Space & Earth Science

1. Oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars found

   New Curtin University-led research has uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars, revealing the planet may have been habitable at some point in its past.

2. The solar fire up close: Newly analyzed data offers first high-resolution view of the entire solar disk

   The entire solar disk in unprecedented detail—this is shown by images of the visible surface of the sun, which researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research have now created from 25 individual images taken by the ESA space probe Solar Orbiter.

3. Niagara fireball event leads to discovery of tiniest known asteroid

   In an international study led by Western University and Lowell Observatory, scientists describe a pioneering, integrative approach for studying near-Earth asteroids based largely on a November 2022 fireball event that dropped meteorites in the Niagara region.

4. Ryugu asteroid sample rapidly colonized by terrestrial life despite strict contamination control

   Panspermia is the hypothesis that life can survive the transfer between planetary bodies as a secondary path for life to get started on planets throughout a solar system. The discovery of extraterrestrial life on asteroids or within meteorites would have profound implications for understanding the origins and distribution of life in the universe.