Ariana Fernandez and her magnetometer have a terrific view of Peru.
Admittedly, it’s no postcard image. Fernandez, a senior majoring in archaeological studies, goes in more for soil samples than scenic vistas. Yet with her bits of burnt earth and some world-class technology, she sees South America’s past, present, and geophysical future in stunning detail. (more…)
A new analysis of data from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft has revealed that beneath the surface of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io is an “ocean” of molten or partially molten magma.
The finding, from a study published May 13 in the journal Science, is the first direct confirmation of such a magma layer on Io and explains why the moon is the most volcanic object known in the solar system. The research was conducted by scientists from UCLA, UC Santa Cruz and the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. (more…)
