science wire

This image of Perseverance's backshell sitting upright on the surface of Jezero Crater was collected from an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters) by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight at Mars on April 19, 2022. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech" Combining images from orbit with images from the surface, a JPL-developed tool allows researchers to zoom in to see individual boulders and zoom out to see all'of Mars.

The 23-year-old orbiter is taking images that offer horizon-wide views of the Red Planet similar to what astronauts aboard the International Space Station see over Earth.

Tucked away with each rock and soil sample collected by the agency's Perseverance rover is a potential boon for atmospheric scientists. Atmospheric scientists get a little more excited with every rock core NASA's Perseverance Mars rover seals in its titanium sample tubes, which are being gathered for eventual delivery to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign.

Originally thought of as little more than a route clear of rover-slowing boulders, Neretva Vallis has provided a bounty of geologic options for the science team.

A team of scientists, including a University of Michigan aquatic ecologist, is forecasting an above-average summer "dead zone- in the Gulf of Mexico covering about 5,827 square miles-an area roughly the size of Connecticut.

The small footprint and dim light of white dwarfs, remnants of stars that have burned through their fuel, may make excellent backdrops for studying planets with enough water to harbor life.

Aurora and airglow are seen from the International Space Station in 2015. Credit: NASA/JSC/ESRS" The three concepts propose how to enact the DYNAMIC mission, which was recommended by the 2013 Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics. NASA has selected three proposals for concept studies of missions to investigate the complex system of space weather that surrounds our planet and how it's connected to Earth's atmosphere.

The observations spotlight the volatile processes that shape star systems like our own, offering a unique glimpse into the primordial stages of planetary formation Astronomers have captured what appe

Oceans, which cover 70% of the planet, are in peril. Global research is mobilising to study and rescue it, and the CNRS is on the front lines, with over 1,000 scientists and 50 laboratories involved.

Space mission uses nano satellite to learn more about the long, glowing ribbon of purple light that sometimes arches across the night sky A project at the University of Calgary is preparing for a spac

'Weird' planet retains atmosphere despite nearby star's relentless radiation Newly discovered 'Phoenix,' nicknamed for its ability to survive in extreme conditions near red giant star, offers novel insights into how planets evolve A rare exoplanet that should have been stripped down to bare rock by its nearby host star's intense radiation somehow grew a puffy atmosphere instead-the latest in a string of discoveries forcing scientists to rethink theories about how planets age and die in extreme environments.

As the longest day of the year approaches on June 20th, researchers at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are looking ahead to the mental and physical challenges that people in Scotland can face as light diminishes after the summer solstice.

Johns Hopkins scientists pinpoint an unlikely hero in evolution: Worms Their digging and burrowing sparked a chain of events that released oxygen into the ocean and atmosphere, helping to kick-start

Norbert Nebes from the University of Jena and Prof. Mulugeta Feseha from the University of Addis Ababa (from left) are documenting archaeological sites in the "Ethiopian Heritage Digital Atlas" (EHDA).

The landslide in Brienz (GR) in 2023 kept Switzerland on tenterhooks for weeks. Researchers from ETH Zurich, WSL and SLF used a model to provide a highly accurate blind prediction of where the sliding mass would come to rest. ETH Professor Johan Gaume explains how the model works and where its limitations lie.

The search for life beyond Earth is a major driver for space exploration. That's why the discovery of clay minerals on Mars almost two decades ago continues to captivate scientists around the world.

The European Commission is adamant: carbon capture and storage (CCS) will play a key role in the fight against climate change.

From ominous and unsettling to daunting and dire, meteorologists have no shortage of adjectives to describe what the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has in store.

It's the dead of winter, and the only mention of a hurricane revolves around what the upcoming season might bring.

Climate change can accelerate due to feedback mechanisms: complex phenomena caused by climate change that in turn can further drive climate change. An example is the extra CO2 emissions from thawing permafrost. Research into the influence of feedback mechanisms in the long term has been ongoing, and modern climate change research is obviously happening as well, but the connection between the two has so far been underemphasized.

Climate change can accelerate due to feedback mechanisms: complex phenomena caused by climate change that in turn can further drive climate change. An example is the extra CO2 emissions from thawing permafrost. Research into the influence of feedback mechanisms in the long term has been ongoing, and modern climate change research is obviously happening as well, but the connection between the two has so far been underemphasized.

