Liquid

Metal clouds and liquid gems spotted in the atmosphere of hot Jupiter WASP-121 b

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An artist’s impression of the hot Jupiter exoplanet WASP-121 b. In a new study, researchers explored the exoplanet’s nightside.  (Image credit: Patricia Klein and MPIA) Imagine a world where the clouds are made of metal and liquid rubies and sapphires rain down from the sky. A new study shows that, on the hot Jupiter exoplanet … Read more

This Extremely Extreme Exoplanet Has Metal Vapor Clouds And Rains Liquid Jewels

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A giant exoplanet 855 light-years away is so extreme, it has clouds of vaporized metals and rains liquid rubies and sapphires. That’s the conclusion astronomers have reached after probing its atmosphere – the most detailed such analysis to date, revealing for the first time the conditions and dynamics of the exoplanet’s permanent night side.   … Read more

The Iron of Earth’s Inner Core Could Be in a Strange ‘Superionic’ State, Study Finds

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Deep below the crust of Earth, past the thick mantle and liquid outer core, lies a 1,220-kilometer (760 mile) ball of solid inner core. But a new study has suggested that the inner core is not solid at all, instead forming a ‘superionic state’ with hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, making it unlike either a liquid … Read more

Physicists Reveal The Weird Shapes Ice Takes as It Melts at Different Temperatures

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Melting ice can take on different shapes depending on the temperature of the water around it, new research reveals, giving us new insights into the complex physics that underlie this deceptively complicated transition.   The team behind the research created ultra-pure ‘clear’ ice for their experiments, free from bubbles and impurities, then observed the ice … Read more

Mysterious Signal of Hidden Lakes on Mars May Not Be What We Thought

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The likelihood of lakes of liquid water hidden under Mars‘ southern polar ice cap is receding before our very eyes. Last year, a paper found that temperatures were likely far too cold for water to remain unfrozen in the region. Now, a new study has found that the radar signal interpreted as liquid water was … Read more

The Moon That Resembles The Death Star Has Been Hiding Another Epic Secret

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The Solar System may be an even soggier place than we suspected. New analysis of one of Saturn’s moons suggests that it may harbor a liquid ocean. No, not the usual suspects – the new culprit is Mimas, the little moon with a big crater, which gives it more than a passing resemblance to the … Read more

Scientists Smash Temperature Record on Keeping ‘Freezing Cold’ Water in Liquid Form

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Scientists have just proven that the freezing temperature of water can be even lower than what we thought was possible. Taking tiny droplets of water, up to just 150 nanometers in size, a team of engineers at the University of Houston has pushed the critical temperature threshold to -44 degrees Celsius (-47.2 degrees Fahrenheit) – … Read more