New experimental results imply that organic compounds are natural by-products of protoplanetary disk evolution and should be important ingredients in the formation of all planetary systems, including our own. Complex organic compounds, including many important to life on Earth, are … Continue reading
The origin and evolution of language is very hard to study since it leaves no apparent traces, but that does not stop people trying. Evolutionary linguistics is the name of this multi-disciplinary field and one of the main sites is … Continue reading
Another History of the Earth book is due out tomorrow. Dr. Robert M. Hazen, a research scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Geophysical Laboratory and Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Science at George Mason University, is the author of … Continue reading
A useful overview of geological history, although a little inconsistent in use of some names, eg Euramerica is sometimes referred to as Laurussia, which I believe is the same thing. National Museum of Natural History Geologic Time Site. … Continue reading
The oldest rocks on Earth could have formed as early as 120 million years after the solar system was formed rather than approximately 200 million years after, as was previously thought, following a new measurement of the half-life of Samarium-146. … Continue reading
Earth Formation : How the Earth is a the byproduct of a local supernova via Earth Formation | Cosmology and Astronomy | Khan Academy. The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by … Continue reading
On April 22, more than one billion people around the globe will participate in Earth Day 2012 and help Mobilize the Earth™. People of all nationalities and backgrounds will voice their appreciation for the planet and demand its protection. Together … Continue reading
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a useful introduction to geological time. Geologic Time: The Story of a Changing Earth. … Continue reading
Most spiral galaxies in the Universe have a bar structure in their centre, and Hubble’s image of NGC 1073 offers a particularly clear view of one of these. Galaxies’ star-filled bars are thought to emerge as gravitational density waves funnel … Continue reading
Early galaxies, flowering with dramatic starbursts in the early Universe, saw the birth of new stars abruptly cut short, leaving them as massive galaxies of aging stars in the present day. The likely culprit for the sudden end to the … Continue reading