|
|
Hot Topic
Deep Space
Cosmic Evolution
|
|
| |
|
|
Here Comes the Sun
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
11/03/07 |
| Scientists examining samples of the Solar Wind returned to Earth by NASA's Genesis mission are solving questions about how our Solar System evolved. This investigation is important in ultimately determining how the Solar System became habitable for life as we know it. |
|
|
|
|
|
How Planets Grow Up
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
10/06/07 |
| Astronomers have found three nearby stars that may hold 'embryonic planets' and could provide a missing link in planet-formation theories. Studying them could help flesh out concepts of how habitable planets form and where to look for them. |
|
|
|
|
|
The Dark Skies of Lonely Stars
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
09/23/07 |
| A new study suggest that 'orphan' stars - which form in tails of gas that extend well outside their parent galaxy - may be more prevalent than previously thought. If planets can form around these stars, they would find themselves in a truly unique and lonely environment in the space between galaxies. |
|
|
|
|
|
Neon Sign Says
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
09/18/07 |
| Astronomers have observed neon in disks of dust and gas around distant, sun-like stars. The finding may help scientists narrow in on which stars are more likely to have planet-forming disks. |
|
|
|
|
|
Hot and Steamy Star
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
08/31/07 |
| Enough water vapor to fill Earth´s oceans five times has been detected inside a forming star system. The vapor is pouring into a region of the system where planets are thought to be forming. |
|
|
|
|
|
Polluted Star, Plentiful Earths
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
08/25/07 |
| The chemical fingerprint of a burned-out star indicates that Earth-like planets may not be rare in the Universe. The finding may also give clues about the future of Earth and our own Solar System. |
|
|
|
|
|
Are Planetary Systems Filled to Capacity? (part 2)
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
08/20/07 |
| In this essay, Steven Soter examines computer experiments that simulate the gravitational interactions among planets over billions of years. These models suggest that the solar system is only marginally stable and is dynamically full, or nearly so. Adding another planet between the existing ones would make the system unstable, resulting in a collision or ejection of a planet. |
|
|
|
|
|
Are Planetary Systems Filled to Capacity?
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
08/13/07 |
| In part one of this two-part essay, Steven Soter explains that planetary systems, including our own, hold as many planets as they can, and adding more planets may make them unstable. |
|
|
|
|
|
Abundant Anions
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
07/27/07 |
| A discovery of the largest negatively-charged molecule yet seen in space may force a revision of theoretical models of interstellar chemistry. The finding may have implications for the types and abundance of molecules that could have been delivered to the early Earth from interstellar space. |
|
|
|
|
|
Supergiants Spew Life Molecules
|
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
07/26/07 |
| University of Arizona astronomers who are probing the oxygen-rich environment around a supergiant star with one of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes have discovered a score of molecules that include compounds needed for life. |
|
|
|
|
|
