Space and planetary science – Page 8
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ResearchCompelling evidence emerges for organic chemicals on the Red Planet
Discovery points to tantalising possibility that life might have existed on Mars billions of years ago
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ResearchMethane dunes at Pluto's heart
Heart-shaped region on the dwarf planet’s surface features dunes made out of solid methane
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NewsExoMars rover will carry tiny organic chemistry lab
Probe will drill down beneath the surface of the red planet in search of evidence life once existed there
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ResearchA galaxy far, far away holds oldest oxygen ever seen
Oxygen discovered 13 billion light years away hints at earliest star formation after big bang
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ResearchDorset geology gives clues to past life on Mars
Fossilised microorganisms at England’s south coast offer clues to those studying the red planet
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ResearchRotten egg smell surrounds Uranus
Seventh planet’s topmost cloud layer is composed of hydrogen sulfide
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ResearchVenusian near-UV absorber mystery solved
Spectra of sulfur compounds found in Venusian atmosphere match those made in lab
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NewsSearching for the chemistry of life on exoplanets
The protoplanetary discs that surround young stars and give birth to planets are chemical labs that can reveal which planets might host life
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ResearchGlimpse of water's superionic state may explain icy giants' oddities
Bizarre state of water with solid and liquid properties offers answer to Neptune and Uranus’ magnetic field mystery
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ResearchMeteorites' mechanical energy might have created building blocks of life
Did a cosmic impact kick-start amino acid formation?
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FeatureLife on other planets
A series of missions to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn has revealed their potential to harbour life. Nina Notman looks to the skies
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ResearchFirst aromatic molecule identified in interstellar space
Radio astronomy analysis picks benzonitrile signal out of the noise
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ResearchOrganic coat might explain interstellar object’s missing tail
Blanket of icy compounds could have protected ‘Oumuamua from the sun’s heat
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ResearchHazy hydrocarbons explain why Pluto is even colder than expected
Dwarf planet might have unique atmosphere whose temperature is regulated by tiny particles
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ResearchOrigin of mysterious interstellar emissions identified
Bending in chicken wire molecules found to cause the strange signals from outer space
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ResearchHeavy elements forged by cataclysmic cosmic collision
First sighting of two neutron stars merging reveals how heavy elements are synthesised
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ResearchCometary chloromethane detection scuppers use of chemical in hunt for ET
Organohalogen found simultaneously in the tail of a comet and the cloud surrounding a protostar
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ResearchMethane-led climate change explains early Mars’ wet spells
Red planet’s wobbles could have led to melting of methane clathrates and warming