SUNSET: 
BepiColombo Mission Returns to Mercury for Best Flyby Views Yet
The BepiColombo mission has completed its fourth and closest pass yet of Mercury, giving us brand-new views of the planet's south pole region.
A Visiting Star Might Have Reshaped the Outer Solar System
Billions of years ago, the close pass of another star might have sculpted the outer regions of our solar system.
Dino-Era Asteroid Came from the Outer Solar System
A new chemical analysis confirms the Chicxulub impactor was a fragile type of asteroid that formed in the outer solar system, unlike several other ancient impactors.
How to Define a Planet – The Sequel
Hold your breath: astronomers are re-evaluating their definition of a planet. Spoiler: it won’t bring Pluto back into the family.
Tonight's Perseid Meteor Shower May Be Dipped in Aurora Sauce
The Perseids peak on Sunday night, August 11-12 and just might be joined by a colorful display of northern lights.
Woo-hoo — The Perseid Meteor Shower Is Coming!
It's time again for the annual August meteor-shower fest, the Perseids. This year's display should be a beauty with only minor moonlight and a special surprise at dawn.
Does This Mars Rock Show a "Potential Biosignature"? Or Just "Wet Chemistry"?
"Leopard spots" on a Mars rock could come from life — or they could simply be a sign of a type of chemical reaction that requires water.
New Exploration of Titan's Seas
A new look at data from NASA's Cassini mission confirms methane cycles on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, just as water cycles on Earth.
How Long Has Jupiter's Great Red Spot Been Around?
A new study follows two lines of research to suggest that that Great Red Spot we see today has not, in fact, been going for as long as we thought.
Did the Solar System Once Collide with an Interstellar Cloud?
Astronomers have proposed a rather uncomfortable past for our solar system and our planet — as well as an alternative explanation for a radioactive anomaly on Earth.
What Martian Gullies Mean for Water on Mars
Martian gullies have been the center of a debate about whether Mars ever has flowing water. Now, a comprehensive study examines the question.
Comet 13P/Olbers Juices Up June Skies
June brings heat and bugs but also a moderately bright, early-evening comet that returns every 69 years.
NASA's Lucy Mission Reveals Asteroid's Strange Moon
The asteroid Dinkinesh surprised NASA’s Lucy mission when it turned out to have a moon. Now, scientists are taking a closer look at the pair’s formation.
Why Did Galileo Get Such a Puny Crater?
Galileo was one of the first people to study the Moon through a telescope. You'd think he'd get more than 10-mile-wide crater for his efforts. But of course, there's more to the story.
Ready the Hot Cocoa and Recliner — Here Comes the Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower!
You might be tempted to sleep through this annual shower but then you'd miss seeing some of the fastest meteors around. Not to mention their parent is the most famous comet of all.
A Cosmic Arrow Pierced Pluto's Heart — Is It Still There Beneath the Surface?
A giant impact likely formed Pluto's heart-shaped basin, Sputnik Planitia. A big chunk of the impactor’s core might still be buried under the ice.
Earth’s Mini-Moon Linked to Farside Lunar Crater
Researchers might have located the birthplace of 469219 Kamo‘oalewa, a small asteroid that has been described as Earth’s “mini-moon.”
How Saturn’s Moon Mimas Might Have Melted
Maybe everything in the outer solar system is an ocean world.
Meteorites Tighten Timeline for Giant Planets’ Movement through the Solar System
By linking a family of meteorites on Earth to their relatives in the asteroid belt, scientists have arrived at a new understanding of the giant planets' movement early in the solar system's history.
