Astronomers discover an Earth-sized “pi planet” with a 3.14-day orbit
The rocky world, with its baking-hot surface, is likely not habitable.
Department
Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
MIT Integrative Microbiology Initiative will stimulate environmental microbiology research
Project supported by the Simons Foundation aims to reinvigorate environmental science by leaning on Parsons Laboratory's past as a leader in the space.
Did our early ancestors boil their food in hot springs?
Scientists have found evidence of hot springs near sites where ancient hominids settled, long before the control of fire.
Astronomers may have found a signature of life on Venus
Evidence indicates phosphine, a gas associated with living organisms, is present in the habitable region of Venus’ atmosphere.
School of Science appoints 12 faculty members to named professorships
Those selected for these positions receive additional support to pursue their research and develop their careers.
Winners of 2020 Teaching With Digital Technology Award recognized for their innovations
Thirty-one MIT instructors honored for digital teaching excellence in extraordinary circumstances.
School of Science grows by 10
Joining the School of Science, 10 faculty members expand the departments of Biology; Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Mathematics; and Physics.
Two projects receive funding for technologies that avoid carbon emissions
Asegun Henry, Paul Barton, and Matěj Peč will lead research supported by the MIT Energy Initiative's Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Center.
Lava oceans may not explain the brightness of some hot super-Earths
By making their own lava and cooled glass, scientists find these materials likely aren’t responsible for the unexpected glow of some exoplanets.
MindHandHeart announces a record 24 Community Innovation Fund projects
Fund has launched a special summer round to spearhead projects addressing mental health, well-being, and racial justice at MIT.
Study: A plunge in incoming sunlight may have triggered “Snowball Earths”
Findings also suggest exoplanets lying within habitable zones may be susceptible to ice ages.
Study sheds light on the evolution of the earliest dinosaurs
Geological evidence suggests the known dinosaur groups diverged early on, supporting the traditional dinosaur family tree.
With Perseverance and a little MOXIE, MIT is going to Mars
Led by MIT researchers, one of the experiments aboard the next mission to the Red Planet aims to generate oxygen from Martian air.
An origin story for a family of oddball meteorites
Study suggests the rare objects likely came from an early planetesimal with a magnetic core.
TESS mission discovers massive ice giant
Neptune-sized planet may be remnant core of a much larger planet.