Active Moon Triton Revisited
August 25, 2014
25 years ago today, Voyager 2 flew by Triton, a moon of Neptune, astonishing scientists with its active geology.
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Surprises in Evolutionary Tales
August 24, 2014
From spiders to crocodiles, animals rarely evolved the way they should have.
Moon Still Has Hot Core
August 23, 2014
Japanese scientists have determined that a soft, hot core remains in the center of the moon, contrary to expectations.
Living Stalactites and Other Geological Surprises
August 19, 2014
Dripstones in caves can be made by microbes, some speleologists find. That's among several recent geological surprises.
Fluffballs in Space Shouldn't Exist
August 18, 2014
A rubble-pile asteroid has such low density it should have disintegrated, but it's doing just fine.
Extinct Reptiles Quickly Spread Over the Globe
August 16, 2014
On every continent, dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles thrived. Here are some recent amazing finds.
Planet Rotation Limits Habitability
August 15, 2014
Life can't exist on a planet that rotates too fast or slow. This is another Goldilocks problem for astrobiologists to consider.
Io Volcanoes Go Hyperactive
August 7, 2014
The volcanoes on Jupiter's moon are bursting out at record rates, and nobody knows why. Is it the new normal?
Amber Alert: New Discoveries in Old Sap
August 5, 2014
Even old pieces of amber in a museum drawer can reveal unexpected surprises.
Saturn's F-Ring Has Quieted Down
August 4, 2014
Comparing measurements over 25 years, planetary scientists have noted a drop in bright clumps in Saturn's tenuous F-ring.
Enceladus Geysers Still Unexplained
July 31, 2014
The number of geysers has topped a hundred on Saturn's overactive moon. How could they be sustained for billions of years?
Dinosaur Extinction Story Becomes More Chancy
July 29, 2014
Why did dinosaurs die but birds and butterflies survive? The latest idea involves sheer dumb luck.
Darwin: Imagine a World Without Him
July 27, 2014
A new book tries to imagine how different the world would be, had Darwin as an individual not lived to promote his particular views on evolution.
Start Over: The Evolution of Planets Is All Wrong
July 5, 2014
Ideas about planetary evolution are so far off base with observations of exoplanets, it's time to wipe the slate clean.