No one can draw a connection between meteorite impacts and massive volcanic activity but the one certain instance where it has been confirmed, at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, was the…

South America is the world’s most species-rich area and there have been many theories as to why, ranging from animals and plants accompanying the continent when it broke loose from Africa to…

Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space.  Scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form in their crusts but two…

Abundant tiny particles of diamond dust exist in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth’s impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich…

Researchers using a powerful instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have found a long sought-after mineral on the Martian surface and, with it, unexpected clues to the Red Planet's…

It was Christmas Eve, 1858 when “people who in the streets, on pathways and in the fields saw a magnificent ball of fire appear, which shone with a brilliant, blinding light and all the colors of the…

It sounds like a B movie starring Adrienne Barbeau (oops, that's "Amazon Women In The Avacado Jungle Of Death") but this international team of researchers have instead been collecting imaging…

Over the last several years, scientists have built a very convincing case that Mars hosted water, at least early in its history. Recent observations from the Mars Phoenix lander and other spacecraft…

Venus Express has made the first detection of an atmospheric loss process on Venus's day-side. Last year, the spacecraft revealed that most of the lost atmosphere escapes from the night-side.…

The closer scientists look at Saturn's small moon Enceladus, the more they find evidence of an active world. The most recent flybys of Enceladus made by NASA's Cassini spacecraft have provided new…