Last update:
Planetary Sciences news
The sun unleashes its strongest flare this cycle
Yesterday the sun released a huge solar flare, and it's heading toward Earth. It's nothing to worry about since it's nowhere near as large as the Carrington Event of 1859, but it is large enough to give us some amazing aurora.
Astronomy
Oct 4, 2024
0
61
ESA's Hera mission takes flight toward the asteroid deflected by NASA's DART probe two years ago
The European Space Agency's Hera mission will set off from Cape Canaveral on 7 October on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It will travel several hundred million kilometers to reach the double asteroid Didymos in autumn 2026.
Space Exploration
Oct 4, 2024
0
21
Daylight saving is about to start. But why do the days get longer?
The days are getting longer and in Australia, the switch to daylight saving time is almost upon us (for about 70% of the population, anyway).
Planetary Sciences
Oct 4, 2024
0
1
ESA's Hera spacecraft set for asteroid 'crime scene investigation'
Europe's Hera probe is tentatively scheduled to launch Monday on a mission to inspect the damage a NASA spacecraft made when it smashed into an asteroid during the first test of Earth's planetary defenses.
Space Exploration
Oct 4, 2024
1
45
Winds of change: Webb reveals forces that shape protoplanetary disks
Every second, more than 3,000 stars are born in the visible universe. Many are surrounded by what astronomers call a protoplanetary disk—a swirling "pancake" of hot gas and dust from which planets form. The exact processes ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 4, 2024
0
121
X-rays advance understanding of Earth's core-mantle boundary and super-Earth magma oceans
Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have revealed new details about Earth's core-mantle boundary and similar regions found in exoplanets.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 3, 2024
0
43
A new era of solar observation: International team produces global maps of coronal magnetic field
For the first time, scientists have taken near-daily measurements of the sun's global coronal magnetic field, a region of the sun that has only been observed irregularly in the past. The resulting observations are providing ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 3, 2024
0
42
Lunar mission data analysis finds widespread evidence of ice deposits
Deposits of ice in lunar dust and rock (regolith) are more extensive than previously thought, according to a new analysis of data from NASA's LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission. Ice would be a valuable resource for ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 3, 2024
0
91
2-billion-year-old rock could help understand very early life on Earth and the hunt for evidence of life on Mars
Pockets of microbes have been found living within a sealed fracture in a 2-billion-year-old rock. The rock was excavated from the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa, an area known for its rich ore deposits. This is ...
Astrobiology
Oct 3, 2024
1
41
Mercury's magnetic landscape mapped in 30 minutes
As BepiColombo sped past Mercury during its June 2023 flyby, it encountered a variety of features in the tiny planet's magnetic field. These measurements provide a tantalizing taste of the mysteries that the mission is set ...
Space Exploration
Oct 3, 2024
0
80
Investigating the statistical likelihood of triple star systems hosting exoplanets
Why is it important to search for exoplanets in triple star systems and how many can we find there? This is what a recent study accepted by Astrophysics & Space Science hopes to address after a pair of researchers from the ...
Astrobiology
Oct 2, 2024
0
4
NASA powers down Voyager 2 plasma instrument to extend mission
Mission engineers at NASA have turned off the plasma science instrument aboard the Voyager 2 spacecraft due to the probe's gradually shrinking electrical power supply.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 2, 2024
0
106
Webb telescope detects unusual gas jets from Centaur 29P
Inspired by the half-human, half-horse creatures that are part of Ancient Greek mythology, the field of astronomy has its own kind of centaurs: distant objects orbiting the sun between Jupiter and Neptune. NASA's James Webb ...
Astronomy
Oct 2, 2024
0
84
New triple star system sets shortest orbital period record
Professional and amateur astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery with the help of artificial intelligence, identifying a unique triple star system named TIC 290061484. This stellar trio was uncovered through cosmic ...
Space Exploration
Oct 2, 2024
0
193
Surprising amount and variety of gamma radiation is produced in large tropical thunderstorms, observations reveal
In the 1990s, NASA satellites built to spot high-energy particles coming from supernovae and other celestial-sized objects discovered a surprise—high energy gamma radiation bursts coming from right here on Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 2, 2024
1
122
New super-Neptune exoplanet discovered
An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new super-Neptune exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star. The newly detected alien world, which received the designation TOI-5005 b, is about six times larger ...
NASA's instruments capture sharpest image of Earth's radiation belts
From Aug. 19–20, ESA's (European Space Agency's) Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission made history with a daring lunar-Earth flyby and double gravity assist maneuver, a spaceflight first. As the spacecraft zipped ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 1, 2024
0
18
Webb telescope detects traces of carbon dioxide on the surface of Pluto's largest moon
NASA's Webb Space Telescope has identified new clues about the surface of Pluto's largest moon.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 1, 2024
0
98
Scientists discover planet orbiting closest single star to our sun
Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our sun. On this newly discovered exoplanet, which has ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 1, 2024
1
188
Lunar gravity measurements hint at a partially molten mantle layer
We know that beneath its crater-pocked silicate crust, the moon has an olivine mantle and a metallic core. Some research has also suggested that a partially molten layer may lie at the base of the otherwise solid mantle, ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 30, 2024
0
54
More news
Earth will have a temporary 'mini moon' for two months
Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky sun flypast
Earth to capture a 'second moon' this weekend, NASA says
Study uncovers first evidence of a volcanic spatter cone on Mars
NASA's BioSentinel studies solar radiation as Earth watches aurora
NEID Earth Twin Survey discovers its first alien world
Aliphatic hydrocarbons on Ceres' surface found to have short lifetimes
NOAA shares first data from GOES-19 EXIS instrument
First lunar farside samples from Chang'e-6 mission analyzed
Frozen in time: Rock formations hint at Mars's ancient climate
Other news
Dietary zinc inhibits antimicrobial resistance gene transmission in lab tests
Antarctic 'greening' at dramatic rate, satellite data show
Phage cocktail shows promise against drug-resistant bacteria
Scientists uncover auditory 'sixth sense' in geckos
Innovative method targets removal of PFAS from wastewater
Astronomers catch a glimpse of a uniquely inflated and asymmetric exoplanet
What happens to the climate when Earth passes through interstellar clouds?
Proof-of-concept study uses X-rays to target mock-up asteroids in a vacuum
Perseverance rover spots unusual striped rock on Mars
Earth is getting a tiny new mini-moon. It won't be the first (or the last)
Solar flares may cause faint auroras across top of Northern Hemisphere
