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Posts by
Paul Scott Anderson
How overflowing lakes created valleys on Mars
A new study of ancient Martian valleys shows that at least a quarter of them were created by massive floods from overflowing lakes billions of years ago.
October 15, 2021
Ancient Martian lake confirmed in rover images
Images from NASA's Perseverance rover have confirmed that Jezero Crater was once an ancient Martian lake. Moreover, there is also a large delta formed by a river and evidence of flash floods that carried large boulders into the lake.
October 12, 2021
Photosynthesis in Venus’ atmosphere?
Photosynthesis in Venus' atmosphere may be possible, according to a new study. The findings support the idea that microbes could exist and even thrive in the more temperate regions of the planet's cloud layers.
October 11, 2021
Where are the water worlds? New tool to find out
Where are the water worlds? Since water means life (as we know it), scientists studying exoplanets want to know. A new tool might help find them.
October 6, 2021
Super-Earth, mini-Neptune or sub-Neptune?
The exoplanet community hasn't yet converged on the best name for exoplanets that are 1.7 - 3.5 Earth-radii. Super-Earth, mini-Neptune, sub-Neptune?
October 6, 2021
Mushballs explain missing ammonia on ice giants
Giant slushy hailstones called mushballs explain missing ammonia in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune. They carry the gas down far too deep to be detected.
September 29, 2021
Mars’ small size limited its habitability
Mars was once a wet and habitable world, so what happened to change that? According to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis, Mars' small size is likely to blame for why it lost most of its water and atmosphere.
September 27, 2021
Martian super volcanoes lasted millions of years
NASA scientists say that there were once thousands of volcanic eruptions on Mars. These explosive blasts, in the northern Arabia Terra region, were "super eruptions," the largest and most powerful kind known. The intense activity continued for about 500 million years, about four billion years ago.
September 24, 2021
Futuristic space concrete uses astronauts’ blood
Scientists in the U.K. have developed a kind of "space concrete" using dust and human blood that could be used for future human habitats on Mars or the moon.
September 23, 2021
Planets are born in cosmic organic soups
Astronomers have found that planets form in cosmic soups of organic molecules. These soups have different ingredients, leading to a wide diversity of planets.
September 18, 2021
