61–80 of 1,107 results

Solar System

Four of Uranus's Moons Might Contain Briny Oceans

Four of Uranus's five icy moons likely contain a thin layer of briny (or otherwise enriched) water, astronomers have concluded from Voyager 2 data.

solar flare

Solar System

The Sun's Ramping Up Activity — But Still Weaker Than in the Past

The Sun has recently experienced an uptick in activity, with lots of sunspots accompanied by flares, coronal mass ejections, and visible auroras — but experts still expect a mild solar cycle.

ANSMET

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Magnets Are Bad News for Meteorites

Common handheld magnets can erase crucial data in ancient meteorites.

JUICE

Space Missions

European JUICE Mission Launches for Jupiter

The European Space Agency’s first dedicated mission to the icy moons of Jupiter has launched successfully.

a light grey circle with tentrils coming off it against a dark grey background

Solar System

85,000 Volcanoes Mapped on Venus

A new catalog pinpoints volcanic cones in the best available surface images of Venus – those gathered 30 years ago by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft.

Quasi-Moon orbit

Solar System

Does Earth Have a New Quasi-Moon?

Astronomers have discovered an asteroid that orbits the Sun with Earth, earning it the moniker "quasi-moon."

The planet Uranus on a black background. The planet appears light blue with a large, white patch on the right side. The image is labelled to indicate the locations of the planet’s clouds, polar cap, and zeta ring

Solar System

James Webb Space Telescope Captures Another Ringed Planet

Webb has returned an image of ringed Uranus, currently experiencing the dog days of northern hemisphere summer.

Lunarisms locator

Explore the Night with Bob King

Pleasures of Lunar Pareidolia

Do you still see animal shapes in clouds? If so, you'll enjoy doing the same with the Moon, home to the Moon Maiden, a giant pair of scissors, and other fantastic specters of light and shadow.

Portrayal of 'Oumuamua (1I/2017 U1)

Solar System

The Odd Behavior of Interstellar Object 'Oumuamua, Explained

It wasn't aliens after all — an astrochemist and an astronomer have teamed up to explain why the interstellar object 1I/'Oumuamua behaved the way it did.

composite image of Ryugu's rubbly surface

Solar System

Analysis of Asteroid Ryugu Reveals Prebiotic Compounds

Prebiotic compounds previously found in meteorites have now turned up in pristine samples from the asteroid Ryugu, confirming their extraterrestrial origin.

Sulphur-tinged volcano rises above surface on Venus

Solar System

Finally! Scientists Find Active Volcano on Venus

After decades of searching, scientists have finally found a clear sign of active volcanism on Venus.

Solar System

Amateur Astronomers Help Provide Uninterrupted View of Venus’s Clouds

The newest observations will help astronomers understand a planetary-scale wave in the atmosphere of our sister planet.

Cutaway diagram of protoplanetary disk, which flares out away from star

Solar System

Water on Earth Might Predate the Solar System

Astronomers studying the water vapor around a newborn star find that it’s chemically similar to ice in solar system comets, a possible source of Earth’s oceans.

Cool blue world

Solar System

Do Diamonds Rain on the Ice Giants?

New research shows diamonds might condense out of Neptune's mantle, but not Uranus', explaining a decades-old discrepancy.

Close-up view of Didymos and Dimorphos

Solar System

The Aftermath of DART, Humankind’s First Planetary Defense Mission

Five new studies give a full accounting of the aftermath of the impact of NASA's DART mission on a nearby asteroid.

2023 CX1

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Small Asteroid Spotted Hours Before Demise

The swift detection of a small asteroid, and recovery of its surviving fragments, shows we’re getting better at spotting incoming objects.

Trailing plume ejected from bright Dimorphos

Astronomy and Society

How Citizen Scientists Are Monitoring the DART Impact's Aftereffects

Observers around the globe are keeping an eye on the asteroid Didymos and its moon Dimorphos to track the long-term effects of the DART mission's impact.

An artist illustration of the Quaoar system in front of a background of white stars. Central in the figure sits a brownish planet. This is Quaoar, a dwarf planet in the outer Solar System. At a distance of about five times its radius sits a ring. This ring is made up out of small grey pieces of debris. At twice the distance of the ring, to the left of Quaoar, sits its moon Weywot. Weywot looks about a sixth the size of Quaoar but has the same brownish colour. To the right of this system, we see a bright star. This star is bigger than the background stars and represents the distant Sun

Solar System

Astronomers Discover Unexpected Ring around Distant Dwarf Planet 

There’s a strangely large-diameter ring around the outer solar system world Quaoar.

Lucy spacecraft next to shiny rock on black field

Space Missions

Lucy Mission Has a New Asteroid to Fly By

NASA’s Lucy mission now has a new first target of opportunity, a main-belt asteroid it will visit this November.

Comet ZTF (C/2022) and Mt. Etna

Comets

Understanding the Tails of Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3)

We explore Comet ZTF's remarkable trio of tails and share the latest news and photos.