Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    A discordant name for a dwarf planet

    The largest known object at the fringes of the solar system, the icy body whose discovery heated up the debate about the nature of planethood, has an apt new name.

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  2. Planetary Science

    SMART stop

    The European Space Agency's first mission to the moon ended with a deliberate bang on Sept. 3.

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  3. Planetary Science

    Martian doings

    The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has finished reshaping its orbit, while the venerable rover Opportunity is approaching the rim of the widest and deepest crater it has yet visited.

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  4. Planetary Science

    Oversize Orb: Puffy planet poses puzzle

    Astronomers have discovered what may be the largest planet ever found, an orb 36 percent wider than Jupiter that circles a nearby star.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Rare Uranian eclipse

    The Hubble Space Telescope has for the first time recorded an eclipse on Uranus.

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  6. Planetary Science

    Doggone! Pluto gets a planetary demotion

    The solar system has only eight planets, and Pluto isn't one of them, according to the first-ever definition of a planet, approved last week by the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Titan’s Lakes: Evidence of liquid on Saturn’s largest moon

    New radar images strongly suggest that Saturn's giant moon Titan contains lakes of liquid hydrocarbons, marking the first time that researchers have found compelling evidence for bodies of liquid on the surface of any object beyond Earth.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Close look confirms two eyes on Venus

    A spacecraft that recently arrived at Venus has confirmed that the atmosphere above the planet's south pole harbors an unusual storm feature; a giant, double vortex.

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  9. Planetary Science

    Jovian storms of surpassing beauty

    A new near-infrared image of two giant, oval storms in Jupiter's southern hemisphere reveals that they are now brushing past each other closely, separated by only 3,000 kilometers.

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  10. Planetary Science

    Some deadly monikers

    Two recently found small moons orbiting Pluto have now been officially dubbed Nix and Hydra.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Lots of red dust, but not much noise

    In space, no one can hear you scream, but a new analysis suggests that it's pretty quiet on Mars, too.

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  12. Planetary Science

    The sands of Titan

    Although the surface of Saturn's moon Titan is cold enough to freeze methane, it has sand dunes like those in the Arabian Desert, according to radar images taken by the Cassini spacecraft.

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