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Planetary Sciences news
NASA missions track record-breaking radio burst from sun
When NASA scientists first observed a particular radio burst from the sun in August 2025, there was nothing unusual about it. But then the radio burst kept going. Typically, solar radio bursts like these last a few hours ...
Astronomy
22 hours ago
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Picturing Earth in a new light
Maps can show more than just where things are—they can also show how things change. New maps of artificial light reveal a planet that has been reshaping its nights through patterns of brightening and dimming.
Planetary Sciences
23 hours ago
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NASA's Psyche spacecraft buzzing Mars on its way to a rare metal asteroid
A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid swings past Mars this week for a gravity boost, snapping thousands of pictures as practice for the main encounter in 2029.
Planetary Sciences
May 14, 2026
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Will future missions to the moon be sustainable? It may depend on whom you ask
There's a new space race to the moon, and this time the ambitions are not just to visit but to stay. NASA's Artemis program aims to establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface in the 2030s. China, India, Japan ...
Space Exploration
May 14, 2026
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Waterworn chaos on Mars stretches the length of Italy
This month, ESA's Mars Express takes us to Shalbatana Vallis: a fascinating Martian valley surrounded by signs of water, lava, craters and chaos. Shalbatana Vallis is an impressive channel near Mars's equator. This image, ...
Planetary Sciences
May 13, 2026
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TESS reveals fullest night-sky map yet, with nearly 6,000 exoplanet worlds
NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has released its most complete view of the starry sky to date, filling in gaps from previous observations. Nearly 6,000 colored dots scattered across the image show the ...
Astronomy
May 13, 2026
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Dual spacecraft capture both hemispheres of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS at once
The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instruments aboard ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft and NASA's Europa Clipper made unique observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS ...
Planetary Sciences
May 13, 2026
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Recreating dying stars reveals hydrogen's key role in cosmic dust formation
Silicon carbide (SiC) dust is one of the most important ingredients in cosmic dust, the tiny particles floating throughout the cosmos that eventually give rise to new planets and stars. This compound of silicon and carbon ...
Were Martian tides strong enough to shape its ancient landscape?
You're an anaerobic microbe sunbathing on a Martian beach billions of years ago listening to the small waves hit the shoreline as you take in the perchlorates in the Martian regolith. This is because while Mars is warm and ...
Planetary Sciences
May 13, 2026
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Study identifies geysers the JUICE mission could explore on Ganymede
Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon, is also the solar system's largest satellite, even larger than the planet Mercury. It is also the only celestial body aside from Earth (and the gas giants) to have an intrinsic magnetic field. ...
Astrobiology
May 12, 2026
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Perseverance rover snaps selfie in western frontier of Mars
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover recently took a self-portrait against a sweeping backdrop of ancient Martian terrain at a location the science team calls Lac de Charmes. Assembled from 61 individual images, the selfie shows ...
Planetary Sciences
May 12, 2026
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Scientists use AI to interpret the sun's acoustic heartbeat
A new AI-based approach that can "hear" inside the sun could give vital signs of the solar disturbances that have significant effects in near-Earth space and on human activities. The solar cycle is an approximate 11-year ...
Astronomy
May 12, 2026
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New model finds the lower size limit for habitable exoplanets
The search for Earth 2.0 has begun in earnest. But there's a huge variety of exoplanets out there, so narrowing down the search to focus valuable telescope time on only the best candidates is critical. One variable of a planet ...
Planetary Sciences
May 11, 2026
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New alien-life test could help Mars and Europa missions read organic molecules
For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons? A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that the more ...
Astronomy
May 11, 2026
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Saturn's icy rings likely formed from lost moon Chrysalis
You're a long-necked Titanosaur grazing the plains and chomping away on tree leaves about 100 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous in what would eventually become a future Starbucks location. You look up at the night ...
Planetary Sciences
May 11, 2026
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Resilient quantum sensor monitors Earth's magnetic field from space for 10 months
From navigation to solar weather forecasting, many different areas of research require space-based sensors to measure Earth's magnetic field as accurately as possible at any given moment. So far, however, existing sensors ...
More Star Wars-like worlds emerge as 27 planet candidates with two suns discovered
There's so little we know about circumbinary planets—planets that orbit two stars instead of one—that they can feel like the stuff of fantasy. And for good reason: to date, we've only confirmed the existence of 18 circumbinary ...
Astronomy
May 11, 2026
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Scientists trace latest interstellar comet's home to a cold, isolated corner of the Milky Way
The comet that rambled past us from another star last year likely originated in a cold, isolated corner of the galaxy that had yet to gel into its own solar system, astronomers reported Thursday.
Astronomy
May 9, 2026
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Ganymede's unique magnetic field may be powered by ongoing core formation—not a cooling core
Ganymede is not only Jupiter's largest moon, but also the largest in our solar system and one of the few that hosts a massive ice ocean. Adding to this planet-like moon's uniqueness is the fact that among the hundreds of ...
A close brush with Mars will reshape NASA's Psyche journey in a way few missions attempt
NASA's Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars on Friday, May 15, passing just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the planet's surface at some 12,333 mph (19,848 kph). The spacecraft will harness the planet's gravitational ...
Planetary Sciences
May 9, 2026
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More news
Vast atmospheric waves on Venus are caused by largest known 'hydraulic jump'
Next-gen Mars helicopter rotor blades exceed Mach 1
Data fusion provides a high-definition look at Mars' temperature maps
Watch as NASA's Curiosity Rover frees its drill from a rock
Planet 9 volunteers double known population of brown dwarfs
The moon's formation still remains a mystery in many ways
We might have massively underestimated Io's thermal output
Close-in planets act as 'bouncers' to create rogue worlds
Other news
RNA's first letter may shape antiviral alarms, with A outpacing G
Scientists identify hidden accelerant in Antarctic ice loss
Sustainable chemistry: Iron substitutes noble metals in catalytic reactions
New species of venomous box jellyfish discovered in Singapore
A new way to plan trajectories to asteroids
Sentinel-1D goes live: A milestone for Europe's radar mission
US–Indian space mission maps extreme subsidence in Mexico City
Designing in situ power stations for future Mars missions
Perseverance and Curiosity panoramas reveal dual sides of Mars
Image: Fiery fall color in southern Chile
Two suns are better than one—planets thrive around binary stars
Mathematical method calculates most efficient Earth-moon route yet
