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Planetary Sciences news
The solar system's greatest mystery may finally be solved
For years, astronomers have been searching for a mysterious ninth planet lurking in the dark outer reaches of our solar system. Now, a team of researchers have taken a completely different approach to this cosmic detective ...
Astronomy
Jun 20, 2025
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The summer solstice is here. What to know about the longest day of the year
Peak sunshine has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere—the summer solstice.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 20, 2025
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Do ocean worlds have smaller habitable zones?
Hycean worlds are also called ocean worlds. They're planets covered in oceans that also have thick hydrogen atmospheres. There are no confirmed hycean worlds but many candidates. Even though they're only candidates so far, ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 19, 2025
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Researchers take one small step toward planning life on Mars
Before they take the long journey to another planet, humans will have to find the right place to land. New findings from a University of Mississippi researcher may point to just such a place on Mars.
Space Exploration
Jun 19, 2025
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New study offers a double dose of hot Jupiters
Yale astronomers may have discovered the origin story for one of the universe's most dazzling phenomena—the double hot Jupiter—as well as a plan to find more of them.
Astronomy
Jun 19, 2025
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Neanderthal extinction: A space physicist reopens the debate
Neanderthals have long been the subject of intense scientific debate. This is largely because we still lack clear answers to some of the big questions about their existence and supposed disappearance.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 19, 2025
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Another tether deorbiting test mission takes shape
More and more satellites are being added to low Earth orbit (LEO) every month. As that number continues to increase, so do the risks of that critical area surrounding Earth becoming impassable, trapping us on the planet for ...
Space Exploration
Jun 19, 2025
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Image: Exoplanet GJ504b, 'second Jupiter' directly observed
GJ504b is an exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star GJ 504. It is estimated to be three to six times more massive than Jupiter, making it the lowest-mass planet ever directly imaged. This faint and cold planet, often referred ...
Astronomy
Jun 19, 2025
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Using a space elevator to get water off Ceres
We might not currently have any technology that would make a space elevator viable on Earth. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't work on other bodies around the solar system. One of the most interesting places that one could ...
Space Exploration
Jun 19, 2025
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Stellar flybys have not altered Earth's climate in the past 56 million years, study finds
If our solar system seems stable, it's because our short lifespans make it seem that way. Earth revolves, night follows day, the moon moves through light and shadow, and the sun hangs in the sky. But in reality, everything ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 18, 2025
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Exploring late accretion's role in terrestrial planet evolution
Southwest Research Institute has collaborated with Yale University to summarize the scientific community's notable progress in advancing the understanding of the formation and evolution of the inner rocky planets, the so-called ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 18, 2025
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Using a unique method, astronomers have discovered an exceptional new planet
Scientists from Vilnius University (VU) Faculty of Physics, together with colleagues from Poland and other countries, have identified an exoplanet—a gas giant located far from the galactic center. This is only the third ...
Astronomy
Jun 18, 2025
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Exoplanetary systems are diverse. Experts argue search for life should be the same
Scientists are revolutionizing the search for extraterrestrial life by challenging our somewhat Earth-centric assumptions about where and how life might exist in the universe. A new review argues that we must embrace the ...
Astrobiology
Jun 18, 2025
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Inside Mercury: What experimental geophysics is revealing about our strangest planet
Mercury doesn't give up its secrets easily. The smallest planet in our solar system is also one of the most extreme—a sun-scorched, metal-rich world with a puzzling magnetic field and lavas unlike anything found on Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 18, 2025
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Surprising discovery shows a strong link between Earth's magnetic field and atmospheric oxygen levels
Every breath we take in contains 21% oxygen, the gas that makes life on Earth possible. Oxygen, in its combined oxide state, has always been abundant in Earth's crust, but elemental diatomic oxygen became part of our atmosphere ...
The mother of all meteor showers could threaten satellites
Shortly after astronomers detected asteroid 2024 YR4 on December 27, 2024, they realized it posed no threat to Earth. But it could still impact the moon in 2032. The impact debris could threaten satellites and trigger an ...
Astronomy
Jun 17, 2025
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Thick clay layers on Mars may have been stable place for ancient life
The planet Mars is home to thick layers of clay that can span hundreds of feet. Since they need water to form, these outcrops have long been of interest to scientists looking for signs of past life on the red planet.
Astrobiology
Jun 17, 2025
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From asteroid mining to space rustling—what do we do when an asteroid threatens Earth?
Asteroids colliding with Earth might seem farfetched, but the planetary threat is real. Just this year news broke of an asteroid with a 1%–2% chance of a fatal collision occurring in 2032. While more recent measurements ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 17, 2025
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Largest Oort Cloud comet ever observed reveals its secrets under ALMA's powerful gaze
A team of astronomers has made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting molecular activity in comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)—the largest and second most distantly active comet ever observed from the Oort Cloud.
Astronomy
Jun 17, 2025
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Meteosat-12 begins prime service duty
A new chapter in European weather and climate monitoring begins as EUMETSAT's Meteosat-12 satellite, formerly Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Imager 1, takes up the baton from Meteosat-10 to deliver Europe's prime data service ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 16, 2025
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More news
Planet-forming disks lose gas faster than dust, new survey finds
From stardust to stone: Windswept grains hold clues to planet's beginnings
NASA launching rockets into radio-disrupting clouds
Would a planetary sunshade help cool the planet? This mission could find out
Why are sunsets so pretty in winter? There's a simple explanation
Tuning a NASA instrument: Calibrating MASTER
Why the moon shimmers with shiny glass beads
Webb telescope images frigid exoplanet in strange orbit
PUNCH mission images huge solar eruption
Moons of Uranus surprise scientists in Hubble study
Silicate clouds discovered in atmosphere of distant exoplanet
Image: Central Brazil Cerrado
Other news
New study uncovers surprising physics of 'marine snow'
How a genetic tug-of-war decides the fate of a honey bee
Advanced simulations explain exoplanetary systems with compact orbits
NASA's ready-to-use dataset details land motion across North America
Mars Odyssey orbiter captures volcano peeking above morning cloud tops
Titan may be the liveliest place in the solar system
ESA's new asteroid hunter opens its eye to the sky
Why MTG-S1 is a nowcasting game-changer
