A large fraction of the stars of the present-day Universe is enclosed in giant, round-shaped galaxies, called “ellipticals”. Elliptical galaxies host very old stars, formed more than 10 billion years ago when the universe was still young. Despite the large availability of gas (the fuel... click to read more

If you have had the opportunity to climb up to the top of a tall mountain, you have probably noticed that as you go up the trees become smaller and smaller, until they disappear from the landscape, and only small shrubs, grasses and herbs fill... click to read more

I invite you to use Google Earth and explore Mars. Look at the Martian southern hemisphere, and find an arid landscape littered with fossil valleys. These valleys speak of a remote past, when the red planet had water on its surface. There are thousands... click to read more

Who are the “big fish” in what is often called the ocean economy? The ocean economy is the part of the global economy that is linked to sea, for example, as an operating space or an input to a company’s production. Collectively, this ocean-linked economic... click to read more

A major ongoing threat to our planet is global warming. One of the main implications of global warming is the aridification of the continents, which is when a region becomes dry. Both natural (e.g., higher temperature, reduced precipitation, increased evaporation) and human influenced changes (e.g.,... click to read more