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Hot Topic
Solar System
Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids
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Rocking the Atmosphere
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
06/05/09 |
| A new study shows that frequent meteorite impacts during an early period of the solar system known as the 'Late Heavy Bombardment' may have furnished the Earth and other planets like Mars with liquid water. By providing a source of water for the Earth's oceans, these impacts could have helped to make the early earth habitable. |
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Bombardment No Barrier to Life
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
05/22/09 |
| A new study indicates that the bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by giant asteroids would not have been sufficient to extinguish early life on the planet. The study has important implications in understanding the timing of life's origin on Earth. |
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Cooking Up Comet Crystals
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
05/20/09 |
| By studying sun-like stars, astronomers may have solved a mystery about the composition of comets. The study provides new insight into the processes behind planet and comet formation. |
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Searching for Meteorites in the Deserts of Oman
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
05/18/09 |
| A group of Swiss geologists, who have conducted systematic meteorite searches in Oman since 2001, recently returned from their latest hunt. Their findings could provide valuable information about the early history of the solar system. |
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Life's Cometary Payload
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
05/17/09 |
| Scientists studying the chemical composition of comets have determined that they contain missing ingredients needed for life on the primordial Earth. The study lends weight to the idea that cometary impacts played an important role in the origin of life. |
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Diverting Dangerous Asteroids
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/22/09 |
| Researchers have determined a unique way to divert asteroids and other dangerous objects away from Earth. The method involves attaching a tether and ballast to incoming objects, and could help prevent a devastating impact in the future. |
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Noisy NEAs
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/05/09 |
| The upcoming LISA satellite mission is designed to help scientists see warping of the space/time continuum. However, the NASA/ESA mission may also be used by astrobiologists to study the frequency and mass of near-Earth asteroids. |
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Picking Up the Pieces
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/27/09 |
| Asteroid 2008 TC3 was the first space rock to have been spotted before it came crashing to Earth. On October 7, 2008, it exploded high above the Nubian Desert. Now, nearly 280 pieces of the asteroid have been collected from the deserts of the Sudan and they are unlike anything seen before. |
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The Secret Life of Amino Acids
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/17/09 |
| NASA scientists studying dust from meteorites have uncovered clues about how life works on its most basic, molecular level. The study shows that biological molecules created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorites may have had a profound effect on the development of life. |
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Cometary Life Limit
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/12/09 |
| Large debris disks around certain stars may imply a high rate of killer comets that wipe out any chance of life forming in these stellar systems. |
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