Scientists from Belgium’s University of Liege have announced the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting within its star’s habitable zone. It was originally discovered using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and later confirmed by ground telescopes. Wolf 1069b offers 16 days of sunshine per year; yet due to certain characteristics it cannot support life. 1. Size…
Even though Mars has lost much of its overall magnetic field, some areas still create unique atmospheric electrodynamic structures – magnetic loops and cusps which alter how ions leave its atmosphere. Sabine Stanley and her colleagues have developed an effective technique for artificially creating these structures. Their paper published in Science details how this can…
If asked by an average person which planet was closest to Earth, most would likely say Venus. After all, Venus comes before Mars chronologically and has an orbit that aligns it closely with most other planets in our Solar System. But is that true? A recent study suggests Mercury as being closer than all the…
Layers play an essential part in shaping planet’s history and future development, including their melting effects on mantle material and volcanic eruptions that alter climate, foster life or destroy it. Scientists are now using the InSight lander to record marsquakes to examine these layers that lie below Mars, hoping that by doing so they will…
Astronomers on a search for extraterrestrial life have located “Earth’s twin” outside our solar system – Proxima Centauri b – orbiting its nearest star. Scientists discovered the planet by tracking how its host star’s light reflects off of it; its host star lies only 11.2 days away, making this world potentially habitable. Proxima Centauri Proxima…
When sunlight reaches Earth’s atmosphere, it bounces off of molecules. The air molecules scatter light — just like billiard balls do when they collide. The shorter the wavelength of the light, the more it gets scattered. This is why the sun’s light looks blue. Sky Blue Is Due to Rayleigh Scattering Sky blue is a…
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the Solar System. It is often called the “Red Planet” because of the iron oxide present on its surface, which gives it a reddish appearance. It has a thin atmosphere and surface features similar to those of the Moon’s impact craters,…
