This artist’s illustration represents the possible interior dynamics of the super-Earth exoplanet LHS 3844b. The planet’s interior properties and the strong stellar irradiation might lead to a ...

"We're not saying, and we can't say, that there's no life in Europa. What we're saying is that it's a harder proposition, ...

Astronomers have been intently studying an exoplanet called LHS 3844b for many years. Back in 2019, researchers announced that they believed the planet was covered by dark lava rock. Researchers ...

Computer simulations have revealed that a hostile, tidally locked exoplanet located roughly 45 light-years from Earth is capable of hosting tectonic activity on a massive scale. Tectonic activity is ...

For the first time, researchers from the University of Bern in Switzerland have found evidence of tectonic activity on a planet outside of our Solar System. The exoplanet, called LHS 3844b, has a ...

The interiors of rocky planets and moons tend to be pretty hot compared with their surfaces. This heat, which can be caused by a number of sources — such as tidal stretching and compression, the ...

After modeling Europa's conditions, the researchers concluded that its rocky seafloor is likely mechanically too strong to ...

A new study has revealed that tectonic activity on Venus may have caused sections of the planet's upper crust to become fragmented into smaller bodies that, over vast swathes of time, barge past each ...

Snapshots from six computer simulations illustrating the distinct tectonic regimes of terrestrial planets, including the newly discovered “episodic-squishy lid” regime. This framework provides a new ...

Earth is a dynamic and constantly changing planet. From the formation of mountains and oceans to the eruption of volcanoes, the surface of our planet is in a constant state of flux. At the heart of ...

A newly identified tectonic "regime" may rewrite our understanding of how rocky worlds evolve, scientists report in a new study. The findings may help to explain why Earth became geologically vibrant ...