Evolution | Universe Today

Researchers have long puzzled over why oxygen flourished in Earth's atmosphere starting around 2.4 billion years.

Called the "Great Oxidation Event," the transition "irreversibly changed surface environments on Earth and ultimately made advanced life possible," said Dominic Papineau of the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory.

Now, Papineau has co-authored a new study in the journal Nature,  which reveals new clues to the mystery in ancient sedimentary rocks.

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Filed under: Astrobiology, Earth, Evolution, Extreme Life | 4 Comments »

As long as we’re still pondering human origins, we may as well entertain the idea that our ancestor microbes came from Mars.

And Jay Melosh, a planetary scientist from the University of Arizona in Tucson, is ready with a geologically plausible explanation.

Meteorites.

"Biological exchange between the planets of our solar system seem not only possible, but inevitable," because of meteorite exchanges between the planets, Melosh said. "Life could have originated on the planet Mars and then traveled to Earth."

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Filed under: Astrobiology, Astronomy, Earth, Evolution, Mars | 60 Comments »

NASA has signed a landmark agreement to collaborate with emerging space-faring nations for the exploration of the Moon. This collaboration will include Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Britain and France in the aim to work with NASA developing new technologies and send a series of robotic exploratory missions to pave the way for a manned return mission. The director of NASA's planetary science division points out that these eight member states are keen to send their first astronauts to the lunar surface. Whilst some may view this collaboration as an attempt by NASA to 'spread the cost' of space travel (especially in the current climate of budget cuts), the main point of this deal is to make manned missions to the Moon more of an international effort. This will give smaller space agencies more opportunities, boost the quality of the science that can be achieved and possibly lead us to some answers about how life formed on Earth 4 billion years ago…
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Filed under: Evolution, Moon, NASA | 43 Comments »

One of most intriguing, and controversial, theories astrobiology is the concept of Panspermia. This idea proposes that life on Earth might have began on another planet, or maybe even out in interstellar space. Scientists have discovered just how hardy microbial life can be, surviving long journeys in the vacuum, cold, and radiation of space. Now an experiment has been devised to see how well microbes can withstand reentry through the Earth's atmosphere.
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Filed under: Astrobiology, Evolution, Meteorites | 2 Comments »

On December 2, 1995, the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft was launched aboard an Atlas/Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Station on a two-year mission to monitor the sun. Almost eleven years later, the SOHO spacecraft continues to faithfully record solar activity orbiting the Sun about 1.5-million kilometers inward from Earth. NASA and the European Space Agency operate the satellite jointly. Everyday, SOHO transmits pictures that are freely available for viewing on the Internet. These images inform scientists around the world about the Sun's nature and behavior. Its images and data enable them to predict "space weather" events affecting our planet. Earlier in July of this year, someone discovered a new comet in a SOHO picture and now it's gracing our evening skies as seen in this telescopic image.
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Filed under: Astrophotos, Evolution | 1 Comment »