In Earth and Planetary Science Letters for April (vol. 679): Libourel, G. Portail, M. Guigoz, V. et al. Low temperature brine formation by serpentinization on asteroid (162,173) Ryugu Art 119885 .119885 We know water existed in the early Solar System,… Read More »Note, Paper: Ryugu Vieux Pot-Au-Feu
Not breaking news but a bit groundbreaking: in Nature Astronomy: Koga, T. Oba, Y. Takano, Y. et al. A complete set of canonical nucleobases in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu s41550-026-02791-z The big news is the discovery of all five… Read More »Note, Paper: Ryugu U-too Goo
The Lunar and Planetary Science Conference continues into day 3-4, Wednesday and Thursday. https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2026/ https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2026/program/ See also: Part I Of the (large) program, here’s my small-body selections: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 Differentiated Bodies: Petrology and Cosmochemistry Neumann W. et al. … Read More »LPSC 2026- Part II
Now up from Geochem J (vol. 60 #2): Matsumoto, Y. Tachibana, S. Dehydration of MgHPO4·3H2O (newberyite) under low pressure conditions and its implications for the surface thermal history of Ruygu and Bennu p7 .GJ26002 Time for some more experimental (laboratory)… Read More »Note, Paper: Phosphate Dehydrate Play
Published by JGR-Planets (vol. 131 #2): Sato, M. Kimura, Y. Hatakeyama, T. et al. Characteristics of Natural Remanence Records in Fine‐Grained Particles Returned From Asteroid Ryugu 2025JE009265 The question of asteroid magnetic fields is a constant, unanswered one. Differentiated, iron… Read More »Note, Paper: Asteroid Magnet Framboids?
Let’s stay current with Planetary Science Journal (all articles 2026, vol. 7): Fraser Gillan, A. Fitzsimmons, A. Chandler, C. O. et al. On the Border: Searching for Cometary Activity near the Centaur-JFC Transition Line 3 ae2c7fDeshapriya, J. D. P. Hasselmann,… Read More »Note, Paper: Activity, Activation, and Adsorption
Almost missed this one again… maybe I should give Astronomy magazine more credit: www.astronomy.com/issues/2026/february-2026/www.astronomy.com/science/top-10-space-stories-of-2025/8. An interstellar comet comes to visit6. Bennu and Ryugu may be siblings1. Vera Rubin Observatory begins its surveyHonorable mention: 7. Solar Orbiter, PUNCH, and Proba-3 show… Read More »Telescope Top-Honor Spot
Now up: a lecture, available online, about petrologic Type 1 meteorites and other astromaterials: https://meteoritical.org/society/ed-scott-lecture-series The series, as you might have guessed, are in tribute to Dr. Ed Scott, who died in 2021. Scott was a published and celebrated meteoriticist… Read More »Type 1 Meteorite/Flights, Online…
Very interesting interview this week in the Art Astra podcast: https://www.artastra.space/episodes/scicomm-elizabeth-taskerEpisode 15 Science Communication for International Audiences with Dr. Elizabeth Tasker You can use the direct link, or a podcast aggregator (no shortage of them). Dr. Tasker is a member… Read More »Dr. Elizabeth Tasker Interview
Going on this moment: the Macao International Forum on Space and Planetary Sciences 2026: ifmacao.must.edu.mo In the program (https://ifmacao.must.edu.mo/program-detail): Xiaodong WANG, Solar Wind, Cometary Ions and Energetic Neutral Atoms (SCIENA) Sensor for the ESA Comet Interceptor Mission Long XIAO, The… Read More »Macau Forum on Space and Planetary Sciences