Our solar system is currently passing through the Local Interstellar Cloud, a region of highly diluted gas and dust between the stars. On its path, Earth continuously accumulates iron-60, a rare radioactive isotope of iron ...
Astronomy
May 17, 2026
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138
A joint European-Chinese spacecraft is set to blast off Tuesday to investigate what happens when extreme winds and giant explosions of plasma shot out from the sun slam into Earth's magnetic shield.
Planetary Sciences
May 17, 2026
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100
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
May 15, 2026
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87
Looking back at 14 years of Hubble telescope data for Jupiter's moon Europa has given Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists a better understanding of its tenuous atmosphere. The findings have cast doubt on previous ...
Astrobiology
May 18, 2026
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67
Some animals can move efficiently beneath granular surfaces. These include the sandfish (Scincus scincus), a lizard native to the Sahara. It can burrow into the sand and then literally "swim" through the desert sand to hunt ...
Space Exploration
May 19, 2026
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57
In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected—observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet's atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA's MAVEN ...
Planetary Sciences
May 18, 2026
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54
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
May 15, 2026
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51
Neptune's far-flung moon Nereid may be the last of the planet's original companions that managed to survive a cosmic crash, scientists reported Wednesday.
Planetary Sciences
May 20, 2026
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37
Earth has a group of cosmic stalkers. Known as "co-orbitals," these small bits of rock have a 1:1 mean motion resonance with Earth. Basically, they take the exact same amount of time to orbit the sun as we do. Astronomers ...
Planetary Sciences
May 18, 2026
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37
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture this panorama of an area nicknamed "Arbot" on April 5, 2026, the 1,882nd Martian day (sol) of the mission, during the rover's deepest push west beyond Jezero ...
Planetary Sciences
May 18, 2026
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