New analysis of asteroid dust reveals evidence of salty water in the early solar system
In October 2020, a van-sized robotic spacecraft briefly touched down on the surface of Bennu, a 525-meter-wide asteroid 320 million kilometers from Earth.
Scientists Unlock the Secrets of Titan’s Dense Atmosphere
Scientists are unraveling the mysteries of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and its dense nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Despite its ...
February’s Night Sky: See The Planet Parade, A ‘False Dusk’ And A ‘Ramadan Moon’
Exciting February sky events include Venus at its brightest and closest to Earth, the moon occulting the Pleiades, and a ...
What’s up in the sky? February 2025 lineup of planets, eye-catching alignments
Welcome to this month’s edition of “What’s up in the sky?” February has a nice lineup of planets and some eye-catching ...
Astronomy3d
20 years ago, the discovery of Eris spelled doom for planet Pluto
When astronomers found a large world farther out than Pluto, it became one of the final nails in the coffin of our ninth ...
UVA Today3d
Is There Life in Space? A UVA Alumna Is Searching
After graduating from UVA in 2013 and completing her doctorate in planetary science from the University of Arizona in 2019, ...
New Atlas3d
Asteroid Bennu came from a distant, lost world of salty ponds
Asteroid Bennu seems to have come from a long-lost world on the fringes of the solar system, where saltwater pooled and dried ...
NASA reveals results from asteroid Bennu's sample return, hinting at the origins of life
New insights from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission have unveiled intriguing clues about the potential origins of life on Earth. The mission, which launched in Septembe ...
studyfinds4d
‘Chemical time capsule’: Asteroid Bennu’s salts tell tale of early solar system
Discover the fascinating findings from asteroid Bennu: pristine salt minerals reveal the presence of liquid water in the ...
Knowridge4d
How can Titan maintain its atmosphere
Dr. Kelly Miller from the South West Research Institute and Lead author of a paper about Titan’s atmosphere said “While just ...
NASA’s Historic Asteroid Sample Holds Clues to Life’s Origins
The discovery is a capstone achievement for NASA, which went to great lengths to secure and deliver asteroid samples from asteroid Bennu in 2020.
The odds of alien life just increased, NASA says after discovering DNA ingredients on an asteroid
NASA scientists found amino acids, key minerals, and nucleobases for DNA in samples from the OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission.