Carolyn Collins Petersen
An Ongoing Study of Jupiter’s Cloudtops Has Been Going on for 40 Years
Some of the most useful discoveries about distant objects take time to complete. For example, several generations of planetary scientists…
Navigation Could be Done on the Moon Just by Looking at Nearby Landmarks
When humans start living and working on the Moon in the Artemis missions, they're going to need good navigational aids.…
Perseverance Places its First Sample on the Surface of Mars. One Day This Will be in the Hands of Scientists on Earth
In the not-too-distant future, a planetary scientist will open up a tube of rocks that came from Mars. Thanks to…
Giant Exoplanet is Spiraling Inward to its Doom
"Death by star" is a fate awaiting most planets in star systems. That includes our Sun, Venus, and Mercury a…
Juno has Been Touring Jupiter’s Moons on its Extended Mission. Next Stop: Volcanic Io
For a tiny moon orbiting a giant planet, Io sure packs a giant wallop. It's the most volcanic world in…
A Soyuz Capsule on ISS is Leaking Coolant Into Space
There is an ongoing incident at the International Space Station involving a coolant leak from a docked Soyuz MS-22 crew…
Where are the Best Places to Land Humans on Mars?
Want to go to Mars? Great! Now, all you need to do is plan a mission. Figure out where to…
ESA’s Upcoming Mission Will Tell us if Venus is Still Volcanically Active
When it comes to planetary exploration, particularly of Venus, a big part of the story is under the surface. It's…
Black Holes Shouldn’t be Able to Merge, but Dozens of Mergers Have Been Detected. How Do They Do It?
Who knows what lurks in the hearts of some globular clusters? Astronomers using a collection of gravitational wave observatories found…
Comets Leave Dusty Trails That Surround the Solar System
Comets are messy things. They scatter bits of dust as they travel through the solar system. If Earth happens to…