Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    Asteroid impact did not form the moon’s largest plain

    The moon's vast flatland — called Oceanus Procellarum — may have been formed through tectonic-like activity billions of years ago, scientists say.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Daily winds shift sands of Martian dune field

    Martian winds may stir the Red Planet's sands more often than scientists thought.

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  3. Planetary Science

    MAVEN spacecraft set to explore Martian atmosphere

    The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft entered into orbit around the Red Planet on September 21.

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  4. Planetary Science

    Feedback

    Readers discuss sources of stress in everyday life and tell us what they think about NASA's plan to nab an asteroid.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Spot on comet chosen for Rosetta mission lander

    Philae, the Rosetta mission lander, will attempt to land on a spot called site J on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

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  6. Planetary Science

    Moon’s farside hints at violent volcanic explosions

    The spread of the element thorium in the moon's Compton-Belkovich region suggests that silica volcanoes there once had violent explosions.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Plate tectonics spotted on Europa

    First evidence for plate tectonics elsewhere in solar system discovered on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.

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  8. Astronomy

    Rosetta’s comet shows few signs of surface ice

    The first data sent back from one instrument aboard the Rosetta spacecraft suggests that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has little surface ice.

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  9. Planetary Science

    To explain asteroid composition, scientists invoke nuts

    Brazil nut effect may explain why only large boulders dot surfaces of asteroids.

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  10. Astronomy

    Dust nabbed by spacecraft may be from outside the solar system

    NASA’s Stardust mission captured seven particles that probably come from interstellar space, providing researchers with the first direct samples from beyond the solar system.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Spacecraft films Pluto’s largest moon in orbit

    New Horizons spacecraft, en route to Pluto, captures nearly one orbit of dwarf planet’s largest moon.

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  12. Planetary Science

    NASA bets on asteroid mission as best path to Mars

    NASA wants to bag an asteroid using robotic arms or an enormous sack and place the rock in the moon’s orbit for study. This may keep astronauts working but not, as NASA claims, get them Mars-ready.

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