Paleontologists have discovered a strange new species of marine lizard with dagger-like teeth that lived near the end of the age of dinosaurs.
Impact events
Posted inAstrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Away Team Idea: New Evidence On The Lost Giant Chinguetti Meteorite
The giant Chinguetti meteorite that Gaston Ripert reported seeing in 1916 has never been found. A radionuclide analysis by Welten et al (2001) of the 4.5kg mesosiderite that Ripert recovered, […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Impact events, Press Release
More Than A Meteorite: New Clues About The Demise Of Dinosaurs
What wiped out the dinosaurs? A meteorite plummeting to Earth is only part of the story, a new study suggests. Climate change triggered by massive volcanic eruptions may have ultimately […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Mars, Status Report
Are Large Sulfur Isotope Variations Biosignatures in an Ancient, Impact-Induced Hydrothermal Mars Analog?
Discrepancies have emerged concerning the application of sulfur stable isotope ratios as a biosignature in impact crater paleolakes.
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Jupiter, Status Report
The Impact Of Cometary Impacts On The Chemistry, Climate, And Spectra Of Hot Jupiter Atmospheres
Impacts from icy and rocky bodies have helped shape the composition of solar system objects, for example the Earth-Moon system, or the recent impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extinction events, Impact events, Status Report
A New Database Of Giant Impacts Over A Wide Range Of Masses And With Material Strength: A First Analysis Of Outcomes
In the late stage of terrestrial planet formation, planets are predicted to undergo pairwise collisions known as giant impacts.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Cosmic Building Blocks Of Life Discovered Through An Electron Microscope
Meteorites are fragments of asteroids which find their way to Earth as shooting stars. These cosmic sediments have frozen the primordial soup from which our solar system emerged – preserving […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Press Release
Records Of Cometary Dust Hitting Asteroid Ryugu
Ryugu is a near-Earth asteroid that gained significant attention when the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission collected samples and returned them to Earth. These samples have proven to offer a treasure trove […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Status Report
Thin Ice Lithospheres and High Heat Flows on Europa From Large Impact Structure Ring-graben
Craters are probes of planetary surface and interior properties. Here we measure depths, widths, and spacing of circumferential ring-graben surrounding the two largest multiring impact structures on Europa, Tyre and […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Impact events, Moon, Status Report
Large Planets May Not Form Fractionally Large Moons
One of the unique aspects of Earth is that it has a fractionally large Moon, which is thought to have formed from a Moon-forming disk generated by a giant impact.