Latest news with #PlanetaryScienceInstitute
Time of India
01-08-2025
- Science
- Time of India
New discovery reveals Mars glaciers are not just rock and dust; they might be hiding the most essential component of life
Mars has been researched by scientists over the years for having the possibility of harbouring life on its surface, and recently it has been studied not just for its red dusty landscape but also for what lies beneath. Among the most exciting discoveries in recent years are the planet's mysterious glaciers, many of which are hidden beneath layers of dust and rock. For years, researchers believed these formations were mostly rocky debris with only a small amount of ice mixed in. However, new research using advanced radar technology is changing that view as it could have major implications for future human missions to the Red Planet. Recent findings reveal that glaciers on Mars may hold far more pure water ice than previously thought. What does the exciting discovery reveal A new study has revealed that glaciers on Mars are composed of over 80% pure water ice, challenging earlier assumptions that they were primarily rocky formations with limited ice content. Using the SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists were able to peer beneath the surface and uncover the true composition of these Martian glaciers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Secret Lives of the Romanovs — the Last Rulers of Imperial Russia! Learn More Undo Researchers previously believed many of these glaciers, found on the slopes of Martian mountains, were covered in thick layers of dust and debris and contained only about 30% ice. However, the latest analysis, published in the journal Science Direct, shows a different picture, one where glaciers are made up of relatively clean ice, shielded beneath a thin debris layer. 'We found a surprising consistency in the purity of these glaciers,' said Oded Aharonson, a professor of planetary science at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, in an interview with 'We found all the sites we looked at can be described as relatively pure ice deposits, maybe 80% or more ice, under a rock or dust cover. They could be a resource in the future if humanity tried to access them. ' According to Isaac Smith, co-author of the study and senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, researchers had previously used different techniques on separate sites, making it hard to compare results. 'Different techniques had been applied by researchers to various sites, and the results could not be easily compared,' he said. The study also explores how this ice may have formed. Aharonson explained that it likely came from atmospheric precipitation, mostly snowfall, or through direct condensation on the Martian surface. 'It doesn't seem like it would have formed through pore ice formation... If the ice in these glaciers had grown that way, we'd expect much higher levels of impurities, and that's not what we see,' he said. Another important discovery from the study is the uniformity of these glaciers. Their consistent composition suggests that Mars may have undergone a single planet-wide glaciation event, or possibly several with very similar conditions. This is a vital clue to understanding the planet's climatic and atmospheric history.
NDTV
31-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Glaciers On Mars Are Mostly Water Ice, Study Finds
New findings suggest that glaciers on Mars are composed of more than 80 per cent pure water ice, with some estimates suggesting they are nearly pure ice. This high purity level is consistent across different glaciers and hemispheres. While exploring the Martian surface, scientists have mostly seen glaciers coated in dust on the slopes of the mountains of Mars. Existing studies have suggested that the glaciers were comprised mostly of rock and around 30% ice, or debris-covered glaciers that were more than 80% ice. The latest discovery, recently published in the journal Science Direct, is crucial for future human missions to Mars, as accessing clean water ice could provide a reliable source of water, oxygen and rocket fuel. Extracting water from pure ice would be more energy-efficient than extracting it from dirty ice. "Different techniques had been applied by researchers to various sites, and the results could not be easily compared," study co-author Isaac Smith said in a statement. Mr Smith is a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona and an associate professor of Earth and space science at York University in Toronto. The uniformity of the glaciers suggests that Mars experienced either a single, planet-wide glaciation event or multiple glaciations with similar properties. As per the study, the ice is preserved beneath a thin layer of debris, which insulates it from the planet's harsh conditions. Scientists used the SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to study the glaciers. By measuring the speed and loss of radar waves, they determined the ratio of ice to rock within the glaciers. "We found a surprising consistency in the purity of these glaciers," study co-author Oded Aharonson, a professor of planetary science at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, told "We found all the sites we looked at can be described as relatively pure ice deposits, maybe 80% or more ice, under a rock or dust cover. They could be a resource in the future if humanity tried to access them." "The ice may have formed through atmospheric precipitation - snowfall that led to glacial formation," Aharonson said. "Or it may have formed through direct condensation - glacial formation directly on the ground via the growth of frost," he added. "It doesn't seem like it would have formed through pore ice formation - when water vapour from the atmosphere diffuses to the subsurface and forms ground ice, which we know happens on Mars and terrestrial settings such as Alaska and Antarctica. If the ice in these glaciers had grown that way, we'd expect much higher levels of impurities, and that's not what we see."
