Topic description and stories

The Deccan Traps in western India

Did dinosaur-killing asteroid trigger largest lava flows on Earth?

12 May 2015

The asteroid that slammed into the ocean off Mexico 66 million years ago and killed off the dinosaurs probably rang the Earth like a bell, triggering...

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The Esquel pallasite from the Natural History Museum collections, consists of gem-quality crystals of the silicate mineral olivine embedded in a matrix of iron-nickel alloy.

Death of a dynamo – a hard drive from space

21 Jan 2015

Hidden magnetic messages contained within ancient meteorites are providing a unique window into the processes that shaped our solar system, and may...

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An image of the star Gilese 581 (bottom of image), with an illustration of the debris disc superimposed to show its position.

Low-mass planets make good neighbours for debris discs

27 Nov 2012

Astronomers using the Herschel Space Observatory have detected massive debris discs around two nearby stars hosting low-mass planets. The discovery...

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