Planetary Science
How did Pluto capture its largest moon, Charon?
Planetary scientist Adeene Denton runs computer simulations to investigate Pluto, the moons of Saturn and other icy bodies in the solar system.
Planetary Science
More Stories in Planetary Science
- Planetary Science
Future Martians will need to breathe. It won’t be easy
Asteroid impacts, microbes, mining: These are a few tactics engineers might one day use to create an Earthlike atmosphere on Mars.
- Planetary Science
Seismic waves suggest Mars has a solid heart
NASA’s InSight lander listened to Marsquakes for four years. The tremors revealed that Mars may have a solid inner core.
- Planetary Science
A Mars rock analysis tool proved its mettle on a chance find from Arizona
On Mars, the Perseverance rover found a spotted rock that could bear signs of ancient life. On Earth, a researcher used a lookalike for a dry run.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s Webb telescope spotted a new moon orbiting Uranus
Like Uranus's other 28 moons, the newfound object spotted by JWST will be named after a William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope character.
- Planetary Science
How alien ‘canals’ sparked debate over life on Mars
In The Martians, journalist David Baron recounts scientific and public debate over purported intelligent life on the Red Planet.
- Planetary Science
Cosmic rays could, in theory, sustain life on other worlds
The hypothesis could extend the search for extraterrestrial life to include frigid planets with thin atmospheres and underground water.
- Planetary Science
A giant planet may orbit our closest sunlike neighbor
Alpha Centauri A, four light-years from Earth, may host a gas giant. If confirmed, no Earthlike planets orbit in the star’s habitable zone.
- Planetary Science
This star offers the earliest peek at the birth of a planetary system like ours
A young sunlike star called HOPS 315 seems to host a swirling disk of gas giving rise to minerals that kick-start the planet formation process.
- Planetary Science
New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago. We’re still learning from it
Over the past decade, researchers have been puzzling through Pluto’s mysteries. Meanwhile, the New Horizons probe heads for interstellar space.
