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Planetary Sciences news
Japan aims for the moons of Mars
Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars' moons to retrieve samples that may unlock the origins of the solar system and life on Earth, although a rival Chinese mission aims to make it back first.
Planetary Sciences
21 hours ago
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Neptune's tiny moons tell the story of Triton's destructive capture
Neptune's moon and ring system stand out among the giant planets because of the strange imbalance between its one very large moon and its many tiny moons. Its largest moon, Triton, makes up more than 99% of the mass of all ...
Airborne observatory improves views of solar corona during cloud-covered eclipse
Using unique equipment installed on NASA's WB-57 aircraft flying above heavy clouds off the coast of Iceland, a Southwest Research Institute-led team successfully observed a total solar eclipse on Wednesday. The high-altitude ...
Space Exploration
Aug 14, 2026
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New AI model detects hidden signs of solar eruptions hours before they emerge
Long before dark sunspots appear on the sun's surface, a new active region—where powerful solar eruptions can originate—begins showing subtle signs of its formation. Now, researchers say a new artificial intelligence model ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 14, 2026
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Proposed 900-telescope array could detect an Earth-like exoplanet's atmosphere in a single transit
What do you do when the observation you need comes around once a year? Well, preparation is key, but this is the awkward truth about finding another Earth. When a planet crosses the face of its star, a sliver of starlight ...
Astronomy
Aug 13, 2026
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TESS discovers a rare brown dwarf orbiting a massive, aging star
For decades, astronomers lumped brown dwarfs into a single category defined by mass alone—too big to be classified as planets but too small to become stars. However, this definition ignores the two very different mechanisms ...
What a dry meteorite tells us about water on Mars
Detecting water where none remains today: Neutron and X-ray tomography make it possible. In an international study conducted with the participation of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, researchers have brought to light macroscopic ...
Astrobiology
Aug 13, 2026
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Active supermassive black holes may help form massive planets
A popular myth about black holes is that they act like giant cosmic vacuum cleaners, sucking in everything around them. But Wladimir Lyra's research found a new mechanism around supermassive black holes that is more like ...
Astronomy
Aug 13, 2026
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First supernovae may have seeded rocky planet building blocks 100 million years after the Big Bang
The building blocks of rocky planets may have begun forming just 100 million years after the Big Bang—long before the first galaxies even existed—according to new research from the University of Portsmouth.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 12, 2026
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Satellite constellations could create spiraling space debris
To date, close to 30,000 satellites have been launched into Earth's orbit, leading to mounting concerns over the debris created when they collide. In a new analysis posted to the preprint server arXiv, Hugh Lewis of the University ...
What if there's a star inside a black hole?
There is a question that often comes up at every public talk I do, and I have never had a good answer to it—well, not an entirely confident one. What's inside a black hole? The textbook reply is a singularity. Cross the event ...
Astronomy
Aug 12, 2026
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How to enjoy the solar eclipse safely
Most people underestimate how much light a pair of sunglasses blocks out. A typical dark pair removes around 80% to 90% of the visible light reaching the eye.
Space Exploration
Aug 12, 2026
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Moonquakes could reveal buried lunar ice for future explorers
The surface of the moon is a bleak and forbidding place that could be hiding a lot of water ice within its dusty landscape. However, most possible ice deposits don't just stand out in an image. Scientists need specialized ...
Space Exploration
Aug 12, 2026
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The ESCAPE mission will study the evolution of exoplanet atmospheres
The habitable zone concept is useful for understanding which worlds might, possibly, maybe, be habitable. It highlights exoplanets at the right distances from their stars for liquid water to potentially exist on their surfaces. ...
Astrobiology
Aug 11, 2026
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A smarter way to track satellites beyond Earth's orbit
Most current space activities operate close to Earth in what is called near–Earth orbit. However, as more satellites and other infrastructure begin to extend beyond that region, maintaining situational awareness of those ...
Space Exploration
Aug 11, 2026
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Mars could have carried liquid water more recently than we thought
For decades, astronomers have assumed that the Martian surface froze solid around 3 billion years ago and has stayed that way ever since. If this were really the case, any liquid water would have long since either been locked ...
Slow spin could explain why planets become hellish
Hundreds of Venus-like planets could soon help determine why some worlds become sweltering greenhouse hellscapes while others remain capable of supporting life. But before answering that question, scientists first need to ...
Astronomy
Aug 10, 2026
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Rare Mars meteorite preserves 1.27-billion-year-old clues to planet's deep interior
Boston College scientists have determined that a newly discovered meteorite from Mars is 1.27 billion years old and derived from a previously unsampled, pristine source on the Red Planet. The study is published in the journal ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 9, 2026
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The asteroid that may be three worlds
What shape is an asteroid? For (44) Nysa, the honest answer until now has been that nobody knew. It is one of the brightest and largest E-type asteroids in the main belt, a class with a surface rich in enstatite, and its ...
Space Exploration
Aug 9, 2026
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Uranus's unusual rotation makes its bow shock expand and contract each day
Within our solar system, Uranus is a geometric oddball. Its spin axis tilts more than 90° from its orbit, so it essentially rolls on its side through space. In contrast, Earth and other planets tilt only moderately or not ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 7, 2026
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More news
Super-Earths may be solid deep inside their mantles
Liquid nitrogen may have recently flowed across Pluto's heart-shaped glacier
Total eclipse gives scientists chance to probe sun's mysteries
Asteroid Nysa's rare three-lobed structure challenges formation models
Designing memory-centric chips for future space telescopes
How to keep the Earth habitable when the sun dies
Pluto's hazy atmosphere may be collapsing as it moves farther from the sun
Study lays groundwork for classifying lunar soil
Other news
TikTok video leads to discovery of rare underground eel in India
Trace elements offer new clues to mysterious black eye lesions in cats
A small squeeze reveals new clues about an unusual kind of magnet
Solar wind stirs Mars' upper atmosphere, boosting ion loss to space
Japan probe made closest-ever asteroid flyby: space agency
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4961-4967: Approaching a break in the rock record?
Neptune's inner moons may be shattered remains of ancient icy worlds
Risks of debris between the Earth and the moon for future exploration
Could quantum physics help us find Earth 2.0?
