Planetary Science
- Planetary Science
Brilliant! Tenth planet turns out to be a shiner
Xena, unofficially called the 10th planet, is the second-most-shiny known object in the solar system.
- Planetary Science
Another visitor to Mars
The newest spacecraft from Earth arrived at the Red Planet on March 10.
- Planetary Science
Making Mercury
New computer simulations of Mercury's violent formation account for the planet's abundance of heavy elements and also reveal that some of the debris generated by the collision could have found its way to Earth and Venus.
- Planetary Science
Another red spot, by Jove
Jupiter has developed a second red spot, which is now visible in the predawn sky with a telescope 10 inches or larger.
- Planetary Science
Propelling Evidence: Cassini finds clues to source of Saturn’s rings
Four propeller-shaped gaps in one of Saturn's main rings are the latest evidence that a shattered moon produced the planet's dazzling hoops.
- Planetary Science
Pluto’s posse
Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on Feb. 15 confirm that Pluto has two small, previously unknown moons.
- Planetary Science
Eyeing a Saturn storm
The Cassini spacecraft recently captured an image of the most powerful storm ever seen on Saturn.
- Planetary Science
Stellar passage yields Charon’s girth
By observing Pluto's moon Charon passing in front of a star, astronomers have obtained precise measurements of the moon's radius and density.
- Planetary Science
One star better than two?
Rather than disrupting the planet-forming process around another star, a nearby companion may sometimes enhance it, new computer simulations suggest.
- Planetary Science
Moon spray
The Cassini spacecraft has found conclusive evidence that the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus spews jets of icy particles into space.
- Planetary Science
Red Planet Express: Mars spacecraft traces a watery tale
A Mars-orbiting spacecraft has provided new details about when and where liquid water existed on the planet.
- Planetary Science
Martian dust storm
In late October, a day after Mars and Earth were at their closest approach until 2018, the Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of a large dust storm on the Red Planet.
