Science & Environment

Hawaiian hot spot study uncovers evidence of true polar wander

Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories · Published

Hawaiian hot spot study uncovers evidence of true polar wander
Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories

On Earth, everything is moving. The planet spins, the tectonic plates shift and the spin axis wobbles, as do the magnetic poles, which makes determining how things move a rather tricky proposition. For Rice University's Richard Gordon, this problem came up when he was trying to u

On Earth, everything is moving. The planet spins, the tectonic plates shift and the spin axis wobbles, as do the magnetic poles, which makes determining how things move a rather tricky proposition. For Rice University's Richard Gordon, this problem came up when he was trying to understand the history of the Hawaiian hot spot, the deep-mantle source of the volcanism that created the Hawaiian–Emperor chain of islands and underwater volcanoes.

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Webb finds a surprising atmosphere on a scorching lava world
Science & Environment

Webb finds a surprising atmosphere on a scorching lava world

The James Webb Space Telescope has found strong evidence that the rocky lava world HD 3167 b has an atmosphere, despite circling its star every 24 hours under extreme heat. The surprising discovery could help scientists understand how rocky planets retain atmospheres and what the

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Earth’s center is moving, and NASA just measured it
Science & Environment

Earth’s center is moving, and NASA just measured it

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ESA’s Juice just used Earth as a slingshot to Jupiter
Science & Environment

ESA’s Juice just used Earth as a slingshot to Jupiter

ESA’s Juice spacecraft raced past Earth on September 28, using our planet’s gravity to dramatically reshape its path toward Jupiter without burning much fuel. The flyby changed its direction by 20 degrees and increased its speed by 3.5 km/s, while also giving scientists a rare ch

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Bats may have first evolved in Europe 65 million years ago
Science & Environment

Bats may have first evolved in Europe 65 million years ago

A huge genomic and fossil study suggests bats first evolved in Europe around 65 to 60 million years ago before spreading across the globe. The findings also indicate that flight and echolocation emerged near the beginning of bat evolution, potentially helping explain how bats bec

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