Planetary Science & Exoplanets

2+ hour, 29+ min ago   (909+ words) Even massive collisions that shatter icy moons may not destroy their hidden oceans, revealing how surprisingly resilient these buried waters can be. Icy moons that get blown apart by massive collisions don’t necessarily lose their hidden oceans. In fact, the…...

30+ min ago   (536+ words) Humans wouldn't last very long in Mars' extremely harsh climate. Some creatures, however, may just be tough enough to try Mars is a pretty horrible place for any creature used to life on Earth. The average surface temperature is -63°C…...

29+ min ago   (353+ words) Explanation: When does a nebula look like a comet? In this crowded starfield covering over two degrees within the high-flying constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), the eye is drawn to the Cocoon Nebula. A compact star forming region, the cosmic…...

1+ hour, 3+ min ago   (425+ words) A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that organic material from several different carbon-rich meteorites carries a remarkably similar oxygen fingerprint. The finding suggests that the material may have originated from a common…...

2+ hour, 36+ min ago   (642+ words) A stunning new Mars Express image reveals swirls of purple, pink and red near Mars’s south pole, exposing a surprisingly colorful landscape. Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency shows a side of Mars that looks nothing…...

1+ hour, 39+ min ago   (242+ words) Two telescopes reveal the nebula’s structure and delicate gas filaments in greater detail Abu Dhabi: Al Khatim Astronomical Observatory, operated by the International Astronomy Center in the Abu Dhabi desert, has captured detailed images of the Crescent Nebula after 14 nights…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago   (747+ words) James Webb cannot see chariklo’s rings directly but their shadows revealed that something is happening to them. What if I told you that Saturn and the other gas giants are not the only worlds in our Solar System to sport…...

1+ hour, 59+ min ago   (413+ words) Findings from NASA's Juno mission could help scientists understand powerful shocks produced by dying stars throughout the universe image: University of Iowa physicists have made the most detailed observations of Jupiter’s bow shock, a barrier that helps deflect harmful particles…...

5+ hour, 29+ min ago   (814+ words) Real-world experience so far has been far more modest. Using the MOXIE instrument aboard the Perseverance rover, 16 runs were carried out between 2021 and 2023, producing a total of 122 grams of oxygen. The amount required is roughly two hundred thousand times greater....

5+ hour, 22+ min ago   (456+ words) In October 2022, a team of Spanish astronomers leveraged the powerful eye of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to examine one of the most unexpected discoveries in the cosmos: the rings encircling a curious asteroid in the outer Solar System. The…...