The cratering record on the Earth and Moon shows that our planet has been exposed to high velocity impacts for much or all of its existence. Some of these craters […]
Impact events
Posted inImpact events, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life
Meteorite Impact Craters May Have Hosted Early Life on Earth
A new study from Western University explores the possibility that Earth’s earliest life forms may have been cultivated by a meteorite impact event. The research team from Western’s Faculty of […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life
Producing Prebiotic Chemistry by Impacting Ice
Astrobiologists have provided new information about how comets and asteroids could have delivered prebiotic chemical compounds to the early Earth. The team studied how shock pressures can lead to the […]
Posted inImpact events
Assessments of the Energy, Mass and Size of the Chicxulub Impactor
In 1980, Alvarez and colleagues proposed that, in the transition from the Cretaceous to Paleogene, a large impactor collided with Earth being the cause of the mass extinction occurred at […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Impact events
The Atmospheres of Earth-like Planets after Giant Impact Events
It is now understood that the accretion of terrestrial planets naturally involves giant collisions, the moon-forming impact being a well known example. In the aftermath of such collisions the surface […]
Posted inImpact events
Mapping the Demise of the Dinosaurs
About 65 million years ago, an asteroid or comet crashed into a shallow sea near what is now the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The resulting firestorm and global dust cloud […]
Posted inImpact events, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Toxic Ocean Conditions During Major Extinction 93.9 Million Years Ago
Oxygen in the atmosphere and ocean rose dramatically about 600 million years ago, coinciding with the first proliferation of animal life. Since then, numerous short lived biotic events — typically […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Impact events, Moon, Panspermia, Press Release
Building Blocks of Early Earth Survived Collision That Created Our Moon
Unexpected new findings by a University of Maryland team of geochemists show that some portions of the Earth’s mantle (the rocky layer between Earth’s metallic core and crust) formed when […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Impact events, Press Release
Ocean Asteroid Impact Could Deplete Earth’s Protective Ozone Layer for Years
An asteroid crashing into the deep ocean could have dramatic worldwide environmental effects including depleting the Earth’s protective ozone layer for several years, a Planetary Science Institute researcher has found.
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Moon, Press Release
Caltech Team Finds Evidence of Water in Moon Minerals
That dry, dusty Moon overhead? Seems it isn’t quite as dry as it’s long been thought to be. Although you won’t find oceans, lakes, or even a shallow puddle on […]