Mars InSight Lander Yields a Year of Surprising Discoveries Above and Below the Surface of the Red Planet
A batch of new papers summarizes the lander’s findings above and below the surface of the Red Planet. A new understanding of Mars is beginning…
Planets News
Iron Isotopes Show That Planet Earth Formed Much Faster Than Scientists Thought
By measuring iron isotopes, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have shown that our planet originally formed much faster than previously thought. This finding provides…
Journey to the Center of Mars – Investigating the Composition of the Red Planet
While InSight’s seismometer has been patiently waiting for the next big marsquake to illuminate its interior and define its crust-mantle-core structure, two scientists, Takashi Yoshizaki…
Jupiter Water Mystery Updated With Findings From NASA’s Juno Spacecraft
The mission publishes its first stream of data on the amount of water in Jupiter’s atmosphere — the first findings on the gas giant’s water…
Evidence That Early Magnetic Field Around Earth Was Even Stronger Than Scientists Previously Believed
Deep within Earth, swirling liquid iron generates our planet’s protective magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is vital for life on Earth’s surface:…
Pluto’s Icy Heart Heart Beats Daily, Pumping Nitrogen Winds Around the Dwarf Planet
A “beating heart” of frozen nitrogen controls Pluto’s winds and may give rise to features on its surface, according to new research. Pluto’s renowned heart-shaped…
Newfound Martian Proton Aurora Can Help Track Mars’ Water Loss
A type of Martian aurora first identified by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft in 2016 is actually the most common form of aurora occurring on the Red…
Physicists May Have Just Solved a Fundamental Mystery of How Planets Form
Scientists may have figured out how dust particles can stick together to form planets, according to a Rutgers co-authored study that may also help to…
‘Asteroid’ Hygiea Could Actually Be Smallest Dwarf Planet in the Solar System
Astronomers using ESO’s SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that the asteroid Hygiea could be classified as a dwarf planet. The…
New Models Show There Are Many Gas Giant Exoplanets Waiting to Be Discovered
There is an as-yet-unseen population of Jupiter-like planets orbiting nearby Sun-like stars, awaiting discovery by future missions. Washington, DC — There is an as-yet-unseen population…
New Study Reveals Evidence That Venus Was Once Habitable
Venus may have been a temperate planet hosting liquid water for 2-3 billion years, until a dramatic transformation starting over 700 million years ago resurfaced…
Surprise: Saturn’s Icy Rings May Actually Be As Old As the Solar System Itself
Research of Cassini data suggests icy rings are as old as the solar system itself. No one knows for certain when Saturn’s iconic rings formed,…
New Observations May Finally Explain the Mysterious Fading of Tabby’s Star
A Columbia study suggests chunks of an exomoon’s dusty outer layers of ice, gas and carbonaceous rock may be accumulating in a disk surrounding star….
The Search for Life on Other Worlds Continues
The search for Earth-like planets has intensified as astronomers continue to look for potential life on other worlds. Now one of the leading exoplanet hunters…
NASA’s New Horizons Has Discovered Methane Snow on Pluto’s Peaks
The New Horizons team has discovered a chain of exotic snowcapped mountains stretching across the dark expanse on Pluto informally named Cthulhu Regio. One of…
Planets Aligning in Rare Triple Conjunction
At the end of May, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury will form a bright triangle only three degrees wide in the night’s sunset, displaying a rare…
WASP-12 b, A Planet Being Consumed By Its Own Sun
A newly published study takes a closer look at WASP-12 b, a planet that is being consumed by its own star. A planet roughly 1.4…
Kepler Data Used to Identify 41 New Transiting Planets
Using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, scientists have verified 41 new transiting planets in 20 star systems, ranging from Earth-size to more than seven…