Topic: Pamela Gay
Ryugu Sample Supports Invading Life

Ryugu Sample Supports Invading Life

Ryugu samples showing signs of bacteria contamination. Trying to understand the evolution of planets and life is really a driving motivation for a lot of science and science fiction. Landing squarely in the “I think I read a horror story about this,” scientists found that all attempts to prevent earth life from sneaking into a sample of material from the asteroid Ryugu were futile. According to a paper led by Matthew Genge and appearing in Meteoritics & Planetary Science, “the sample was contaminated with microorganisms during the preparation of the polished block” prior to X-ray...

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Dino Prints Match Continents

Dino Prints Match Continents

One of the reasons we study the Moon is to help us understand the history of our own planet Earth. The shifting continents and weather patterns of Earth join forces to erase our world’s history. Occasionally, however, our planet reveals its past through the rocks...

Closer Look: Mars is the Future

Closer Look: Mars is the Future

Since Mars Spirit and Opportunity first set down on Mars in 2004, there has been a continuous robotic presence on the Red Planet. The Phoenix and Insight Landers have answered specific questions about Mars composition and interior, while a small herd of rovers have...

A Star’s Death in Three Acts

A Star’s Death in Three Acts

While monitoring the sky with optical systems, we’ve found some really weird stuff. Back in 2018, the All Sky Automated Survey for Super Novae discovered a brightening galaxy. Follow -up observations in the X-Ray found the kinds of high energy light that signals a...

When Orbits Go Weird

When Orbits Go Weird

orbital path of transiting exoplanet TIC 241249530 b As of the day of this recording, Aug 8, 2024, more than 5600 exoplanets have been discovered orbiting more than 4000 alien stars. Within these systems we are regularly finding things our experiences with our own...