Europe, Japan Ready Spacecraft for 7-Year Journey to Mercury
Final preparations were underway Friday for the launch of a joint mission by European and Japanese space agencies to send twin probes to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun.
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12 New Moons Discovered Around Jupiter
After a year of peering deep into the outer edge of space, Carnegie scientists have discovered 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter.
Read moreNASA Spacecraft Sending Back Close-Ups of Dwarf Planet Ceres
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is sending back incredible close-ups of the dwarf planet Ceres.
Read moreAstronomers Report 1st Image of Baby Planet Being Formed
Astronomers say they’ve captured the first confirmed image of a planet forming in the dust swirling around a young star.
Read moreNew Mars Discoveries Advance Case for Possible Life
New Mars discoveries are advancing the case for possible life on the red planet, past or even present. Scientists reported Thursday that NASA’s Curiosity rover has found potential building blocks of life in an ancient Martian lakebed. Hints have been found before, but this is the best evidence yet.
Read moreMission to Mars Will Require Teamwork, Plus Tech
Teamwork will be crucial for astronauts tackling the multiyear journey to Mars, according to a paper published in American Psychologist, the flagship journal of the American Psychological Association.
Read moreFirst Interstellar ‘Immigrant’ Discovered Orbiting Jupiter
A newly discovered asteroid in Jupiter’s orbit “immigrated” from another solar system and is orbiting in the opposite direction of nearly everything else in our solar system, according to new astronomical research.
Read moreHelium Detected in Exoplanet’s Atmosphere for First Time
Helium has been detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system for the first time, a team of astronomers reported Tuesday.
Read moreNASA’s Tess Spacecraft Embarks on Quest to Find New Planets
NASA’s Tess spacecraft embarked Wednesday on a quest to find new worlds around neighboring stars that could support life.
Read moreStudy: Diamond From Sky May Have Come From ‘Lost Planet’
Fragments of a meteorite that fell to Earth about a decade ago provide compelling evidence of a lost planet that once roamed our solar system, according to a study published Tuesday.
Read moreNASA Spacecraft Aims to Put Mystery Planets on Galactic Map
Calling all planets that orbit around bright, nearby stars: NASA’s new Tess spacecraft is looking to do a head count.
Read moreUN Reports See a Lonelier Planet With Fewer Plants, Animals
Earth is losing plants, animals and clean water at a dramatic rate, according to four new United Nations scientific reports that provide the most comprehensive and localized look at the state of biodiversity.
Read moreSaturn’s Greatest Storm
Unlike other planets in the solar system, Saturn stores up huge amounts of energy over many Earth decades, and then unleashes it all at once in the form of an awesome, swirling, massive electrical storm that lasts for months. Scientists don’t know why Saturn behaves this way, but it’s a once-a-year occurrence on the ringed planet. Once a Saturnian year, that is: a year there is 30 Earth years.
Read moreMars on Earth: Simulation Tests in Remote Desert of Oman
Two scientists in spacesuits, stark white against the auburn terrain of desolate plains and dunes, test a geo-radar built to map Mars by dragging the flat box across the rocky sand.
Read moreLarge Amounts of Water Ice Found Beneath Mars’ Surface
Scientists have discovered vast deposits of water ice on Mars, prompting calls for future study and improving the chances of possible habitability of the Red Planet.
Read moreTrump Wants to Send Man Back to Moon, on to Mars
President Donald Trump signed a policy directive Monday instructing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to “refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery.”
Read moreAstronomers Discover ‘Nearby’ Planet That Could Support Life
A newly discovered nearby – in cosmic terms – exoplanet could support life, scientists report Wednesday.
Read moreCrater Offers Glimpse Into Mars’ Wetter Past
A nearly 20-mile-wide impact crater near Mars’ Hellas basin formed at a time when the planet’s environment was much wetter, as shown by the fluidized nature of the debris excavated by the impact. The photo was taken by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft in May and released by the agency on Thursday.
Read moreJuno Plunges Toward Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
NASA’s Juno space probe will fly Monday directly over the biggest storm in the solar system: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Wide enough to swallow Earth twice, the swirling anti-cylone is at least 150 years old and Juno will come closer to it than any spacecraft in history.
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Astronomers May Know How Planets Formed After Star’s Explosion
New images of a fast-moving “neutron” star shed light on a 25-year-old mystery of how planets form in the aftermath of a supernova, the cosmic explosion of a star many times larger than the sun.
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