Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    This meteorite’s diamonds hint that it was born in a lost planet

    Bits of metal nestled inside diamonds suggest the space rock could have formed in a Mars-sized protoplanet in the early solar system.

    By
  2. Space

    Lasers squeezed iron to mimic the conditions of exoplanet cores

    In the first experiment to measure what exoplanets might be like on the inside, scientists hit iron with 176 lasers at once.

    By
  3. Paleontology

    Readers debate dinosaur designation and more

    Readers had questions about the dino family tree and Venus' habitability.

    By
  4. Planetary Science

    Water may have killed Mars’ magnetic field

    Extra hydrogen near the Red Planet’s iron core could have shut down convection.

    By
  5. Planetary Science

    This spinning moon shows where debris from giant impacts fell

    A new map shows that light-colored lunar plains point back to huge impact basins, raising questions about the age and history of the moon.

    By
  6. Planetary Science

    Venus may be home to a new kind of tectonics

    Venus’ surface seems to be divided into jostling blocks of crust, defying conventional wisdom about how the surfaces of rocky planets work.

    By
  7. Anthropology

    Readers ponder children’s pretend play, planetary dust storms and more

    Readers had questions about children’s fantasy play, lasers creating 3-D images and dust storms on Mars.

    By
  8. Planetary Science

    5 things we’ve learned about Saturn since Cassini died

    The Cassini spacecraft plunged to its death into Saturn six months ago, but the discoveries keep coming.

    By
  9. Planetary Science

    Some TRAPPIST-1 planets may be water worlds

    Two of TRAPPIST-1’s planets are half water and ice, which could hamper the search for life.

    By
  10. Artificial Intelligence

    AI bests humans at mapping the moon

    AI does a more thorough job of counting craters than humans.

    By
  11. Planetary Science

    Dwarf planet Ceres may store underground brine that still gushes up today

    Waterlogged minerals and changing ice add to evidence that Ceres is geologically active.

    By
  12. Astronomy

    New Horizons’ next target has been dubbed Ultima Thule

    NASA has named New Horizons spacecraft’s next target Ultima Thule after the public suggested tens of thousands of monikers for the Kuiper Belt object.

    By