Studies of the water content and isotopic composition of water-rich asteroids and comets are of key interest for understanding the late accretion stage of the Solar System cometary and chondritic […]
Impact events
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
InSight Lander Marsquake Data Reveals Lumpy Nature Of Mars’ Interior
What appear to be fragments from the aftermath of massive impacts on Mars that occurred 4.5 billion years ago have been detected deep below the planet’s surface. The discovery was […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release
Life On Earth Probably Needed Supplies From Space
After the formation of the Solar System, it took a maximum of three million years for the chemical composition of the Earth’s precursor to be completed. This is shown by […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
Century-Scale Effect Of Climate Change On Meteorite Falls
Climate change is inducing a global atmospheric contraction above the tropopause (~10 km), leading to systematic decrease in neutral air density.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extinction events, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
Geology And Mars Analog Potential Of The < 2.7-billion-year-old Miralga Impact Structure, North Pole Dome, Pilbara Craton, Australia
North Pole Dome (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia) contains unique geological analogs to early Earth and Mars.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Impact events, Press Release
Fossils Shed Light On The Era Before Earth’s Largest Mass Extinction
An international team of paleontologists has spent more than 15 years excavating and studying fossils from Africa to expand our understanding of the Permian, a period of Earth’s history that […]
Posted inEnceladus, Europa, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Impacts on Ocean Worlds Are Sufficiently Frequent and Energetic to Be of Astrobiological Importance
Evidence for the beneficial role of impacts in the creation of urable or habitable environments on Earth prompts the question of whether meteorite impacts could play a similar role at […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Status Report, Venus
The Possibility Of A Giant Impact On Venus
Giant impacts were common in the early evolution of the Solar System, and it is possible that Venus also experienced an impact. A giant impact on Venus could have affected […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Comparing Protein Stability in Modern and Ancient Sabkha Environments: Implications for Molecular Remnants on Ancient Mars
Understanding the mechanisms of protein preservation in extreme environments is essential for identifying potential molecular biosignatures on Mars.
![The region in which dark matter impacts may leave detectable surface features on Ganymede. Gray regions correspond to existing constraints [33, 35, 37]. The light purple region is the region in which the dark matter has sufficient initial energy to penetrate through the 12 km conductive ice layer on Ganymede’s surface. The darker purple region corresponds to when the dark matter penetrates the entirety of Ganymede, leaving both an entrance and exit wound. Rough estimates for the approximate number of craters and crater radius from Eqs. 1 and 13 are provided on the top and right axes respectively, rounded to one significant figure for readability. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Dark-Wounds-On-Icy-Moons.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Status Report
Dark Wounds On Icy Moons: Ganymede’s Subsurface Ocean As A Dark Matter Detector
Dark matter in the form of macroscopic composites is largely unconstrained at masses of ∼1011−1017 g. In this mass range, dark matter may collide with planetary bodies, depositing an immense […]