Solar System

The Sun Could Hurl Powerful Storms at Earth From its Goofy Smile

Our Sun is the very reason we’re alive. It provides warmth and the energy our planet needs to keep going.…

2 years ago

Will Triton finally answer, ‘Are we alone?’

We recently examined how and why Saturn’s icy moon, Enceladus, could answer the longstanding question: Are we alone? With its…

2 years ago

Edward Stone Has Been the Voyagers’ Project Scientist for 50 Years. He Just Retired

Edward Stone is retiring after 50 years as Project Scientist for the Voyager mission. The twin spacecraft revolutionized our understanding…

2 years ago

NASA Provides a Timelapse Movie Showing How the Universe Changed Over 12 Years

The Universe is over 13 billion years old, so a 12-year slice of that time might seem uneventful. But a…

2 years ago

Will Venus finally answer, ‘Are we alone?’

We recently examined how and why Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, could answer the longstanding question: Are we alone? It’s the…

2 years ago

Robots Might Jump Around to Explore the Moon

LEAP (Legged Exploration of the Aristarchus Plateau) is a mission concept study, funded by ESA, to explore challenging lunar terrains…

2 years ago

NASA’s Juno To Skim the Surface of Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa

This next week will mark a scientifically valuable achievement for NASA’s Juno mission, as the pioneering spacecraft is slated to…

2 years ago

Space Diamonds are Even Harder Than Earth Diamonds

In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers led…

2 years ago

Flying to (Hypothetical) Planet 9: Why visit it, how could we get there, and would it surprise us like Pluto?

In a recent study submitted to Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, an international team of researchers discuss the various mission design…

2 years ago

Alien Artifacts Could Be Hidden Across the Solar System. Here’s how we Could Search for Them.

Do aliens exist? Almost certainly. The universe is vast and ancient, and our corner of it is not particularly special.…

2 years ago