The small number of impact craters found on Titan suggests that its surface is relatively young. Previous work estimated its surface age to be between 200 and 1000 Myr. This […]
Impact event
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Status Report
Planetary Impacts: Friend Or Foe?
Planetary impact events have profoundly influenced the origin of life and the habitability of Earth in both constructive and destructive ways.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa’s Spider-like Features And The Potential For Life
From Europa to other icy moons, scientists are studying how surface features form and what they might reveal about the potential for life.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Moon, Status Report
Onset Of Habitable Conditions On The Hadean Earth Set By Feedback Between Tides And Greenhouse Forcing
In the aftermath of the Moon-forming giant impact, the Hadean Earth’s mantle and surface crystallized from a global magma ocean blanketed by a dense volatile-rich atmosphere.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extinction events, Impact events, Status Report
Atmospheric Collapse And re-inflation Through Impacts For Terrestrial Planets Around M Dwarfs
Detection of an atmosphere around a terrestrial exoplanet will be a major milestone in the field, but our observational capacities are biased towards to tidally locked, close-in planets orbiting M-dwarf […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Status Report
Re-accretion of Giant Impact Ejecta Can Drive Significant Atmospheric Erosion on Terrestrial Planets
Giant impacts, the collisions between planetary embryos, play a crucial role in sculpting the planets and their orbital architectures.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
The Depletion Of The Asteroid Belt And The Impact History Of The Earth
We have evaluated the rate at which the asteroid belt is losing material, and how it splits between macroscopic bodies and meteoritic dust.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Status Report
Shocked Quartz At The Younger Dryas Onset Supports Cosmic Airbursts/Impacts
Shocked quartz grains are an accepted indicator of crater-forming cosmic impact events, which also typically produce amorphous silica along the fractures. Furthermore, previous research has shown that shocked quartz can […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, People Of Astrobiology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Sample Return
Discovery Links Microbial Colonization To An Ancient Meteorite Crater
In a scientific breakthrough with cosmic implications, researchers have, for the first time, precisely dated the emergence of microbial life within a meteorite impact crater—revealing that life not only survives […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Isotopic Composition Of Cometary Water And The Origin Of Earth’s Oceans
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 […]