Planetary Landscapes

09/15/2026

Sunset at Jezero crater, Mars. Goodnight, Earthlings! Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill. Mars2020 - Sol 706 - NavLeft – Sunset.

09/14/2026

Rare Moon green flash captured | n Cerro Paranal, the 2600-metre-high mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert that is home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope, the atmospheric conditions are so exceptional that fleeting events such as the green flash of the setting Sun are seen relatively frequently. Now, however, ESO Photo Ambassador Gerhard Hüdepohl has captured an even rarer sight: a green flash from the Moon, instead of the Sun. The photographs are very probably the best ever taken of the Moon’s green flash.

09/14/2026

This massive volcanic eruption killed 70% of Earth's land-dwelling species and continued for 200,000 years.
Here's how the ancient disaster, called "The Great Dying," unfolded: Credit: NOVA | NOVA l PBS
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1717335012892995

09/14/2026

Orion Bullets | Gemini's Laser Vision Reveals Striking New Details in Orion Nebula This composite image at infrared wavelengths was obtained using the Gemini North laser guide star system in conjunction with the ALTAIR adaptive optics system and the NIRI near-infrared imager. The image shows the Orion "bullets" as blue features and represents the light emitted by hot iron (Fe) gas. The light from the wakes, shown in orange, is from excited hydrogen gas. Credit: Gemini Observatory / AURA.

09/14/2026

Scientists have discovered that volcanic glass can spontaneously trigger the formation of RNA, potentially solving the mystery of how life first began on Earth... Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1633391364908393&set=a.568782714702602

Scientists have discovered that volcanic glass can spontaneously trigger the formation of RNA, potentially solving the mystery of how life first began on Earth.

How did life arise from a lifeless planet? For decades, origin-of-life researchers have struggled to explain how simple chemical building blocks could spontaneously assemble into complex, information-carrying RNA molecules.

Now, a groundbreaking study has provided a remarkably simple solution. Researchers demonstrated that when nucleoside triphosphates—the building blocks of genetic material—percolate through basaltic volcanic glass, they spontaneously link together to form long, stable chains of RNA.

This volcanic glass, formed by ancient lava and meteorite impacts, was incredibly abundant on Earth roughly 4.35 billion years ago, providing the perfect natural laboratory for life to take root.

This discovery significantly strengthens the 'RNA World' hypothesis, which posits that self-replicating RNA molecules preceded DNA and proteins. Because the catalytic reaction requires no sophisticated biological machinery, it suggests that the chemical leap toward life is far more straightforward than previously assumed. Furthermore, since basaltic glass is also highly prevalent on Mars, this finding raises thrilling implications for astrobiology, suggesting that similar life-forming processes could have unfolded across the Red Planet and other rocky worlds throughout our solar system.

source: Jerome, C. A., Kim, H.-J., Mojzsis, S. J., & Benner, S. A. (2022). Catalytic Synthesis of Polyribonucleic Acid on Prebiotic Rock Glasses. Astrobiology, 22(6), 629-636.

09/14/2026

The Himalayas of Iapetus...| This stunning close-up view shows mountainous terrain that reaches about 10 kilometers (6 miles) high along the unique equatorial ridge of Iapetus. The view was acquired during Cassini's only close flyby of the two-toned Saturn moon. Above the middle of the image can be seen a place where an impact has exposed the bright ice beneath the dark overlying material. The image was captured by the Cassini Orbiter Imaging Science Subsystem - Narrow Angle camera.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

09/14/2026

Good morning from the Dolphin-Head Nebula, Earthlings! Blown by fast winds from a hot, massive star, this cosmic bubble is huge. Cataloged as Sharpless 2-308 it lies some 5,000 light-years away toward the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major) and covers slightly more of the sky than a Full Moon. That corresponds to a diameter of 60 light-years at its estimated distance. The massive star that created the bubble, a Wolf-Rayet star, is the bright one near the center of the nebula. Wolf-Rayet stars have over 20 times the mass of the Sun and are thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova phase of massive star evolution. Fast winds from this Wolf-Rayet star create the bubble-shaped nebula as they sweep up slower moving material from an earlier phase of evolution. The windblown nebula has an age of about 70,000 years. I wish you all a fantastic day! Image Credit: Nik Szymanek. Credit caption: APOD.

09/12/2026

Where fire meets the ocean… Goodnight, Earthlings, and have a wonderful weekend! Credit: soethje.com. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1747287223215673

09/11/2026

This stunning close-up of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa was captured by the JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno Spacecraft during its historic close flyby. The highly detailed view reveals a fractured crust crisscrossed by complex ridges, troughs, and bands—geological features created by intense tectonic stresses and the immense gravitational pull of Jupiter. Beneath this frozen, cantaloupe-like exterior lies a global subsurface saltwater ocean that scientists believe could hold twice as much water as all of Earth's oceans combined. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

09/11/2026

Blue Origin has been selected by NASA to build the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO). https://www.facebook.com/reel/1096197322905969