About 2.4 billion years ago, Earth’s atmosphere underwent what is called the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). Prior to the GOE, early Earth had far less molecular oxygen than we have […]
ASU
Posted inHabitable Zones
Oxygen In Earth's Early Atmosphere
Scientists have long debated how much molecular oxygen was in Earth’s early atmosphere. About 2.4 billion years ago, there was a rise in oxygen that transformed Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere, […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Icy Worlds, Neptune, Press Release, Uranus
Deep Water On Neptune And Uranus May Be Magnesium-rich
While scientists have amassed considerable knowledge of the rocky planets in our solar system, like Earth and Mars, much less is known about the icy water-rich planets, Neptune and Uranus. […]
Posted inProxima Centauri
Flare On Proxima Centauri Breaks Records
A team of scientists, including Arizona State University’s Evgenya Shkolnik and Parke Loyd, has spotted the largest flare ever recorded from the sun’s nearest stellar neighbor in ultraviolet light, the […]
Posted inPress Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics
Recently Discovered Planets Not As Safe From Stellar Flares As First Thought
A nearby star, the host of two (and possibly three) planets, was initially thought to be quiet and boring. These attributes are sought-after as they create a safe environment for […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Exoplanets: How We'll Search For Signs Of Life
Whether there is life elsewhere in the universe is a question people have pondered for millennia; and within the last few decades, great strides have been made in our search […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
ASU Scientists Lead A Study Of Our Galaxy's Water Worlds
Astrophysical observations have shown that Neptune-like water-rich exoplanets are common in our galaxy. These “water worlds” are believed to be covered with a thick layer of water, hundreds to thousands […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Rules Of Life: From A Pond To The Beyond
The Cuatro Cienegas Basin, located in Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico, was once a shallow sea that became isolated from the Gulf of Mexico around 43 million years ago. This basin […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Water Found in Samples from Asteroid Itowkawa
Two cosmochemists at Arizona State University have made the first-ever measurements of water contained in samples from the surface of an asteroid. The samples came from asteroid Itokawa and were […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Ancient Rocks Provide Clues To Earth's Early History
Oxygen in the form of the oxygen molecule (O2), produced by plants and vital for animals, is thankfully abundant in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Researchers studying the history of O2 […]