Our understanding of planet formation has been rapidly evolving in recent years. The classical planet formation theory, developed when the only known planetary system was our own Solar System, has […]
astrogeology
Posted inAstrogeology
Internal Structure and Magnetic Moment of Rocky Planets. Application To The First Exoplanets Discovered By TESS
For a planet to be considered habitable on its surface, it is an important advantage for it to have a magnetic field that protects its atmosphere from stellar winds as […]
Posted inAstrogeology
The Metal-Silicate Partitioning Of Carbon During Earth's Accretion And Its Distribution In The Early Solar System
Carbon is an essential element for the existence and evolution of life on Earth. Its abundance in Earth’s crust and mantle (the Bulk Silicate Earth, BSE) is surprisingly high given […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Polluted White Dwarfs Reveal Exotic Mantle Rock Types on Exoplanets in our Solar Neighborhood
Prior studies have hypothesized that some polluted white dwarfs record continent-like granitic crust–which is abundant on Earth and perhaps uniquely indicative of plate tectonics. But these inferences derive from only […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures
On The Possibility Of An Artificial Origin For `Oumuamua
Science offers the privilege of following evidence, not prejudice. The first interstellar object discovered near Earth, Oumuamua, showed half a dozen anomalies relative to comets or asteroids in the Solar […]
Posted inAstrogeology
The Earth Has A Pulse
Geologic activity on Earth appears to follow a 27.5-million-year cycle, giving the planet a “pulse,” according to a new study published in the journal Geoscience Frontiers. “Many geologists believe that […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Where On Earth Is All The Water?
High-temperature and high-pressure experiments involving a diamond anvil and chemicals to simulate the core of the young Earth demonstrate for the first time that hydrogen can bond strongly with iron […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Earth's Carbon Deficit Caused By Early Loss Through Irreversible Sublimation
Carbon is an essential element for life but its behavior during Earth’s accretion is not well understood. Carbonaceous grains in meteoritic and cometary materials suggest that irreversible sublimation, and not […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Early Earth's Hot Mantle May Have Led To An Archean Water World
A vast global ocean may have covered early Earth during the early Archean eon, 4 to 3.2 billion years ago, a side effect of having a hotter mantle than today, […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Modeling Stellar Abundance Patterns Resulting From The Addition Of Earthlike Planetary Material
The literature on precision differential abundances (PDAs) in stars is extensive. Surveys include sun-like stars in the solar neighborhood, binary systems, and Galactic clusters. Numerous references as well as a […]