Geology

Life On Mars- Multiple Watery Environments Bring The Idea Back From The Dead

Over the last several years, scientists have built a very convincing case that Mars hosted water, at least early in its history. Recent observations from the Mars Phoenix lander and other spacecraft show that the planet still holds vast deposits of water a ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 19 2008 - 10:42am

An Adventure Inside Volcano Island

It sounds like a B movie starring Adrienne Barbeau (oops, that's "Amazon Women In The Avacado Jungle Of Death") but this international team of researchers have instead been collecting imaging data on the Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 20 2008 - 11:57am

Christmas Eve 1858- 'A Magnificent Ball Of Fire'

It was Christmas Eve, 1858 when “people who in the streets, on pathways and in the fields saw a magnificent ball of fire appear, which shone with a brilliant, blinding light and all the colors of the rainbow, obscured the light of the moon and descended ma ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 23 2008 - 11:53pm

Carbonates Found On Mars Adds To Mystery

Researchers using a powerful instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have found a long sought-after mineral on the Martian surface and, with it, unexpected clues to the Red Planet's watery past.  ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 25 2008 - 11:02pm

Carbon Rich Comet Dust From 13,000 Years Ago Found At 6 US Sites

Abundant tiny particles of diamond dust exist in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth’s impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich comets or carbonaceous chondrites, reports a nine-member ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 1 2009 - 4:56pm

Meteorite Discovery May Be A New Path To Understanding Planet Formation

Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space.  Scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form in their crusts but two newly discovered meteorites have changed that.     The two mete ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 8 2009 - 11:10am

Andes Mountains- The 'Species Pump' Of South America

South America is the world’s most species-rich area and there have been many theories as to why, ranging from animals and plants accompanying the continent when it broke loose from Africa to variations in the extent of the rainforests over millions of year ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 9 2009 - 6:36pm

Meteors And Volcanoes Coincidence? Massive Extinction And Then An Ice Age 35 Million Years Apart

No one can draw a connection between meteorite impacts and massive volcanic activity but the one certain instance where it has been confirmed, at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, was the catastrophic event thought to be responsible for the extinction of t ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 11 2009 - 1:26am

Mars, Methane, Microorganisms? Maybe

Scientists have achieved the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars, which would seem to indicate our reddish neighbor is biologically active.   Or geologically active.   Or both. Wait, how can a bunch of smart people from NASA not ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 16 2009 - 6:01pm

Was New Zealand Under Water 25 Million Years Ago?

The fossil of a lizard-like New Zealand reptile has been identified by a team of scientists from University College London, University of Adelaide, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The fossil, dating back 18 million years, has triggered fre ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 21 2009 - 10:38am