Planetary Science

Microbes

Ancient bacteria could persist beneath Mars’ surface

Radiation-tolerant microbes might be able to survive beneath Mars’ surface for hundreds of millions of years, a new study suggests.

Planetary Science

NASA’s DART mission successfully shoved an asteroid

Data obtained since the spacecraft intentionally crashed into an asteroid show that the impact altered the space rock’s orbit even more than intended.

Planetary Science

Mars’ buried ‘lake’ might just be layers of ice and rock

Evidence grows that possible detections of liquid water buried near Mars’ south pole might not hold water.

Planetary Science

Robin Wordsworth re-creates the atmosphere of ancient Mars

Robin Wordsworth studies the climates of Mars and other alien worlds to find out whether they could support life.

Planetary Science

NASA’s DART spacecraft just smashed into an asteroid — on purpose

If the first-ever attempt to knock a space rock off course works, it could provide a blueprint to protect Earth from a killer asteroid.

Planetary Science

Here is the first direct look at Neptune’s rings in more than 30 years

In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft took the first pics of Neptune’s rings. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing a more detailed look.

Planetary Science

Saturn’s rings and tilt might have come from one missing moon

The hypothetical moon, dubbed Chrysalis, could have helped tip the planet over before getting shredded to form the rings, researchers suggest.

Planetary Science

Passing through the Milky Way’s arms may have helped form Earth’s solid ground

Barrages of comets stirred up by the early solar system’s journey around the center of the galaxy could explain the timing of ancient rock formation.

Astronomy

The James Webb telescope spotted CO₂ in an exoplanet’s atmosphere

The first definitive detection of the gas on a world in another solar system paves the way for detections in planets that are more Earthlike.

Earth

Not one, but two asteroids might have slain the dinosaurs

A craterlike structure found off West Africa’s coast might have been formed by an asteroid impact around the same time the dinosaurs went extinct.

Planetary Science

Oort cloud comets may spin themselves to death

How icy objects from the solar system’s fringe break up as they near the sun is a long-standing mystery. One astronomer now thinks he has an answer.

Planetary Science

Asteroid impacts might have created some of Mars’ sand

Roughly a quarter of the Red Planet’s sand is spherical bits of glass forged in violent impacts, new observations reveal.