Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Subject to memorization in school and known as the definitive planetary lineup, Pluto was included in the list until the International Astronomical ...
Astronomy
Aug 31, 2022
18
54
In 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the fabled "Ninth Planet" (or "Planet X") while working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. The existence of this body had been predicted previously based on perturbations ...
Astronomy
Apr 21, 2022
11
476
What makes a planet a planet? The answer turns out to be rather contentious. The official definition of a planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is that a planet must satisfy three conditions:
Planetary Sciences
Nov 3, 2021
6
99
Five years ago today, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made history. After a voyage of nearly 10 years and more than 3 billion miles, the intrepid piano-sized probe flew within 7,800 miles of Pluto. For the first time ever, ...
Space Exploration
Jul 15, 2020
0
64
When the New Horizons spacecraft passed by Pluto in 2015, one of the many fascinating features its images revealed was that this small, frigid world in the distant solar system has a hazy atmosphere. Now, new data helps explain ...
Space Exploration
May 14, 2020
19
26
Ninety years ago today, Clyde Tombaugh, a young astronomer working at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, discovered Pluto. In doing so he unknowingly opened the door to the vast "third zone" of the solar system we ...
Space Exploration
Feb 19, 2020
2
38
NASA has funded Southwest Research Institute to study the important attributes, feasibility and cost of a possible future Pluto orbiter mission. This study will develop the spacecraft and payload design requirements and make ...
Space Exploration
Oct 30, 2019
1
70
Many of the craters of Mars and Pluto feature relatively small ice islands unattached to their polar ice caps.
Space Exploration
Sep 24, 2019
0
22
Whenever it passes in front of a star, Pluto provides precious information about its atmosphere, precious because occultations by Pluto are rare. The survey achieved by researchers from Paris Observatory over several decades ...
Space Exploration
May 14, 2019
0
13
The ominous warning – "winter is coming", popularised by fantasy series Game of Thrones – applies equally well to Pluto.
Space Exploration
Apr 24, 2019
0
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