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Could Earth be ejected from the Solar System? Scientists say it's possible
Imagine Earth as a celestial snowball, flung into the abyss of interstellar space… Sounds like sci‑fi, right? But recent computer simulations suggest that a distant stellar neighbor could disturb our solar system's choreography over billions of years—and even eject our planet. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now What's happening? A new study raises this serious alarm: our planet, Earth, could be knocked out of its orbit by passing stars! A team led by Nathan Kaib (Planetary Science Institute) and Sean Raymond (University of Bordeaux) ran thousands of N‑body simulations that included not just the Sun and planets, but passing stars too. The results? A tiny, but non‑zero, chance Earth becomes cosmic roadkill—hurling either into the sun, colliding with another planet, or being flung outward toward Jupiter and beyond, potentially escaping the solar system. What does the study say? This fascinating but frightening idea suggests that cosmic events might threaten our planet long before the Sun eventually engulfs it in about five billion years. Published in the journal , the research is based on thousands of computer simulations. It highlights how a nearby "field star"—a star shining in the same part of the sky—could disrupt the Oort Cloud, the icy area that marks the edge of our solar system beyond Pluto. The findings indicate that stars passing within 10,000 AU (Astronomical Units, about 10,000 times the distance from Earth to the Sun) could cause much more chaos than we thought. Why now, and how? Here's the cosmic scoop: according to astronomers Kaib and Raymond, this could increase the chances of instability for planets like Mercury by 50-80%. They estimate that there's a small chance—about 5%—that Pluto could experience chaotic gravitational interactions in the next five billion years. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Even more startling, there's about a 0.3% chance that Mars could collide with another planet or be ejected from the solar system, and a 0.2% chance that Earth itself could face a collision or be tossed out of orbit. If Mercury's path were altered, it could set off a domino effect, potentially leading to collisions involving Venus, Mars, and even Earth. In the worst-case scenario, Earth might even end up spiraling toward the Sun or getting flung into space by Jupiter's gravity! To put it simply, this research opens our eyes to the unpredictable nature of our cosmic neighborhood and reminds us just how fragile our place in the universe can be! What's the cosmic timeline? In case you're looking for a rough timeline: Next ~1 Gyr: life-supporting conditions fade due to solar brightening. Within ~5 Gyr: ejection chances—0.2% for Earth, ~4% for Pluto, about 5% chance of a dangerous stellar encounter within 100 AU. Over 10–100 Gyr: wandering stars may disrupt even more, ejecting survivors. A Gyr stands for a gigayear, which represents a unit of time equal to one billion years. More detailed simulations from arXiv show ~1% chance per Gyr of a star passage within 100 AU, and while 92% of planets stay fine, Mercury is vulnerable, and Earth could be reshuffled or ejected. What happens to Earth then? If Earth gets booted into interstellar space, goodbye cozy climate. Without the Sun's warmth, surface temperature plunges, atmosphere collapses and freezes, and only underground geothermal heat could support microbial extremophiles. Imagine Earth drifting alone—no photosynthesis, no weather, no ocean currents. A cold, dark rock! Should we start worrying now? Not really—for now. The closest stellar approach likely isn't for another 1.3 million years, and ejection is extremely unlikely in our lifetimes—0.2% odds over 5 billion years. And barring extreme future tech, no one's going to 'eject' Earth intentionally—the energy required is astronomically mind‑boggling. Still, it's fascinating to think Earth isn't locked into its Sun forever. Over eons, cosmic billiards, rogue stars, and planetary chaos could rewrite our fate. The last of words! While the thought of Earth zooming through the void is dramatic and fun to imagine, the odds remain incredibly slim and billions of years away. That said, our solar system isn't as stable as once thought. As stellar surveys (like Gaia) track nearby stars, we're slowly mapping out our future celestial neighbors and the cosmic dice rolls that could shape our fate. So the next time you gaze at the night sky, know it's not 'eternal'; and one day, far in the future, Earth might get an unexpected ticket out. But until then, let's savor our sunlit orbit and perhaps pen a sci‑fi tale or two! Evidence of ninth planet found in solar system
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Science
- Forbes
There's Suddenly A 40% Chance ‘Planet Nine' Exists — What To Know
