Mars was once a wet world, like Earth, but did water hang around long enough on its surface to sustain life? That’s the question on the mind of Eric Hiatt, a graduate student at UT Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences, who’s supported by UT’s Center for Planetary Systems Habitability to study the history of water… Continue Reading Meet the Mars Student Researcher Who Wants to Rewrite Fluid Dynamics
Mystery crater potentially caused by relative of dinosaur-killing asteroid
Originally published in The Conversation. The ocean floor is famously less explored than the surface of Mars. And when our team of scientists recently mapped the seabed, and ancient sediments beneath, we discovered what looks like an asteroid impact crater. Continue Reading Mystery crater potentially caused by relative of dinosaur-killing asteroid
Underwater Snow Gives Clues About Europa’s Icy Shell
Below Europa’s thick icy crust is a massive, global ocean where the snow floats upwards onto inverted ice peaks and submerged ravines. The bizarre underwater snow is known to occur below ice shelves on Earth, but a new study shows that the same is likely true for Jupiter’s moon, where it may play a role… Continue Reading Underwater Snow Gives Clues About Europa’s Icy Shell
Hope for Present-Day Martian Groundwater Dries Up
Liquid water previously detected under Mars’ ice-covered south pole is probably just a dusty mirage, according to a new study of the red planet led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. Scientists in 2018 had thought they were looking at liquid water when they saw bright radar reflections under the polar cap.… Continue Reading Hope for Present-Day Martian Groundwater Dries Up