Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    Ceres harbors homegrown organic compounds

    NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has detected organic matter — the building blocks of life — on the dwarf planet Ceres, a new study suggests.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Red Planet’s interior may not churn much

    The magma fueling a Martian volcanic system remained largely unchanged for billions of years, analysis of a newfound meteorite suggests.

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  3. Planetary Science

    Oxygen atoms from Earth bombard the moon

    Oxygen atoms originating from the upper atmosphere periodically bombard the moon’s surface, researchers propose.

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  4. Life

    Asteroid barrage, ancient marine life boom not linked

    Impacts from asteroid debris probably didn’t trigger the boom in marine animal diversity around 471 million years ago during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Weird wave found in Venus’ wind-whipped atmosphere

    A 10,000-kilometer-long gravity wave arched across the upper atmosphere of Venus. The feature may have been the largest of its kind in the solar system.

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  6. Planetary Science

    The moon is still old

    New analysis of moon rocks points to our satellite forming about 4.51 billion years ago, roughly 60 million years after the start of the solar system.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Many tiny moons came together to form moon, simulations suggest

    Earth’s moon formed from mini-moons generated by a series of medium to large impacts, rather than from one colossal collision, researchers propose

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  8. Planetary Science

    Dawn spacecraft maps water beneath the surface of Ceres

    Water ice sits just beneath the surface and within some permanently shadowed craters of the dwarf planet Ceres.

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  9. Planetary Science

    Moon’s lava tubes could be colossal

    Lava tubes inside the moon could remain structurally sound up to 5 kilometers across and offer prime real estate for lunar colonists.

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  10. Planetary Science

    First signs of boron on Mars hint at past groundwater, habitability

    The Curiosity rover has found the first signs of boron on Mars, which could hint at past habitable groundwater.

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  11. Planetary Science

    First signs of boron on Mars hint at past groundwater, habitability

    The Curiosity rover has found the first signs of boron on Mars, which could hint at past habitable groundwater.

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  12. Planetary Science

    Ice gave Pluto a heavy heart

    Sputnik Planitia, the left half of Pluto’s heart-shaped region, might have been carved out by the weight of thick layers of ice built up billions of years ago.

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