Astronomy

On a recent trip to Mars NASA’s Spirit rover has discovered more evidence that the planet is wetter then anyone thought. A patch of Martian soil kicked up and analyzed by Spirit appears to be rich in silica, which suggests it would have required water to produce. Chemical analysis performed by the rover’s robotic arm-mounted science instruments measured a composition of about 90 percent pure silica, a material commonly found in quartz on Earth, for the bit of Martian dirt, said mission scientists, who first heard of the find during a teleconference.

Researchers have been stufying the planet Mercury for quite some time and have finally discovered that there is molten fluid inside this tiny planet. This has helped researchers to understand why Mercury has small magnetic field surrounding it.

The magnetic field, which was discovered a few years ago by the Mariner 10 spacecraft, had scientists confused. At that time they were under the impression that the core of the planet had solidified a long time ago. Probably the most common explanation for a magnetic field is a molten interior, such as on Earth.