Atmosphere
A New View of Olympus Mons
After 100,000 orbits and almost 23 years on Mars, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter has seen a lot. The spacecraft was…
Could We Detect an Alien Civilization Trying to Warm Their Planet?
Humanity is facing an atmospheric threat of our own device, and our internecine squabbles are hampering our ability to neutralize…
Earth’s Atmosphere is Our Best Defence Against Nearby Supernovae
Earth's protective atmosphere has sheltered life for billions of years, creating a haven where evolution produced complex lifeforms like us.…
The Great Red Spot Probably Formed in the Early 1800s
Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) is one of the Solar System's defining features. It's a massive storm that astronomers have…
Sulphur Makes A Surprise Appearance in this Exoplanet’s Atmosphere
At our current level of knowledge, many exoplanet findings take us by surprise. The only atmospheric chemistry we can see…
Life Probably Played No Role in Mars’ Organic Matter
The Martian surface shows ample evidence of its warm, watery past. Deltas, ancient lakebeds, and dry river channels are plentiful.…
TRAPPIST-1 Outer Planets Likely Have Water
The TRAPPIST-1 solar system generated a swell of interest when it was observed several years ago. In 2016, astronomers using the Transiting…
Did You Hear Webb Found Life on an Exoplanet? Not so Fast…
The JWST is astronomers' best tool for probing exoplanet atmospheres. Its capable instruments can dissect the light passing through a…
Is the JWST Now an Interplanetary Meteorologist?
The JWST keeps one-upping itself. In the telescope's latest act of outdoing itself, it examined a distant exoplanet to map…
Measuring the Atmospheres of Other Worlds to See if There are Enough Nutrients for Life
Life on Earth depends on six critical elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorous, and Sulfur. These elements are referred to…