In January 2024, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced 2023 as the hottest year on record since 1850 .

Event Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Published: Zinnwald, Goldwasserthal, Silberstrasse and above all'Erzgebirge - these place or field names give a clear indication of the treasures that the land in southern Saxony harbours.

Number, size, surroundings and water level: for the first time, there are quantitative scientific recommendations when it comes to the development of new ecological infrastructures for amphibian conservation.

The powerful solar storm driving the aurora borealis over global skies last weekend was also triggering the movement of compasses deep in the ocean, as revealed in new scientific findings shared today by Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), a University of Victoria initiative.

This artist's concept depicts one of two PREFIRE CubeSats in orbit around Earth. The NASA mission will measure the amount of far-infrared radiation the planet's polar regions shed to space - information that's key to understanding Earth's energy balan.

Jupiter's moon Europa was captured by the JunoCam instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft during the mission's close flyby on Sept.

Belinda Heyne and Rachel Lauer's research takes them from microbes invisible to the human eye to entire ecosystems hidden in the darkest depths of the ocean It's probably been a while - if ever - since you thought about the microbes living on your hand. And what about the ecosystem living on the pitch-black ocean floor' For Drs.

National Trust rangers planting Sphagnum moss at Kinder Scout, Derbyshire - credit National Trust Images, Paul Harris The latest restoration project builds on findings gained in a study carried out by

Professor Mark Maslin's (UCL Geography) research reveals that before northern Africa dried out, its climate "flickered" between two stable climatic states. In The Conversation he urges us to look out for signals of future climate tipping points. Around five and half millenia ago, northern Africa went through a dramatic transformation.

Professor Mark Maslin's (UCL Geography) research reveals that before northern Africa dried out, its climate "flickered" between two stable climatic states. In The Conversation he urges us to look out for signals of future climate tipping points. Around five and half millenia ago, northern Africa went through a dramatic transformation.

A mountaintop laboratory and a suite of radar instruments will study winter storms from large-scale cloud movement down to individual snowflakes in an project A new science expedition in Yampa Valley

Number, size, surroundings and water level: for the first time, there are quantitative scientific recommendations when it comes to the development of new ecological infrastructures for amphibian conservation.

A three-year project involving UCL researchers will examine the principles and guidelines for responsible research into solar radiation modification (SRM) - a controversial idea to limit climate change by reducing how much sunlight reaches the Earth's surface.

April 29, 2024 C/O Vienna Magazine interview with ISTA Professor Francesca Pellicciotti Glaciers are not only tremendously beautiful but also tremendously alive.

  RWTH geologist Professor Klaus Reicherter is on the trail of a "lost earthquake" in southern Spain.

Beneath an island named for ice flows some of the hottest rivers of all.

Research on geological deposits at the FRM II Whether sedimentary rocks store fossil hydrocarbons or act as impermeable layers to prevent the rise of oil, natural gas or stored carbon dioxide - all depends on their porosity. The size, shape, organization, and connectivity of the pore spaces are decisive.

Lake trout migrate between different habitats many times over their lives. This helps them grow larger and have more offspring than sedentary trout.

Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active place in the solar system. During its 1.8-day orbit, this moon is gravitationally squeezed by Jupiter, leading to volcanic eruptions larger than any on Earth today. Io, Europa, and Ganymede are in an orbital configuration known as a Laplace resonance: For every orbit of Ganymede (the farthest of the three from Jupiter), Europa completes exactly two orbits, and Io completes exactly four.

In California's 2022-2023 winter season, the state faced nine atmospheric rivers (ARs) that led to extreme flooding,Ölandslides, and power outages - the longest duration of continuous AR conditions in the past 70 years. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab) recently conducted a study using machine learning to better understand these complex weather systems, finding that more intense atmospheric rivers are more likely to occur in succession within a short period of time.

Jupiter was likely the first planet to form, and it contains most of the gas and dust that wasn't incorporated into the Sun.

As ocean temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, marine plankton may be the newest candidate to act as an oceanic early alert system.

As carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, the Earth will get hotter. But exactly how much warming will result from a certain increase in CO2 is under study. The relationship between CO2 and warming, known as climate sensitivity, determines what future we should expect as CO2 levels continue to climb.