Planetary Science

  1. Earth

    Water’s unclear origins, shaky solutions to climate change and more reader feedback

    Readers discuss the pitfalls of carbon storage, whether a recent movie got Alan Turing's story right and more.

    By Science News Staff
  2. Oceans

    ‘Ocean Worlds’ chronicles the story of water on Earth and across the cosmos

    Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams recount the history and predict the future of Earth’s oceans.

    By Christopher Crockett
  3. Planetary Science

    Space simulations of 1960s focused on survival

    50 years ago, space simulations focused on survival. Now, quality of life is critical, too.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  4. Planetary Science

    New Horizons spies two of Pluto’s moons

    Nix and Hydra come into view on the 85th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery.

    By Christopher Crockett
  5. Planetary Science

    Dwarf planet Ceres comes into view

    New images from the Dawn spacecraft reveal a landscape of craters and mysterious bright patches on the dwarf planet Ceres.

    By Christopher Crockett
  6. Astronomy

    Pair of stars buzzed the solar system 70,000 years ago

    Astronomers discover a binary system that made the closest known flyby of the sun.

    By Christopher Crockett
  7. Planetary Science

    Enceladus ocean may resemble Antarctic lake

    The pH of a subsurface sea on a moon of Saturn resembles an ice-covered lake in Antarctica where microbial mats thrive.

    By Christopher Crockett
  8. Planetary Science

    New Horizons snaps new photos of Pluto

    Pluto and its moon Charon appear as two smudges in the first pictures taken since New Horizons came out of hibernation.

    By Christopher Crockett
  9. Planetary Science

    Large asteroid buzzes Earth

    Asteroid 2004 BL86 swings by Earth today at three times the distance to the moon, the closest asteroid encounter until 2027.

    By Christopher Crockett
  10. Planetary Science

    Decades-old idea brought to fruition: a mission to Mercury

    In 1965, engineers proposed sending a spacecraft to Mercury with help from another planet’s gravity – a technique now used in many interplanetary missions.

    By Christopher Crockett
  11. Planetary Science

    Rosetta reveals a complex comet

    Rosetta finds diverse landscapes on comet 67P, which could provide researchers with clues about how the solar system formed.

    By Christopher Crockett
  12. Planetary Science

    Young asteroids generated long-lasting magnetism

    Pockets of iron and nickel in meteorites suggest that asteroids in the early solar system produced magnetic fields for much longer than once thought.

    By Thomas Sumner