[Under the Martian #tropics ...] There was a time when #water abounded and shaped the Martian #landscapes. This is evidenced by several fragments of clear, alumina-rich #rocks recently analyzed by the instruments of the #Perseverance rover ...

These rocks contain minerals such as #kaolinite, one of the markers of a once habitable environment. Infos+ : https://www.irap.omp.eu/en/2025/02/could-mars-have-had-a-tropical-climate-in-the-past/

[#EnVision: en route to #Venus ] On Tuesday, the European Space Agency - ESA awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract to build the EnVision probe destined for Venus. The onboard instruments will study the #planet's inner core, mantle and atmosphere, as well as their interactions, with unrivalled precision. Objective: to understand a planet's evolution towards #habitability - or uninhabitability.

Details+ : https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Envision/Signed_and_sealed_Envision_can_move_towards_construction

[Moon formation scenari] After detailed 3D simulations and isotopic analysis of terrestrial and lunar rocks have swept aside the hypothesis of a collision between our proto-Earth and a planet called Theia, which scenario should be favored?

That's the topic on which Erik Asphaug, planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, will be speaking to the IRAPians this Tuesday afternoon: https://www.irap.omp.eu/event/if-at-first-you-dont-succeed-moon-formation-in-a-collision-chain/ Great discussions ahead

[#FridayReading] Who are the 50 greatest contributors to our current knowledge of the #Sky and the objects that populate it? Who are the men and women who have made remarkable contributions to the development of #astronomy, #astrophysics, #planetology, #cosmology?

The BBC offers us a short retrospective of the #history of astronomy, through the remarkable contributions of 50 people, from ancient Greece to the present day : https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/famous-astronomers

Three shots captured by the various instruments of the Curiosity rover on Feb. 16

1. by the Right Navigation Cam, credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
2. by ChemCam, credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
3. by the Left Navigation Cam, credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

When the Earth had Two Moons by Erik Asphaug

Text instead of screenshots: https://cohost.org/lurkjay/post/4190331-when-the-earth-had-t

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Asteroids Predate Our Solar System, New Study Shows
https://www.sci.news/space/asteroid-polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons-12559.html
#PAHs #Asteroids #Predate #SolarSystem #astronomy #planetology

[#SuivezNous] Intéressé(e) par les thématiques #astrophysique et #planétologique ? Envie de mieux connaître la vie d'un #laboratoire, de suivre l'#actualité de la #recherche, de rencontrer ses personnels lors de Journées Portes Ouvertes, de #conférences grand public, d'#événements festifs ? Abonnez-vous à ce compte ...

[#FollowUs] Interested in #astrophysics and #planetology? Want to find out more about the life of a #laboratory and keep up to date with #research? Follow this account ...

Wonders of the Solar System

Ruddy freckles on Europa

https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03878

Galileo Spacecraft; Credits NASA/JPL/U. Arizona/U. Colorado

Wonders of the Solar System

White Rock, Pollack Crater, Mars

https://themis.asu.edu/feature/21

Wonders of the Solar System

Echus Chasma

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2008/07/Echus_Chasma_perspective_view

RED is a Training School about the “Basics in Astrobiology”. This school aims to offer an interdisciplinary training in #astrobiology to students and young researchers having a master’s degree in astronomy, #planetology, #geology, #chemistry, #biology, or #history and #philosophy of science. If you are preparing a thesis or are an early career scientist with a subject related to astrobiology, this training school is for you!

Registrations for 2024 edition are open: https://red-astrobiology.fr/

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission acquired stunning views of #Mars in two #ultraviolet images taken at different points along our neighboring #planet’s orbit around the Sun.

By viewing the planet in #ultraviolet wavelengths, scientists can gain insight into the Martian #atmosphere and view surface features in remarkable ways.

#astronomy #planetology #MAVEN
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/nasa-s-maven-spacecraft-stuns-with-ultraviolet-views-of-red-planet

#astronomy #geology #planetology #Mars An article published in the journal "Nature Communications" reports a study that offers evidence that the #marsquakes detected by NASA's #InSight lander are caused by the activity of underground volcanic magma.

https://english.tachyonbeam.com/2022/04/07/marsquakes-could-be-caused-by-underground-volcanic-magma-activity/

#astronomy #planetology An article published in the journal "Nature Communications" reports a study on the activity of #cryovolcanoes existing on the dwarf planet #Pluto which highlights how it has continued until recent times from a geological point of view and may still be present.

https://english.tachyonbeam.com/2022/04/01/the-cryovolcanoes-on-the-dwarf-planet-pluto-might-still-be-active/