Planets

The spacecraft offered a clear view of Mercury's south pole while completing its fourth of six flybys.

See New Detailed Photos of Mercury From a Spacecraft's Closest Flyby Yet

BepiColombo, a joint European-Japanese mission, completed its fourth close pass of the innermost planet last week, and it will enter Mercury’s orbit in 2026 to learn more about its mysteries

Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and is even wider than the planet Mercury.

An Ancient Asteroid Smashed Into Jupiter's Moon Ganymede and Tipped It Over, Study Finds

The cataclysmic impactor was 20 times the size of the rock that wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth

An artist's rendition of a magma ocean on a volcanic planet. Scientists have theorized that our moon was covered in a magma ocean for millions of years after it formed.

Our Moon Was Likely Covered in a Magma Ocean Long Ago, and New Data From India's Lunar Rover Supports That Theory

Soil composition measurements from the Chandrayaan-3 mission reveal white rock called ferroan anorthosite, which would have floated to the surface in an ocean of magma

A full moon rises over the Vasquez Rocks in California.

A Rare 'Super Blue Moon' Will Be Visible Monday Night: What Does That Mean?

Tonight’s full moon will be bigger and brighter than usual, and it’s the third of four full moons this summer

Mars might host an ocean of water within porous rocks miles beneath its surface, according to a new study.

Mars Hosts a Giant Reservoir of Water Underground, We Just Can't Easily Reach It, Study Finds

The water is enough to cover the Martian surface in a mile-deep ocean, but it's beyond the reach of drills for now, according to researchers

Humans couldn't survive outdoors on Mars for a number of reasons, including its extremely low temperatures. Scientists are studying ways to terraform the planet to make it more hospitable.

Humans Could Warm Up Mars for Space Travelers by Spraying Tiny Metal Rods Into Its Atmosphere

Researchers propose a new technique for making the Red Planet more habitable by engineering heat-trapping nanoparticles from Martian dust

After Curiosity unexpectedly cracked open a Martian rock, it revealed yellow crystals that scientists determined were elemental sulfur.

NASA's Curiosity Rover Accidentally Discovers Sulfur Crystals on Mars

The rover’s wheel cracked open a rock and revealed pure elemental sulfur, which researchers have never seen on the Red Planet before

An artist's rendition of the eight planets in our solar system. The planets are depicted closer together than they really are.

Astronomers Propose New Criteria to Classify Planets, but Pluto Still Doesn't Make the Cut

The new definition would define planets based on mass, rather than more ambiguous shape and size characteristics

An artist’s depiction of HD 189733b encountering an eruption of x-rays from the star it’s orbiting

This Nearby Exoplanet Is Hot, Dangerous—and Smells Like Rotten Eggs

Located about 64 light-years away from Earth, the world is the first place astronomers have detected hydrogen sulfide outside our solar system

One of Cassini's last looks at Saturn and its main rings from a distance, produced by combining images taken in October 2016

Here’s What We’ve Learned About Saturn Since Cassini Entered Its Orbit 20 Years Ago

The Cassini-Huygens mission increased our understanding of the planet’s rings and moons

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a large storm that has persisted for at least 190 years.

Jupiter's Signature Red Spot May Have Evolved More Than Once

The planet's massive storm, known as the Great Red Spot, seems to be different from a spot first observed at roughly the same location in the 17th century, a new study finds

Purple squares illustrate auroras on Mars, as detected by NASA’s MAVEN orbiter between May 14 and May 20. The brighter the purple, the more auroras present.

Mars Was Hit With a Solar Storm Days After Earth's Aurora Light Show, NASA Says

Studying this event could hold lessons for scientists about how to protect astronauts from radiation on future trips to the Red Planet

A simulated perspective of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, with water frost at its peak.

Astronomers Discover Water Frost on Mars' Tallest Volcanoes

On early winter mornings, a thin layer of ice forms in craters atop the Red Planet's towering peaks, near its equator, according to a new study

The Milky Way is visible at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in western Colorado.

These National Parks Are Hosting Astronomy Festivals in 2024

Get outside, ditch the light pollution and marvel at the cosmos on these protected public lands

An illustration of our solar system's planets in a line. This week, six planets appeared to be in a line from Earth's perspective, but they did not acutally align in space.

Missed the 'Parade of Planets'? These Upcoming Alignments Will Likely Be Better, Anyway

Astronomers tempered expectations of the celestial event this week, pointing to others in the near future as more exciting opportunities for sky watchers

A computer-generated model of Sif Mons, a volcano on Venus. The new study found evidence of recent volcanic activity at Sif Mons and the Niobe Planitia region.

Venus Might Still Have Active Volcanoes, as Recent Lava Flows Suggest 'Ongoing' Eruptions

Astronomers have again discovered evidence of recent volcanic activity on Earth's sister planet in data from the 1990s

A composite image of Jupiter, taken by the Juno spacecraft

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Jupiter

The giant planet is a world of extremes

An artist's concept of 55 Cancri e and its sun. The star is much closer to its sun than any planet in our solar system, so it is too hot to support life.

Astronomers Discover an Atmosphere on a Hot, Rocky Exoplanet With an Ocean of Magma

It's the best evidence yet of an atmosphere on a rocky planet outside our solar system, researchers say, and studying the distant world could provide insight into Earth’s early days

This false-colored image of Mercury reflects the varying age and mineral composition of the surface.

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Mercury

Only two robotic missions have made it to the Swift Planet, but they were crucial for upending many false assumptions of that sun-scorched world

Antarctic meteorite (HUT 18036) is found partially submerged in ice, as opposed to resting atop the surface. 

Meteorites Are Becoming Harder to Find as They Sink Into Antarctica's Melting Ice

The disappearing space rocks are burying valuable clues into the history and composition of our solar system, according to a new study

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