Solar System
Why Don’t We Send Probes “Up” In The Solar System?
Wouldn't it be easier to see what’s outside the solar system if we just send out probes straight up? Dammit,…
New Horizons Exits Safe Mode, Operating Flawlessly for Upcoming Pluto Encounter
Latest color image of Pluto taken on July 3, 2015 shows 4 mysterious dark spots. Best yet image of Pluto…
What is the Biggest Planet in the Solar System?
Ever since the invention of the telescope four hundred years ago, astronomers have been fascinated by the gas giant of…
Mathematics: The Beautiful Language of the Universe
Let us discuss the very nature of the cosmos. What you may find in this discussion is not what you…
Cassini to Perform Its Final Flyby of Hyperion
On Sunday, May 31, the Cassini spacecraft will perform its last close pass of Hyperion, Saturn's curiously spongelike moon. At approximately 9:36…
What is Lunar Regolith?
When you're walking around on soft ground, do you notice how your feet leave impressions? Perhaps you've tracked some of…
Rosetta’s View of a Comet’s “Great Divide”
The latest image to be revealed of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comes from October 27, 2014, before the Philae lander even departed for its…
Could We Live on Jupiter?
When humans finally travel into space, where will we live? Will we ever be able to colonize gas giants like…
Astronomy Cast Ep. 375: The Search For Life in the Solar System
With the discovery of water ice in so many locations in the Solar System, scientists are hopeful in the search…
The End is Near: NASA’s MESSENGER Now Running on Fumes
For more than four years NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has been orbiting our solar system's innermost planet Mercury, mapping its surface and…