Porosity of the moon’s crust reveals bombardment history

The moon sustained twice as many impacts as can be seen on its surface, scientists find.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
July 7, 2022 ~7 min

Astronomers discover a multiplanet system nearby

Just 33 light years from Earth, the system appears to host two rocky, Earth-sized planets.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
June 15, 2022 ~7 min


New maps of asteroid Psyche reveal an ancient world of metal and rock

The varied surface suggests a dynamic history, which could include metallic eruptions, asteroid-shaking impacts, and a lost rocky mantle.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
June 15, 2022 ~7 min

Magma beneath tectonic collision zones is wetter than previously thought

New findings may help explain how Earth’s crust forms, the location of ore deposits, and why some volcanoes are more explosive than others.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
May 26, 2022 ~6 min

Look! Up in the sky! Is it a planet? Nope, just a star

Among thousands of known exoplanets, MIT astronomers flag three that are actually stars.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
March 15, 2022 ~6 min

Microbes and minerals may have set off Earth’s oxygenation

Scientists propose a new mechanism by which oxygen may have first built up in the atmosphere

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
March 14, 2022 ~6 min

A “hot Jupiter’s” dark side is revealed in detail for first time

The planet’s night side likely hosts iron clouds, titanium rain, and winds that dwarf Earth’s jetstream.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Feb. 21, 2022 ~7 min

MIT engineers test an idea for a new hovering rover

A levitating vehicle might someday explore the moon, asteroids, and other airless planetary surfaces.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Dec. 21, 2021 ~7 min


Could acid-neutralizing life-forms make habitable pockets in Venus’ clouds?

A new study shows it’s theoretically possible. The hypothesis could be tested soon with proposed Venus-bound missions.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Dec. 20, 2021 ~7 min

TESS discovers a planet the size of Mars but with the makeup of Mercury

The boiling new world, which zips around its star at ultraclose range, is among the lightest exoplanets found to date.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Dec. 2, 2021 ~5 min

/

12