Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    So long, Surveyor

    After 8 years of relaying pictures, topographic maps, magnetic field data, and compositional information from above the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft appears to have called it quits.

    By Ron Cowen
  2. Planetary Science

    Howdy, Neighbors: Long-term study finds a batch of red dwarfs

    Astronomers have found 20 previously unknown star systems that lie within 33 light-years of Earth.

    By Ron Cowen
  3. Planetary Science

    Jovian storm grows stormier

    Jupiter's Little Red Spot has become as strong as its big brother.

    By Ron Cowen
  4. Planetary Science

    Satanic Winds

    Dust devils send prodigious amounts of dust into Earth's atmosphere, and on Mars the electric fields generated by the dusty vortices may actually stimulate changes in atmospheric chemistry that sterilize the soil.

    By Sid Perkins
  5. Planetary Science

    A sunrise view of Mars

    The first high-resolution images sent by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter support the notion that water once flowed across much of the Red Planet.

    By Julie Rehmeyer
  6. Planetary Science

    Ring Shots

    With the sun poised behind Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft recently got a unique view of the rings' icy dust particles, enabling it to discover two new rings and confirm the presence of two ringlets.

    By Ron Cowen
  7. Planetary Science

    Web Special: Clay magic on Mars

    NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has just completed a week of picture taking from as low as 300 kilometers above the surface of the Red Planet.

    By Julie Rehmeyer
  8. Planetary Science

    Web Special: Welcome to Mars’ Victoria Crater

    With stunningly powerful vision, the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken a remarkable picture that shows the exploration rover Opportunity poised on the rim of Victoria Crater on Mars.

    By Ron Cowen
  9. Planetary Science

    A discordant name for a dwarf planet

    The largest known object at the fringes of the solar system, the icy body whose discovery heated up the debate about the nature of planethood, has an apt new name.

    By Ron Cowen
  10. Planetary Science

    SMART stop

    The European Space Agency's first mission to the moon ended with a deliberate bang on Sept. 3.

    By Ron Cowen
  11. Planetary Science

    Martian doings

    The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has finished reshaping its orbit, while the venerable rover Opportunity is approaching the rim of the widest and deepest crater it has yet visited.

    By Ron Cowen
  12. Planetary Science

    Oversize Orb: Puffy planet poses puzzle

    Astronomers have discovered what may be the largest planet ever found, an orb 36 percent wider than Jupiter that circles a nearby star.

    By Ron Cowen