Planets
Jupiter’s intense auroras heat up its atmosphere
Jupiter’s hotter-than-expected upper atmosphere may be warmed by charged particles slamming into the air above the poles.
By Sid Perkins
HS-ESS1-6
Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth's formation and early history.
More Stories in HS-ESS1-6
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PlanetsThe pebbled path to planets
Small pebbles zipping through a sea of gas may give rise to mighty planets.
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PlantsDinosaur-killing asteroid radically changed Earth’s tropical forests
The asteroid collision initially reduced the diversity in what had been sunny tropical rainforests. In time, the forests would become permanently darker.
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SpaceIngenuity helicopter makes history by flying on Mars
The copter's 40-second-long flight in the Red Planet’s thin air is only the first in a planned series of daring flights.
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SpaceThere’s water on sunny parts of the moon, scientists confirm
The new observations were made by a telescope on board a jet in Earth’s atmosphere. They confirm the presence of water on sunlit areas of the moon.
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EarthA rainforest once grew near the South Pole
A forest flourished within 1,000 kilometers of the South Pole. That was a while ago, as in millions of years ago.
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SpaceRover finds ‘layer cake’ below ground on moon’s farside
China’s rover finds the moon’s farside is more rugged and cratered than the nearside. Now scientists want to know why.
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EarthStudy appears to rule out volcanic burps as causing dino die-offs
New data on when massive volcanic eruptions happened do not match when the dinosaur mass extinction took place.
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PlanetsGlass beads help scientists puzzle out how baby planets grow
Researchers have mimicked the first stages of planet formation in the lab. All they needed were glass beads and a catapult.
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SpaceExplainer: Understanding meteors and meteor showers
Meteors regularly enter Earth’s atmosphere. Most ‘shooting stars’ pose few risks to life on the ground, but the rare big ones can be lethal.