Planetary scientists sharing ideas and discoveries.
Planetary Science Research Discoveries (PSRD) is an educational site sharing the latest research by NASA-sponsored scientists on meteorites, asteroids, planets, moons, and other materials in our Solar System. With original support from the Planetary Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium, this site is a vital link for planetary and space sciences, and for learning how science works.
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24 MAR 2021 | The Tarnished Moon
by G. Jeffrey Taylor Remote sensing observations reveal the presence of ferric iron in the form of the mineral hematite at high latitudes on the Moon, possibly the product of reaction of ferrous iron on the Moon with oxygen from the Earth's upper atmosphere. |
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APRIL 2020 | Cosmic Dust in Planetary Atmospheres
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Models and experiments show the fate of cosmic dust that enters the atmospheres of planets and how ionization and ablation of the cosmic dust influences chemistry all the way to the surface. |
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24 MAR 2020 | Hydrogen Isotopes in Small Lunar Samples Provide Clues to the Origin of the Earth and Moon
by G. Jeffrey Taylor Small samples of igneous rocks from the Moon have low deuterium/hydrogen ratios, indicating that some planetary bodies involved in the formation of the Earth and Moon trapped gas from the solar nebula. |
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MAR 2020 | Looking Up to Understand Down: Studying Other Planets to Learn about Earth
by G. Jeffrey Taylor CosmoSparks Report - Comparative planetary science is the art of learning about all the planets so we can understand what processes operated during their formation and geologic evolution. |
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OCT 2019 | Dust Delivered to Earth from the Breakup of the L-chondrite Parent Body
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Researchers consider the significance of the Ordovician-time influx of extraterrestrial dust on sudden global cooling and increase in diversity of marine life on Earth. |
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24 APRIL 2019 | Volatile Elements Test Models for the Origin of the Moon
by G. Jeffrey Taylor Volatile elements that concentrate in metallic iron elucidate the processes that operated during formation and initial differentiation of the Moon. |
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20 DEC 2018 | The Complicated Origin of Earth's Water
by G. Jeffrey Taylor Water delivery and redistribution to Earth was a complicated business with hydrogen coming from chondritic and solar nebular sources. |
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APRIL 2018 | Microtektites
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Microtektites from a glacial moraine near Larkman Nunatak, Antarctica are related to the Australasian strewn field. |
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JULY 2017 | More on the Building Blocks of Planet Earth
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Isotopic data from meteorites are used in the search for Earth-forming materials. |
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MAY 2017 | Flux of O+ Ions from Earth to the Moon
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Terrestrial O+ ions escape to the lunar surface when Earth's magnetosphere blocks the Moon from the solar wind. |
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JAN 2017 | When Achondrites Surpassed Ordinary Chondrites in the Meteorite Flux to Earth
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Before the breakup of the L-chondrite parent body, achondrites rained down on the Middle Ordovician Earth. |
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11 NOV 2016 | Searching for Ancient Solar System Materials on the Moon, Earth, and Mars
by G. Jeffrey Taylor The early history of the Solar System is recorded by meteorites falling now, but also by those that fell hundreds of millions to billions of years ago, preserved in lunar samples, sedimentary layers on Earth, and even sitting on the surface of Mars. |
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JULY 2016 | Remnants of Earth's Construction
by G. Jeffrey Taylor CosmoSparks Report - Tungsten isotopic data from modern flood basalts show that regions of Earth's mantle have remained chemically isolated since they formed during accretion of the planet. |
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30 NOV 2015 | Primeval Water in the Earth
by G. Jeffrey Taylor Hydrogen isotopes in lavas derived from the deep mantle suggest the presence of a component inside the Earth that came directly from the primordial solar nebula. |
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17 JUNE 2015 | Tungsten Isotopes, Formation of the Moon, and Lopsided Addition to Earth and Moon
by G. Jeffrey Taylor A distinct difference in tungsten isotopic composition between the Moon and Earth is consistent with the Moon and Earth starting with the same isotopic composition, but then modified by late accretion of different amounts of chondritic asteroids. |
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MAY 2015 | Modeling Water Adsorption on Olivine Crystals in the Solar Nebula
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Modeling results suggest a pathway for the formation of phyllosilicates, which could have been accreted into Earth. |
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28 JAN 2015 | Water in Asteroid 4 Vesta
by G. Jeffrey Taylor The big, melted asteroid 4 Vesta provides clues to the source of water to Earth and Mars. |
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NOV 2013 | World Notice: 10,000 Near-Earth Objects and Details About One That Landed in Russia
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - International space agencies, observatories, and the United Nations plan to coordinate NEO efforts. |
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JULY 2012 | Water, Carbonaceous Chondrites, and Earth
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - The drive continues to understand all the possible sources of Earth's water. |
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OCT 2011 | Earth's Heat
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - It is now possible to measure the radiogenic heat production inside Earth, previously estimated from element ratios in chondritic meteorites. |
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APRIL 2011 | The Role of H2S in Amino Acid Synthesis on Primordial Earth and Elsewhere
by Linda M. V. Martel CosmoSparks Report - Intriguingly similar abundances of amino acids from historic lab samples and carbonaceous chondrites. |
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22 FEB 08 | Compositional Balancing Before Moon Formation
by G. Jeffrey Taylor The identical oxygen isotopic composition of Earth and Moon might be explained by exchange of material between the proto-Earth and the surrounding proto-lunar disk. |
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7 JULY 05 | Squeezing and Heating Rock to Scope Out How Metallic Iron Dribbled to the Center of the Earth
by G. Jeffrey Taylor Experiments showing how cobalt and nickel concentrate in molten metal shed light on the formation of Earth's metallic core. |
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13 APRIL 05 | Antarctic Guide to Martian Weathering
by Linda M. V. Martel Soils in the Antarctic Dry Valleys contain traces of silicate alteration products and secondary salts much like those found in Martian meteorites. |
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9 MAR 04 | Tiny Traces of a Big Asteroid Breakup
by Linda M. V. Martel Fossil meteorites and chromite grains record a hundred-fold increase in the number of meteorites that fell 480 million years ago compared to the meteorite influx today. |
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28 FEB 02 | Searching Antarctic Ice for Meteorites by Linda M. V. Martel Silver anniversary season: The vigorous life and times of the ANSMET team at Meteorite Hills resulted in a new set of 336 meteorites collected off the ice. |
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28 FEB 01 | Buckyballs and Gases May Mark Massive Extinction by G. Jeffrey Taylor Helium and argon isotopes in fullerenes suggest an impact triggered the incredible extinction that marks the end of the Permian period. |
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31 DEC 98 | Origin of the Earth and Moon by G. Jeffrey Taylor First hand report of the December 1998 conference on the formation and very early history of the Earth and Moon. |
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11 DEC 97 | Damage by Impact: the case at Meteor Crater, Arizona by Linda M. V. Martel A look at the pre- and post-impact environments at Meteor Crater, Arizona provides insight into Earth's impact history. Just how often does this sort of impact event occur on Earth? We'll examine the potential hazards. |
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21 DEC 96 | Life Underground by G. Jeffrey Taylor Some bacteria live on nothing but rock and water, extracting energy from chemical reactions rather than from sunlight. |
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21 DEC 96 | Meteorites from Mars, Rocks from Canada by Rachel C. Friedman There is more to Mars rocks than suspected fossils. Scientists are using ancient lava flows in eastern Ontario to understand the formation of a group of meteorites from Mars. |
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18 OCT 96 | Rules for Identifying Ancient Life by G. Jeffrey Taylor Scientists seeking the oldest fossils on Earth have developed rules for establishing that they have found fossils and that the fossils formed in place. |
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