Planetary Science
Jupiter’s Moon Europa May Hide Tantalizing Carbon in Mysterious Ocean
Jupiter’s mysterious moon Europa may hold carbon in the ocean lurking beneath its icy shell
Planetary Science93 articles archived since 1845
Astronomy
NASA’s Gorgeous New Moon Image Paints Shackleton Crater in Light and Shadow
A new NASA instrument allows researchers to view the bright and permanently shadowed portions of the moon’s Shackleton Crater at the same time
Planetary Science
Ada Limón’s Poem for Europa, Jupiter’s Smallest Galilean Moon
U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón discusses her involvement in NASA’s Europa Clipper mission and the inspiration behind her poem, which will travel onboard the spacecraft.
Planetary Science
Mysterious Moonquake Traced to Apollo 17 Lunar Lander Base
The Apollo 17 lunar lander base is creating small-scale moonquakes on a daily basis
Planetary Science
Watch a Comet’s Tail Get Mangled by the Sun
Discovered only last month, Comet Nishimura is drawing attention before close approaches to the sun and Earth in the coming weeks
Planetary Science
Did Earth’s Water Come from Meteorites?
At least some of our planet’s water was carried here by hydrogen-rich space rocks, but it’s not yet clear how much
Planetary Science
‘Man in the Moon’ Older Than Scientists Thought
Revisiting the precious lunar samples on Earth suggests that some areas of the moon’s surface might be older than scientists once thought
Arts
NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission Carries Special Cargo: A Poem
“If, by some chance, there’s another being out there that might connect to it, I wanted them to know that regardless of how it may seem sometimes, we love this Earth,” says poet Ada Limón about her poem...
Planetary Science
We Need to Widen the ‘Habitable Zones’ Seen around Alien Stars
When looking for life in space, we should broaden our horizons
Geology
Giant ‘Gravity Hole’ in the Ocean May Be the Ghost of an Ancient Sea
A vast expanse of the Indian Ocean is a staggering 100 meters lower than the global average sea level because of a major dip in Earth’s gravity. Scientists now think they know the cause...
Water
Rampant Groundwater Pumping Has Changed the Tilt of Earth’s Axis
Human depletion of groundwater has shifted the global distribution of water so much that the North Pole has drifted by more than four centimeters per year
Planetary Science
We Live in the Rarest Type of Planetary System
New work suggests four distinct star system types—and finds our own in the rarest category
Planetary Science
Pebbles from an Asteroid Are about to Be Delivered to Earth, and It’s Totally Awesome
The OSIRIS-REx mission will return samples from the asteroid Bennu that could rewrite our solar system’s history
Planetary Science
Newfound ‘Quasi-Moon’ Has Been Earth’s Fellow Traveler for Thousands of Years
Astronomers recently identified asteroid 2023 FW13 as a quasi-moon, a space rock orbiting the sun nearly in tandem with Earth
Planetary Science
Dried-Up Lagoon Is ‘Time Analog’ for Martian Life
If Martian microbes were like those in this Earth lagoon, they could have survived the Red Planet’s primordial desiccation
Planetary Science
A Meteorite Fell in Their Bedroom. Here’s What Happened Next
Earlier this month a meteorite crashed through the roof of a New Jersey home. The residents are still pondering the fate of their gift from the skies
Planetary Science
JWST Spots Biggest Water Plume Yet Spewing from a Moon of Saturn
The huge watery cloud spurting from Enceladus could carry the ingredients for life farther into space than previously known
Weather
Bizarre, Unexplained Rumblings in Earth’s Atmosphere Puzzle Scientists
Solar-powered balloons detected strange, ultra-low-frequency rumblings in Earth’s stratosphere that, so far, scientists can’t identify
Planetary Science
NASA’s Interplanetary Plans May Be Lurching toward Disaster
Delays and budgetary overruns are causing many to worry that NASA’s ambitious planetary science program is at a breaking point
Planetary Science
The Six Moons Most Likely to Host Life in Our Solar System
Vast quantities of liquid water may exist on moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, making life possible there, too
