Washington, D.C.—Astronomers have discovered a new super-Earth in the habitable zone, where liquid water and a stable atmosphere could reside, around the nearby star HD 40307. It is one of three new super-Earths found around the star that has three other low-mass planets orbiting it.

DTM Staff Scientist Paul Butler and former postdoctoral fellow Guillem Anglada discovered the star HD 40307 using a new velocity reduction package created by Anglada during his time at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism.

For more information, check out the Carnegie Institution press release.

In her latest paper appearing in Nature Geoscience, “Coupling at Mauna Loa and Kilauea by stress transfer in an asthenospheric melt layer,” DTM Visiting Investigator, Cecily Wolfe, explains the behavior of two dueling volcanoes.

Hawaiian volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, were originally thought to have no relationship, but a discovery 50 miles below the surface, may prove otherwise.

Kilauea may be acting as a pressure release valve for Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on the planet.  Based on eruptive patterns and an increased “bulge” in both volcanoes, scientists believe this is proof of a link between the two.

"It has been suggested before that the eruptive behavior at Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes may somehow be coupled.  We present the first model that quantitatively explains the mechanism of their volcano coupling, which we propose occurs by stress transfer in the Earth's partially molten asthenosphere," says Cecily Wolfe.  "The results may be applicable to other pairs of closely spaced volcanoes around the world."

For more information, check out Wolfe’s paper: “Coupling at Mauna Loa and Kilauea by stress transfer in an asthenospheric melt layer.”