Last update:
Planetary Sciences news
JWST reveals a race against time for forming planets
Planets form from disks of gas and dust around young stars, but the gas needed for growth does not last forever. New observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now offer a new view of how this gas escapes ...
Astronomy
1 hour ago
0
0
Lunar soil reads as a cosmic time capsule for exploding stars
When a star reaches its final stages of life, it ends in a bright, powerful explosion called a supernova and scatters material across the universe. A new study led by a University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researcher has discovered ...
Astronomy
5 hours ago
0
5
Naked photobombing comet found in public image
Sometimes images are released before anyone realizes they have been photobombed, meaning something unexpected showed up in the background. A team of researchers found a naked photobombing comet in publicly available archival ...
Astronomy
6 hours ago
0
9
'Now boarding' … 240,000 miles from Earth, at the moon's first airport
The moon's getting its first airport, and it's about to get busy. Within the next two decades, NASA's planned Gateway—humanity's first lunar spaceport—may become a bustling hub for Orion crew capsules, lunar landers, cargo ...
Space Exploration
10 hours ago
0
24
NASA starshade would enable astronomers to directly image rocky exoworlds
A NASA-led team hopes to take a shortcut to direct imaging of extrasolar Earth-like planets. The idea is to use what they call a hybrid telescope composed of an orbital starshade coupled with the next-generation extremely ...
Space Exploration
Aug 24, 2026
0
13
Meteorite dust holds records of magnetism that may have helped form the sun
Around 4.6 billion years ago, the solar system was little more than a giant ball of gas and dust. Over the next few million years, this "solar nebula" underwent a huge transformation, flattening into a disk of matter that ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 24, 2026
0
14
How the sun's galactic journey and superflare-filled youth shaped Earth's climate
At the center of our solar system, the sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the sun's history may have helped create Earth's unique climate and driven ...
Astronomy
Aug 24, 2026
0
64
New study reveals how space rocks become meteorites
What happens to a space rock as it falls through Earth's atmosphere and becomes a meteorite? By studying 75 meteorite falls captured on video and in photographs, researchers identified seven distinct phases in the journey ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 24, 2026
0
18
JWST peeks at Callisto's ancient scars
Of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, Callisto is the one that gets the least attention. Io is constantly being resurfaced by volcanoes. Europa has a giant liquid water ocean. And Ganymede has its own magnetic field that interacts ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 23, 2026
0
56
Mars Curiosity rover discovers massive field of polygons
The surface of Mars is home to some of the most breathtaking and awe-inspiring landscapes in the solar system. This is primarily because the Red Planet lacks several resurfacing processes that Earth possesses, including plate ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 22, 2026
0
1056
Earth's magnetosphere might not protect us from superstorms after all
Science seems like a straightforward endeavor. You come up with a hypothesis, collect data to prove or disprove it, and analyze that data to see whether the hypothesis is right. But anyone who actually does science will tell ...
Astronomy
Aug 22, 2026
0
81
Stellar eruptions in the laboratory: First experimental evidence for their suppression in strong magnetic fields
An international team of astrophysicists and plasma physicists has provided the first experimental evidence that strong magnetic fields surrounding active stars can completely suppress coronal mass ejections. This offers ...
Astronomy
Aug 21, 2026
0
68
New solar system models show Earth is no fluke
Over the past three decades, computer models of planetary system formation have gone from fairly crude representations to sophisticated simulations using thousands of different starting points.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 21, 2026
4
997
Interplanetary spacecraft capture a coronal mass ejection component hidden from Earth
During a coronal mass ejection (CME), the sun hurls billions of tons of magnetized plasma into space. These eruptions are among the most powerful events in the solar system, and when they are aimed toward Earth, they can ...
China is launching a moon mission to find water ice
We've known for nearly two decades that some form of water exists on the moon. What we still don't know is exactly how much accessible water ice lies inside permanently shadowed craters, how deeply it is buried or what form ...
Space Exploration
Aug 21, 2026
0
22
Japan to launch probe for Mars moons in October: Space agency
Japan's ambitious mission to collect and bring back samples from one of Mars' moons will lift off Oct. 20, the space agency announced Thursday.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
0
13
Interstellar travel IV: Solar, magnetic, & directed-energy sails
Welcome back to our series on interstellar travel! In our first installment, we examined attempts to realize nuclear propulsion and how the technology could be used to reach the nearest star. In our second, we examined how ...
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2026
0
27
Global sand dunes map reveals clues to distant worlds, including Mars
A new study from Monash University has delivered the most complete and accurate digital map of Earth's windblown sand dunes to date. The research, published in Nature Communications, answers long-standing questions about ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 20, 2026
0
14
Human-related microbes may survive moon's South Pole
Some of Earth's microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the moon's South Pole region, NASA scientists say.
Astrobiology
Aug 19, 2026
0
13
Interworld Slingshot: Exploring a new way to find resources in space
Before people can mine resources on the moon, asteroids or Mars, they need to answer a few key questions: What is there? How much is there? And where can it be found? A team led by SETI Institute research scientist Pablo ...
Space Exploration
Aug 19, 2026
0
14
More news
Ruby-forming mineral found by Mars rover hints at violent impacts
NASA's LRO images Falcon 9 crater on moon, learns new details
A single asteroid impact may explain the appearance of Mars' moon Deimos
Mars attacks: How much dust from the red planet is safe to breathe?
How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Japan aims for the moons of Mars
Neptune's tiny moons tell the story of Triton's destructive capture
What a dry meteorite tells us about water on Mars
Satellite constellations could create spiraling space debris
How to enjoy the solar eclipse safely
Other news
A near extinct plant in Galápagos is now recovering
3D atomic imaging reveals a new pathway to crystal formation
Developing a genetic toolkit for manipulating abundant intestinal microbes
Egypt's deserts were once home to a diverse shark community
Moonquakes could reveal buried lunar ice for future explorers
A smarter way to track satellites beyond Earth's orbit
The asteroid that may be three worlds
Uranus's unusual rotation makes its bow shock expand and contract each day
Moving turtle nests to save the eggs can have hidden consequences
Exact calculations sharpen view of atomic nuclei
