#Did meteorite impacts help create life on Earth and beyond?

“#Did meteorite impacts help create life on Earth and beyond?” Team of Western planetary scientists, led by Gordon Osinski, exploring melt rock at Haughton impact crater in Nunavut. These melt rocks provided key evidence for the existence of hydrothermal alteration, meaning habitats for life. Credit: Gordon Osinski What if impact craters, long seen as harbingers…

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#Microbes living on air a global phenomenon

“#Microbes living on air a global phenomenon” Robinson Ridge in the Windmill Islands, east Antarctica. This is the site where UNSW researchers first discovered air-eating bacteria. Credit: Belinda Ferrari UNSW researchers have found their previous discovery of bacteria living on air in Antarctica is likely a process that occurs globally, further supporting the potential existence…

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#Ocean in Jupiter’s moon Europa ‘could be habitable’

“#Ocean in Jupiter’s moon Europa ‘could be habitable’” The Stunning surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute. A new model from NASA scientists supports the theory that the interior ocean in Jupiter’s moon Europa would be able to sustain life. In addition they have calculated that this water, believed to be an ocean under…

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#Life in the galaxy: maybe this is as good as it gets?

“#Life in the galaxy: maybe this is as good as it gets?” Galaxy M51 is a spiral galaxy, about 30 million light years away, that is in the process of merging with a smaller galaxy seen to its upper left. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Detlef Hartmann; Infrared: Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech. Researchers have found that rocky exoplanets…

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