Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    Rosetta spacecraft confabs with a comet

    After a 10-year chase, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has met up with comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Three volcanic eruptions rock Jupiter’s moon Io

    Over two weeks last year, the tiny moon Io blazed with three vigorous volcanic eruptions.

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  3. Planetary Science

    Saturn moon’s geysers draw water from subsurface sea

    More than six years of Cassini data indicate that the water jets on the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus connect to deep-ocean reservoirs via expanding cracks in surface ice.

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  4. Planetary Science

    Rosetta spacecraft gets better view of comet’s fuzz

    News images are giving astronomers a sense of the size of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's coma and the shape of its core.

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  5. Earth

    Early life probably fell victim to massive space rocks

    Planet-sterilizing impacts probably snuffed out early life on Earth until around 4.3 billion years ago.

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  6. Planetary Science

    Comet ISON fell apart earlier than realized

    Comet ISON disintegrated at least eight hours before it grazed the surface of the sun last fall, new observations show.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Rosetta spacecraft sees possible ‘double’ comet

    The comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko may actually be two objects stitched together.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Titan’s origins linked to Oort cloud

    The building blocks of Titan may have formed in the early solar system, not from a warm disk around Saturn when the planet was young.

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  9. Planetary Science

    Mystery patch found floating on Titan’s seas

    Changes on the surface of a methane lake on one of Saturn’s moons may signal the onset of summer there.

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  10. Astronomy

    Rosetta spacecraft is closing in on comet 67P/C-G

    The Rosetta spacecraft is still on track to pull up and park next to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in August.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Moon’s origins revealed in rocks’ chemistry

    A new chemical measurement of rocks from Earth and from the moon supports the giant impact hypothesis, which explains how the moon formed billions of years ago.

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  12. Planetary Science

    Do-it-yourself solar system

    If you've always wanted to build your own solar system, roll up your sleeves — SuperPlanetCrash is an online solar system simulator, set up as a game.

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