Southwest Research Institute scientists modeled the early impact history of Earth, seeking insight into potential origins of life. These models show that asteroid impacts on the early Earth plowed up […]
Impact events
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
An 800-Million-Year-Old Impact Shower on the Terrestrial Planets from the Breakup of the Eulalia Parent Body
Multiple studies have proposed a substantial surge in large lunar impacts approximately 800 million years ago (Ma).
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Comets and Asteroids, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mercury, Status Report
Transport of Water In A Transient, Impact-Generated Atmosphere On Mercury
Mercury’s polar cold traps host water ice deposits that are likely populated with impact-delivered water via Mercury’s exosphere.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Pioneering Research Sheds New Light On What Shaped Extinction Pattern Of Prehistoric Marine Life – And Size Clearly Mattered
Scientists have shown conclusively for the first time that tiny marine organisms in polar oceans survived the mass extinction event that wiped out prehistoric dinosaurs because they needed less energy […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
Asteroid Impact Site Reveals Possible Traces Of Early Life
A discovery by a South Korean research team suggests that impact-generated lakes may have fostered early oxygen-producing life.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report
Could Life Have Been Transferred From Mars To Earth? Laboratory And Computational Simulations Of Martian Ejecta
The study of the origin of life on Earth has been broadened due to panspermia models that suggest that early life may have been transferred between planets.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report, Venus
A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life
Decades of study have hinted at the astrobiological potential of Venus’s cloud layers. This potential is often cast as stemming from the idea that the Venusian surface was clement in […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Phosphorus Spikes In Ancient Oceans Linked To Major Mass Extinctions
An international collaboration involving researchers from the University of Western Australia, the University of Ottawa and several partner institutions specializing in geosciences has identified direct geological evidence linking sharp spikes […]
![Blue bars indicate the total number of whole-genome duplications (WGDs) identified in each plant family, including WGDs in a family’s most recent common ancestor (MRCA) and in its descendant lineages. Numbers in parentheses specifically indicate the number of WGDs in the MRCA lineage of families, shared by all species thereof. For instance, five WGDs were identified in Brassicaceae, one of which is present in the MRCA of the clade (i.e., “5[1]”). Blue lines in nodes of the tree indicate 95% highest posterior density (HPD) intervals for estimated divergence times. Shaded gray bars in the tree indicate families that belong to the same order. Orders with two or more families are labeled. Colored horizontal bars at the bottom of the tree indicate geological periods. Tr, Triassic; J, Jurassic; K, Cretaceous; Pg, Paleogene; and Ng, Neogene -- Cell Press](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Plants-Survived-1.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Impact events, Plant Biology, Press Release
Plants Survived The Dinosaur-killing Asteroid By Duplicating Genomes
When an asteroid as big as Mount Everest struck Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs and roughly a third of life on the planet. But many […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Did Impacts From Meteors Help Start Life On Earth?
Meteor impacts may have helped spark life on Earth, creating hot, chemical-rich environments where the first living cells could take shape, according to research integrated by a recent Rutgers University […]