Astronomers have long believed that our Moon formed after a collision between Earth and another planet called Theia about 4.5 billion years ago, but studies of Earth and lunar rocks suggested otherwise. Now, a new analysis of the composition of lunar rocks collected by astronauts from the Apollo missions may help finally solve this mystery.
Tectonic plates, those layers of the Earth that have the property of moving like huge blocks under the surface and whose friction is responsible for most earthquakes, have a new theory about their possible origin.
A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin (USA) has discovered the oldest known fragment of our planet; a 4.4 billion-year-old piece of zircon. The lump of metal, which is one of the oldest and also most abundant minerals on our planet, was discovered in the Jack Hills area of Western Australia. The discovery has been published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Who doesn't know the famous and colorful Yellowstone National Park? It's visually gorgeous, but it's a potential volcanic time bomb. Now, in addition, a research group at the University of Utah has just verified that the magma chamber is 2.5 times larger than expected.
A group of scientists from the University of Florida (USA) has identified the oldest Martian meteorite found to date, which would date back more than 1.7 billion years. The rock, barely six centimeters in diameter, would have wandered through space during this time until finally impacting our planet last year in the Sahara desert.
The largest unitary volcano ever found on Earth, with an area equivalent to the British Isles, is called Tamu Massif and is found under water 1,600 kilometers east of Japan. It was formed approximately 130 million years ago, is part of the Shatsky Rise range and occupies around 200,000 square kilometers of surface.
Every 5.9 years the planet goes through a period of several months during which the length of each day is greater or less than what is considered "normal". Although the causes are not yet clear, scientists suspect that it is related to phenomena at the boundary between the core and the Earth's mantle.
Danni Büchner is invited to Sam Dylan's Halloween party. But the "Goodbye Germany" emigrant has no desire for many other party guests. And find clear words.
