Planetary Science
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Planetary Science
SMART stop
The European Space Agency's first mission to the moon ended with a deliberate bang on Sept. 3.
- 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.
- 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.
- Planetary Science
Rare Uranian eclipse
The Hubble Space Telescope has for the first time recorded an eclipse on Uranus.
- Planetary Science
Doggone! Pluto gets a planetary demotion
The solar system has only eight planets, and Pluto isn't one of them, according to the first-ever definition of a planet, approved last week by the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.
- Planetary Science
Titan’s Lakes: Evidence of liquid on Saturn’s largest moon
New radar images strongly suggest that Saturn's giant moon Titan contains lakes of liquid hydrocarbons, marking the first time that researchers have found compelling evidence for bodies of liquid on the surface of any object beyond Earth.
