Planetary Science
- Space
Rules guarding other planets from contamination may be too strict
Voluntary international guidelines for visiting the moon, Mars and other places — and for bringing stuff back to Earth — are overly cautious, scientists say.
- Space
The solar system may have a new smallest dwarf planet: Hygiea
New images reveal Hygiea is round, a final criterion for promoting the wee world from asteroid to dwarf planet status.
- Planetary Science
Astronomers have spotted a new type of storm on Saturn
In 2018, telescopes on Earth and in space identified a never-before-seen kind of storm activity on the ringed planet.
- Space
How the second known interstellar visitor makes ‘Oumuamua seem even odder
With its gaseous halo and tail, the second discovered interstellar object, 2I/Borisov, looks basically like your run-of-the-mill solar system comet.
- Space
Why just being in the habitable zone doesn’t make exoplanets livable
A reignited debate over whether a new planet is habitable highlights the difficult science of seeking alien life.
- Space
‘Imagined Life’ envisions the odd critters of other planets
The authors of ‘Imagined Life’ rely on science to sketch out what kind of organisms might exist on exoplanets.
- Planetary Science
India’s first attempt to land on the moon appears to have failed
Indian scientists haven’t heard from the Vikram lander for a full lunar day, after they lost contact during the robotic spacecraft’s descent.
- Planetary Science
Astronomers have spotted a second interstellar object
Researchers will be able to watch what appears to be an interstellar comet swoop through the solar system for about a year.
- Space
India lost contact with its first lunar lander just before touchdown
Chandrayaan 2 mission officials are trying to figure out why its rover-carrying lander went silent moments before it was to reach the moon’s surface.
- Space
Iron sulfide may be keeping Mercury’s core toasty and its magnetic field alive
New estimates of how much heat Mercury’s core loses could explain why the tiny world has a long-lived magnetic field.
- Space
Overnight changes in Mars’ atmosphere could solve a methane mystery
Overnight atmospheric changes on Mars can explain why two spacecraft measure vastly different concentrations of methane.
- Space
5 of Jupiter’s newly discovered moons received names in a public contest
Astronomers first announced the discovery of the worlds in July 2018, and have now named them for goddesses and spirits of Greek and Roman mythology.
