magma

New insight into magma chambers could improve volcano models | Science

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Researchers have discovered a simple and surprising control over the depth of a volcano’s magma chamber: how much water it contains. The finding is significant because water fuels the most devastating eruptions—from Vesuvius in 79 C.E. to Mount Pinatubo in 1991. The work could also help improve models that predict eruptions, which for years have … Read more

Moon’s crust may have formed from ‘slushy’ magma ocean long ago

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The moon’s crust might have formed from an unevenly layered “slush” of magma that once covered the entire body, a new study reports. It’s the latest turn of the wheel on scientists’ picture of how the moon and its features formed, a picture that’s been continually changing ever since Apollo astronauts brought moon rocks back … Read more

Tonga volcano: Massive eruption was a once-in-a-millennium event

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The underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption has already triggered a tsunami, a sonic boom and thousands of lightning bolts, and could now lead to acid rain Earth 17 January 2022 By Alice Klein Satellite photo of the eruption CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS The massive explosion of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga on Saturday was its … Read more

Why Was The Volcano Explosion in Tonga So Violent, And What to Expect Now?

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The Kingdom of Tonga doesn’t often attract global attention, but a violent eruption of an underwater volcano on January 15 has spread shock waves, quite literally, around half the world.   The volcano is usually not much to look at. It consists of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga, poking about 100 meters (328 … Read more

The moon: Magnetic field may have been disrupted by huge sinking rocks

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There’s a new explanation for the moon’s former magnetic field, and it involves 60-kilometre-wide slabs of rock sinking through the lunar mantle Space 13 January 2022 By Matthew Sparkes The moon once had a relatively strong magnetic field NASA Moon rocks collected by the Apollo missions sparked a mystery because they showed signs of having formed … Read more

Venus: Early impacts on the planet may have made it far hotter than Earth

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Collisions with high-speed space rocks in Venus’s early history could have melted most of the planet’s mantle and driven any water into the atmosphere Space 17 December 2021 By Jonathan O’Callaghan Artist’s rendering of an early, large collision on Venus Southwest Research Institute/Simone Marchi High-speed impacts on Venus early in its history could help explain … Read more

Organic Molecules Have Been Confirmed in The Jezero Crater on Mars

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It hasn’t even been on Mars a full year, and NASA’s Perseverance rover is making excellent surprise discoveries. Amid a number of findings announced this week at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, scientists have revealed that the Jezero Crater formed from molten volcanic magma – and that organic molecules have been discovered in rocks … Read more