it. Its surface a... |
8 October 2009
03:58 GMT |
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The asteroid Apophis is one of the most feared and investigated pieces of space rocks in the skies at this point, because astronomers calculated in 2004 that it might be possible for it to hit the Earth in the near future, around 2036. Because the asteroid has twice the size of a football field, a collision with it w... |
8 October 2009
02:11 GMT |
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According to a new research, released by the paleomagnetists at the Princeton University, our planet had the same magnetic-field structure in the early days. The two-pole model of today is believed by some to be an evolution of an ancient, unstructured one, and experts on both sides have been debating this vigorously... |
5 October 2009
03:28 GMT |
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In a study that could change the way planetary scientists look at rocks forever, French researchers recently reported, in the September issue of the journal Geobiology, that they discovered how microorganisms become fossils in laboratory conditions. This may provide geologists with leads into understanding how microb... |
3 October 2009
04:02 GMT |
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When our planet's hum was identified for the first time, many experts were puzzled by it. Some people even went as far as to panic and call it a sign of God. Over the years, as with all the superstitions, these ideas faded away, as science progressed. Now, we have come so far in studying this ultra-low frequency... |
2 October 2009
06:39 GMT |
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Over the past few decades, one of the greatest threats on civilization and our future on the planet has been, according to a number of scientists, overpopulation. It made sense, say, 30 to 40 years ago, to look at the population-growth rate and say that it was soon about to exceed sustainable limits. However, that tu... |
28 September 2009
20:31 GMT |
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A group of 28 internationally renowned scientists proposes a new method of ensuring that humanity continues to develop and thrive for generations to come. They argue that defining a “safe planetary operating space” can only be achieved through the concept of global biophysical boundaries. Combining establ... |
24 September 2009
10:58 GMT |
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Since the European Space Agency (ESA) launched its Earth Explorer program, no results have been obtained. Now that the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite has finally begun its measurements, the first information will start being circulated. The observatory is designed specifica... |
23 September 2009
05:16 GMT |
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The summer will be over in a few hours. At 5:18 pm EDT (2118 GMT) today, autumn will start, at least astronomically speaking. This doesn't mean that fall-like weather will start appearing today or tomorrow, but, as far as the cosmic alignment of celestial bodies goes, the Earth has entered its third yearly seaso... |
22 September 2009
05:09 GMT |
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Established astronomical knowledge had it until recently that the number of sunspots on the surface of the Sun was a clear indicator of the intensity of solar winds, and therefore of the dangers that were in store for the Earth. Solar winds are known to be extremely disruptive towards our electrical systems. They can... |
21 September 2009
10:00 GMT |
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Several billions of years ago, just after the first forms of life occurred, the world's shallow waters were dominated by stromatolites, layered accretionary structures made up of microorganism biofilms, especially by blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). These photosynthetic organisms and calcareous concretions gene... |
18 September 2009
02:30 GMT |
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Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) finally concluded the largest set of HARPIS measurements, and established the mass and density of the smallest and fastest orbiting exoplanet known, CoRoT-7b. The celestial body has a mass five times that of our own planet, and a radius about two times bigger, wh... |
16 September 2009
16:51 GMT |
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In a constantly expanding trend, the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mentality is currently making its way in many walks of life, from Google's servers to people making their own clothes. Just recently, two students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have proven that they can compete with NASA in terms of... |
16 September 2009
04:50 GMT |
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One of the basic facts of life is clearly the knowledge that life on our planet cannot survive without oxygen. When the Earth first formed, there was a very small concentration of the gas, maybe less than one percent of the total atmosphere. However, two big oxidation events were recorded over the eons, both of which... |
10 September 2009
14:51 GMT |
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Astronomers were puzzled to discover fog on Titan, one of Saturn's most intriguing moons. In spite of the fact that they knew it supported an active methane hydrological cycle, the team had absolutely no idea that surface-atmosphere exchanges appeared as well. The find is the first ever to reveal the fact that t... |
1 September 2009
06:05 GMT |
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For a long time, researchers have been fascinated with how complex life was able to evolve in the first place. From the primordial soup, a mix of amino-acids and basic RNA molecules, proteins, and eventually more complex structures developed, over millions and billions of years. Expert Stanley Miller was the first to... |
31 August 2009
16:41 GMT |
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An asteroid impact would be so devastating to our planet, that the survival of life itself on it would be jeopardized. Although, as far as we know now, the threat of that happening in the short term is fairly small, British experts from the Stevenage space company EADS Atrium are currently working on a new spacecraft... |
31 August 2009
10:05 GMT |
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Understanding the delicately balanced “dance” of forces that make a solar system stick together in an orderly fashion has been a long-term goal in astronomy, but difficult to study. This is mostly because we are inside a solar system, therefore it is difficult for us to become outside observers. But a new... |
27 August 2009
01:42 GMT |
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Thanks to the dedication of researchers and experts from the Oregon State University (OSU), we now have the first full map of the electrical conductivity in the Earth's mantle, at a global scale, and in 3D. The find could have some of the most useful applications, such as using disruptions in electrical conducti... |
20 August 2009
06:14 GMT |
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According to a new, extensive study of fossils left behind by microorganisms living billions of years ago, when life first appeared, it would seem that early life not only replicated and multiplied, as first believed, but that it was also united to form the basis for the appearance of the most developed organisms in ... |
20 August 2009
02:57 GMT |
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The Cassini-Huygens mission is, at this point, one of the most abundant sources of information about celestial bodies in the solar system, alongside the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and the rovers Spirit and Opportunity. A decade ago, the space probe was last seen orbiting the Earth, as it made a fly-by to boos... |
19 August 2009
05:33 GMT |
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Over the past years, a significant portion of the international astronomical community has come to the conclusion that life on our planet must have originally come from comets. Of course, it is not talking about bacteria or other types of microorganisms, but about the chemicals that were needed for the initial reacti... |
18 August 2009
18:01 GMT |
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New evidence uncovered by experts seems to point out the fact that wobbles in our planet's tilt may have been the triggers behind global warming events that took place in prehistoric times. It has for a long time been known that Earth's tilt in regard to the Sun is not stable, and that our planet wobbles as... |
16 August 2009
08:12 GMT |
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According to statistical estimates, Earth's rocks should have a much higher concentration of carbon dioxide inside them than proven scientifically, and the discrepancy has experts asking where the rest of the chemical went. The estimates were drawn from the amount of carbon that can be found in the planet-formin... |
12 August 2009
05:15 GMT |
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Astronomers and planetary scientists have for a long time known that various types of stars are very important in determining a planet or moon's chances of ever harboring life. The age of the star is also an immensely-important factor, mostly because young stars generate massive amounts of harmful radiations, wh... |
11 August 2009
09:16 GMT |
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Though our ears are too insensitive to perceive it, the planet is constantly generating a low-frequency humming noise, which was first discovered with instruments in 1998. At a frequency of around 10 millihertz, the sound is far outside our hearing range, as we can only perceive sounds as low as 20 hertz. Now, scient... |
10 August 2009
03:06 GMT |
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Speaking at a conference organized by the Ecological Society of America (ESA), scientists will warn, between August 4th-5th, that the biogeochemical cycles that have run in sync on our planet until now are about to stop running complementary to each other, which could lead to devastating consequences. The 94th ESA an... |
4 August 2009
03:54 GMT |
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