From our earliest history, humans have contemplated the cosmos. Before we had an inkling of the nature of our own solar system, we wondered at the composition of our sister planets. And long before we knew there were planets orbiting other stars, we wondered if we, earth-bound beings, were alone in the universe.
This need to understand the nature of the universe and our place in it continues to fuel modern astronomy and space exploration, says Jonathan Lunine, the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and director of the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science. Lunine is a planetary scientist who studies how planets form and evolve, especially the giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn and their diverse moons. Read more about Lunine's work in this Cornell Research story.
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
This color composite view shows the moon Europa in natural color (left) and in enhanced color (right). The yellowish patch is Tara Regio, the geologic region where the most CO2 is seen and where Hubble recently detected ocean-derived salt.
Chris Kitchen
Alexa Easley is working to develop materials for low-energy carbon capture that are organic and easy to make on large scales and in realistic conditions.
Provided
St. Hovhannes Church of Chahuk (built in the 12th or 13th century and renovated in the 17th and 19th centuries) was destroyed between 1997 and 2009, as documented in a new report from Caucasus Heritage Watch.