Neptune’s Vanishing Cloud Mystery: Astronomers Discover a Solar Connection
As Sunspots Come and Go, So Does the Cloudy Weather on the Blue Giant Planet Weather forecast for Neptune: After sunny weather for the past…
Planets News
Megastorms on Saturn: 100-Year-Long Storms Challenge Our Understanding of Gas Giants
Megastorms leave marks on Saturn’s atmosphere for centuries. Researchers have discovered long-lasting megastorms on Saturn, similar to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, through the study of…
Mars Is Spinning Faster: NASA’s InSight Uncovers Surprising Acceleration
Data sent by the spacecraft before it retired last December has provided new details about how fast the planet rotates and how much it wobbles….
Race Against Time: Earth’s Most Ancient Impact Craters Are Disappearing
Earth’s earliest history still holds mysteries for geologists, and ancient craters could provide some answers — scientists are racing against time to find them. Earth’s…
In the Heart of Mars: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Unearths Ancient Rivers’ Secrets
The six-wheeled geologist is getting some assistance in its search for diverse rock samples that could be brought to Earth for deeper investigation. The Perseverance…
Search for Ancient Martian Life: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Sees Mars in a New Light
A cutting-edge instrument called SHERLOC, which hunts for molecules potentially related to ancient life, played a key role in a recent study. In its first…
The Genesis of Jupiters: Incredible New Image Reveals Secrets of Planet Birth
A spectacular new image released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) gives us clues about how planets as massive as Jupiter could form. Using ESO’s…
Planet Resurfacing: Venus Volcanism Could Have Been Fueled by Ancient, High-Energy Impacts
Models show Venus’ superheated core could produce extended volcanism and long-lived resurfacing. A Southwest Research Institute-led team has modeled the early impact history of Venus…
NASA’s Webb Space Telescope Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-Forming Zone
The finding shows that a water reservoir is available for terrestrial planets that might be coalescing there. Water, water, everywhere – not in drops, but…
Cosmic Nomads: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Could Find 400 Earth-Mass Rogue Planets
New research conducted by scientists from NASA and Japan’s Osaka University suggests that rogue planets, or worlds that drift through space untethered to a star,…
Extraterrestrial Devourer: A Scorching Hot Exoplanet That May Have Swallowed a Smaller Neighbor
An international research team, using the MAROON-X instrument, has detected and quantified 11 chemical elements in the ultra-hot exoplanet WASP-76 b’s atmosphere. Unexpected abundance anomalies…
Birth of Our Planet: Caltech Uncovers New Details of Earth’s Formation
A new study from Caltech suggests the early Earth formed from hot, dry materials, implying water arrived late in Earth’s formation. The research, offering clues…
Exotrojan Unicorns: Astronomers Uncover Possible Sibling Planets
Astronomers have detected a debris cloud that could indicate a ‘sibling’ planet sharing the orbit of an existing planet around a distant star, using the…
NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Encounters Giant Swirling Waves at the Edge of Jupiter’s Magnetosphere
Waves produced by Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities transfer energy in the solar system. A team led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at…
Sizzling Secrets of WASP-76b: Unmasking a Hot Jupiter’s Vaporized Rock Atmosphere
Chemistry of so-called ‘hot Jupiter’ provides new insights into the formation of our Solar System. Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope, one half of the…
Mercury’s Metallic Mystery: NASA’s MESSENGER Mission Decodes Chromium Clues
Researchers used NASA MESSENGER mission data to map chromium abundance on Mercury, discovering a significant amount in the planet’s large metallic core. This study, combining…
Astronomical Boost: Chances of Finding Water on Alien Worlds Increased by x100
New research presented at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference suggests a significantly higher likelihood of finding Earth-like exoplanets with liquid water, essential for life, than previously…
“Mars’ Last Ice Age Ends With a Twist: Climate Changes Evident in Dune Formations
Using data from the Zhurong rover, researchers have discovered a major climate shift on Mars around 400,000 years ago, marked by a significant change in…