Space
A planet needs to start with a lot of water to become like Earth
Rocky planets around fiery stars could hide their water for later use, but it takes 3 to 8 times the amount in our world’s oceans to end up Earthlike.
Planetary Science
More Stories in Planetary Science
- Planetary Science
Venus might be as volcanically active as Earth
Data from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft suggest that volcanic activity is widespread on Venus.
- Earth
A weaker magnetic field may have paved the way for marine life to go big
Decreased protection from cosmic radiation may have increased oxygen levels in the atmosphere and oceans, allowing animals to grow larger.
- Planetary Science
Pluto’s heart-shaped basin might not hide an ocean after all
Planetary scientists propose an alternative theory to explain why Sputnik Planitia has stayed put across Pluto’s equator.
- Planetary Science
Our picture of habitability on Europa, a top contender for hosting life, is changing
The moon of Jupiter is considered one of the most promising places to look for life, but its subsurface ocean may be less habitable than once thought.
- Planetary Science
Jupiter’s moon Io may have been volcanically active ever since it was born
An analysis of the moon’s atmospheric composition suggests that it has been spewing sulfur for roughly 4.6 billion years.
- Planetary Science
Titan’s dark dunes could be made from comets
Saturn’s largest moon could have gotten its sands from an ancient reshuffling of the solar system. If true, that would solve a long-standing mystery.
- Planetary Science
The desert planet in ‘Dune’ is plausible, according to science
Humans could live on the fictional planet Arrakis from Dune but (thankfully) no giant sandworms would menace them.
- Planetary Science
Odysseus’ historic moon mission comes to an end
Odysseus downloaded data from all payloads before going to sleep February 28. The cold lunar night proved fatal to efforts to reawaken the lunar lander.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx nabbed over 120 grams of space rocks from asteroid Bennu
After being stymied by two stuck screws, NASA finally accessed a trove of Bennu asteroid bits. Mission scientist Harold Connolly tells what’s next.
