Solar System
How Common are Solar Systems Like Ours?
Solar system montage. Credit: NASA On the whole, we'd like to think we're special, but we also hope we aren't…
Mars 2016 Methane Orbiter: Searching for Signs of Life
[/caption] The new joint Mars exploration program of NASA and ESA is quickly pushing forward to implement an agreed upon…
Jupiter – Our Silent Guardian?
[/caption] We live in a cosmic shooting gallery. In Phil Plait's Death From the Skies, he lays out the dangers…
Cold as Hell with a Chance of Dust Storms: Weather Movies from Mars
If you think about it, those hypnotizing patterns of swirling clouds you see in TV weather reports are pretty amazing:…
Cassini/IBEX Data Changes View of Heliosphere Shape
Though the Cassini mission has focused intently on scientific exploration of Saturn and its moons, data taken by the spacecraft…
Where Could Humans Survive in our Solar System?
[/caption] If humans were forced to vacate Earth, where is the next best place in our solar system for us…
Cosmic-Ray Intensity Hits 50-Year High
[/caption] Planning a trip to Mars? Take plenty of shielding. According to sensors on NASA's ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer) spacecraft,…
Titan Shaping Up to Look a Lot Like Pre-Life Earth
[/caption] It's more than a billion kilometers (759 million miles) away, but the more astronomers learn about Titan, the more…
Heat-Shocked Diamonds Provide New Clue of Horse-Killing Impact
[/caption] Archeologists have been divided about whether an extraterrestiral impact blasted North America about 12,900 years ago, wreaking havoc on…
Solar Cycle Triggers La Nina, El Nino-like Climate Shifts
[/caption] Researchers have discovered a link between the 11-year solar cycle and tropical Pacific weather patterns that resemble La Niña…