Planetary Science

More Stories in Planetary Science

  1. An illustration of a giant orange star eating a much smaller red planet and a giant burst of bright white dust expanding outward from the tiny planet.
    Astronomy

    For the first time, astrophysicists have caught a star eating a planet

    A burst of light and a cloud of dust are signs that a star 12,000 light-years away swallowed a planet up to 10 times the mass of Jupiter.

    By James R. Riordon
  2. An illustration of Mars cut in half to see the inner workings of the planet and its core.
    Planetary Science

    Seismic waves crossing Mars’ core reveal details of the Red Planet’s heart

    NASA’s InSight lander observed a quake and an impact on the farside of Mars, allowing researchers to measure physical properties of the planet’s core.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  3. An ultraviolet composite image of Saturn. The planet is seen in shades of blue with a white band towards the center at at the top.
    Planetary Science

    Saturn’s icy rings are probably heating its atmosphere, giving it an ultraviolet glow

    Detecting similar emission from a distant world could help astronomers find other planets that boast bright and beautiful rings.

    By Ken Croswell
  4. The surface of Venus
    Planetary Science

    Venus has almost 50 times as many volcanoes as previously thought

    Where are there NOT volcanoes on Venus? A new map of the planet unveils a veritable volcanic bonanza.

    By Maria Temming
  5. A dark planet in space with no star nearby, with a galaxy distantly cutting through the background
    Planetary Science

    Planets without stars might have moons suitable for life

    Thanks to gravitational squeezing by their host planets, some moons of rogue planets could stay warm for over a billion years, simulations suggest.

    By Bas den Hond
  6. A photo of Jupiter with its moons Io and Europa seen in front.
    Planetary Science

    Baby Jupiter glowed so brightly it might have desiccated its moon

    During its infancy, Jupiter may have glowed about 10 thousand times brighter than it does today, which may explain why its moon Io is completely dry.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  7. A photo take of the asteroid Ryugu. A light gray circular shape in the center on a deep black background.
    Space

    A crucial building block of life exists on the asteroid Ryugu

    A sample from Ryugu collected by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft contains uracil, a component of RNA, which is found in all living cells.

    By Allison Gasparini
  8. A close-up of rice plants
    Agriculture

    Martian soil may have all the nutrients rice needs

    Experiments hint that in the future, we might be able to grow the staple food in the soils of the Red Planet.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  9. An image of Maat Mons on Venus based on data from spacecraft. A yellow mountain rises up on a black background with a brown area in the foreground.
    Planetary Science

    A volcano on Venus was spotted erupting in decades-old images

    A new look at old data reveals an eruption on Venus in the 1990s that was probably similar to Hawaii’s Kilauea eruption in 2018.

    By Lisa Grossman