Water is perhaps the most important molecule in our Solar System. Figuring out where it came from and how it was distributed within and among the planets can help scientists understand how planets formed and evolved. New research from a team including Carnegie’s Erik Hauri demonstrates that water from the interiors of the Earth [continue reading]
Researchers at the University of Leeds may have solved a key puzzle about how objects from space could have kindled life on Earth. An artists impression of a meteorite landing in a hot, acidic pool of liquids. Image Credit: James McKay 2013 (www.jamesmckay.info) While it is generally accepted that some important ingredients for life came from [continue reading]
The asteroid Vesta, and perhaps other large asteroids, have more in common with Earth’s Moon than previously thought, according to a team of researchers from the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI). Both Vesta and the Moon appear to have been bombarded by the same population of high-speed projectiles four billion years ago. Scientists have [continue reading]
Algae-like structures inside a Sri Lankan meteorite are clear evidence of panspermia, the idea that life exists throughout the Universe, say astrobiologists. A piece of the Sri Lankan meteorite, called the Polonnaruwa Meteorite, that crashed Dec. 29, 2012 near the village of Polonnaruwa (Sri Lanka). Image Credit: Chandra Wickramasinghe – Director Buckingham Astrobiology Center at Buckingham University, [continue reading]
It’s among the most ancient of questions: What are the origins of life on Earth? A new experiment simulating conditions in deep space reveals that the complex building blocks of life could have been created on icy interplanetary dust and then carried to Earth, jump-starting life. An image of Halley’s Comet taken in [continue reading]
The stunning burning-up of a meteor over Russia today, that unleashed a shockwave injuring hundreds of people, appears to be the country’s most dramatic cosmic experience since the historic Tunguska Event of June 1908. A hole in Chebarkul Lake made by meteorite debris. Photo by Chebarkul town head Andrey Orlov. Meteorite explosions in the [continue reading]