After studying thousands of computer simulations of the solar system, researchers at Rice University and the Planetary Science Institute think there's a 40% chance an elusive 'Planet Nine' or 'Planet X' might exist in the outer solar system. It's the latest hint that there may be an undiscovered world beyond the orbit of Neptune and dwarf planet Pluto. The new study published in Nature Astronomy reveals that 'wide-orbit' planets — those that orbit the sun from at least 100 times farther than Earth orbits the sun — may be a natural consequence of how planets form. According to NASA, planets form from the giant, donut-shaped region of gas and dust that surrounds young stars, known as a protoplanetary disk. As planets jostle for space, the chaos can cause some to be flung into much wider orbits. The research increases the likelihood that Planet X or Planet Nine, hypothetical planets that may or may not exist in the outer solar system, actually exist. 'Essentially, we're watching pinballs in a cosmic arcade,' said André Izidoro, lead author of the study and assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Rice University. 'When giant planets scatter each other through gravitational interactions, some are flung far away from their star.' If the timing and surrounding environment are just right, those planets don't get ejected but are trapped in extremely wide orbits — which could have happened in the solar system as Uranus and Neptune grew or the later scattering among gas giants. 'There is up to a 40% chance that a Planet Nine-like object could have been trapped during that time,' said Izidoro. 'We're not just increasing the odds of finding Planet Nine — we're opening a new window into the architecture and evolution of planetary systems throughout the galaxy.' Various objects have been discovered beyond Neptune in highly elongated yet remarkably similarly oriented orbits, as if the gravitational influence of a planet midway between Earth and Neptune, in mass, has herded them. If it exists, it's in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune that's home to Pluto, other dwarf planets and comets. In May, scientists in Taiwan, searching for a ninth planet, found hints of something in archival images taken by long-dead infrared telescopes. It's hoped that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory — which will use the world's most powerful camera to survey the sky starting later in 2025 — will either find or rule out Planet Nine. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto's status from a planet to a 'plutoid,' which was later changed to a dwarf planet. It's become fashionable to deny this, maintaining that the solar system must still have nine planets. However, Pluto's status was changed for a good reason. In 2003, an object farther out in the Kuiper Belt than Pluto was discovered. It became known as Eris, and crucially, it's almost the same size as Pluto. Those who still maintain there are nine planets in the solar system are, therefore, wrong — if you keep Pluto, you must also have Eris. With three slightly smaller Pluto-like objects also found — Makemake, Haumea and Sedna — it's easy to see why the IAU decided to re-classify Pluto rather than admit a possibly ever-increasing roster of new objects to planet-status. Further reading
Metro
04-06-2025
- General
- Metro
A passing star could fling the Earth out of the Sun's orbit
The Earth may one day be pulled out of its perfect position by a passing star, a new study has revealed. And Mercury will also play a part. The smallest planet has an oval-shaped orbit, which can sometimes wobble due to Jupiter's huge gravitational influence as the solar system's largest planet. A passing star could exacerbate this affect, with significant consequences on the planet we call home... (Picture: Getty) Dr Nathan Kaib, an astronomer at the Planetary Science Institute, who is based in Iowa, and Dr Sean Raymond, an astronomer at the University of Bordeaux in France, published their findings in the journal Icarus after they created simulations of what would happen when our solar system passes nearby stars over the next several billion years (Picture: Getty) The researchers said the gravity of a passing star could hurl us into space - predicting a probability that this could happen of 1 in 500 or 0.2%. However, that is not the only thing that could happen. The sheer gravitational force could also throw all the planets out of whack, and could even send one of them smashing into Earth (Picture: Getty) What could happen is that Mercury would go off path, and collide with either the Sun or Venus. Then, this could lead either Venus or Mars to crash into Earth or the Earth to crash into the Sun. Another scenario is that Venus and Mars could fling out toward Jupiter, with the planet's gravity throwing Earth out of the Solar System altogether (Picture: Getty) Dr Kaib, who was the lead author, wrote: 'Our simulations indicate that isolated models of the solar system can underestimate the degree of our giant planets' future secular orbital changes by over an order of magnitude.' The work shows that astronomers may be overlooking the influence of distant objects and how our solar system interacts with the rest of the universe (Picture: Getty) Speaking to Science News, Dr Kaib revealed that there's about a 5% chance that over the next five billion years that a wayward star could come within 100 astronomical units of our solar system. This is around 100 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. But, there's no need to worry (Picture: Getty) Dr Kaib said to the site that 'none of these things are probable.' However, in the paper he writes: 'Nonetheless, this probability of Earth orbital change is hundreds of times larger than prior estimates.' They also note, that stars which move slowly, at less than 10 kilometers per second relative to the Sun, are risky as they will prolong their gravitational tugs on our planet (Picture: Getty)
