Researchers Propose a Method to Investigate Exoplanet Surfaces
Researchers aim to analyze exoplanets in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to better understand the surface composition of exoplanets and to…
Planetary Science News
The Wild Weather of Hot Jupiters
A newly published study and a four minute video from NASA Science explore the wild weather on exoplanets known as hot Jupiters. Among the hundreds…
Middle Stone Age Innovation Linked to Rapid Climate Change
A newly published study presents the most convincing evidence so far that abrupt climate change was instrumental in the development human evolution. Rapid climate change…
NASA’s Lunar Program Detects Bright Explosion on the Moon
NASA’s lunar monitoring program detected a bright impact on the Moon when a meteoroid hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium. The resulting flash was…
Curiosity Rover Drills Second Rock Target
NASA’s Curiosity rover has completed the drilling of the second rock sample on Mars and should deliver portions of the sample in coming days to…
Weather on Uranus and Neptune Limited to a “Weather Layer”
In a newly published study, researchers detail the atmospheric circulation patterns of Uranus and Neptune, finding that the streams of gas observed in the atmosphere…
Scientists Use Cassini Data to Create First Global Topographic Map of Titan
Using data from the Cassini spacecraft, researchers have created the first global topographic map of Saturn’s moon Titan. Scientists have created the first global topographic…
Curiosity Team Selects Second Drilling Location on Mars
Scientists have chosen the second drilling site for the Curiosity rover on Mars. The team operating NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has selected a second target…
Study Suggests Earth and Moon Have Common Water Source
Using a multicollector ion microprobe to study hydrogen-deuterium ratios in lunar rock and on Earth, a new study suggests that water on the Moon is…
Project 1640 Reveals Precise Composition Information About Four HR 8799 Planets
Using infrared cameras equipped with spectrographs at the Palomar Observatory in California, Project 1640 was able to get precise composition information about four planets around…
Researchers Believe They Can Reliably Predict Snowstorms on Mars
Using a climate model adapted to the special conditions on Mars, researchers believe they can reliably predict snowstorms on Mars far in advance, helping future…
New Study Suggests Wind, Not Water, Formed Mount Sharp on Mars
In a newly published study, scientists from Princeton University and the California Institute of Technology suggest that Mount Sharp most likely emerged as strong winds…
Study Reveals How Saturn’s Magnetosphere Changes With the Seasons
Using data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, scientists from the University of Iowa have discovered how the magnetosphere around Saturn changes with the planet’s seasons, providing…
ESA’s Mars Express Captures New Images of Sulci Gordii
ESA’s Mars Express has captured new images of a region on Mars known as Sulci Gordii, which lies about 200 km east of Olympus Mons….
Scientists Reveal Saturn’s Youthful Appearance Is the Result of Layered Convection
In a new study, scientists from the University of Exeter and the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon reveal that Saturn’s youthful appearance is due to…
Two New Extrasolar Planets KOI-200b and KOI-889b Detected
Two new transiting, close-in, giant extrasolar planets KOI-200b and KOI-889b, have been detected and characterized with Kepler, SOPHIE and HARPS-N. An international team of astronomers,…
Cassini Views a Spinning Vortex at Saturn’s North Pole
Taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, this NASA image of the day shows the spinning vortex of Saturn’s north polar storm. The spinning vortex of Saturn’s…
Cassini Observes Meteors Colliding With Saturn’s Rings
Using NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, astronomers observed meteors colliding with Saturn’s rings. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of small meteoroids breaking into…