Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    Hubble eyes Jupiter’s second red spot

    Hubble Space Telescope images are providing astronomers with the sharpest views yet of a new red spot on Jupiter.

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  2. Planetary Science

    The Whole Enceladus

    Saturn's moon Enceladus has become the hottest new place to look for life in the chilly outer solar system.

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  3. Planetary Science

    The Mysterious Smell of Moondust

    Long after the last Apollo astronaut left the moon, a mystery lingers: Why does moondust smell like gunpowder? In this account, astronauts describe the surprising smell and taste of moondust, which they experienced firsthand inside their lunar landers. The dust gave one astronaut a case of hay fever. Go to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/30jan_smellofmoondust.htm

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  4. Planetary Science

    Ice among the rocks

    A newly discovered trio of icy comets, hidden among the thousands of rocks in the main asteroid belt, may be part of a previously unknown class and a primary source of water for the dry, early Earth.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Brilliant! Tenth planet turns out to be a shiner

    Xena, unofficially called the 10th planet, is the second-most-shiny known object in the solar system.

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  6. Planetary Science

    Another visitor to Mars

    The newest spacecraft from Earth arrived at the Red Planet on March 10.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Making Mercury

    New computer simulations of Mercury's violent formation account for the planet's abundance of heavy elements and also reveal that some of the debris generated by the collision could have found its way to Earth and Venus.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Another red spot, by Jove

    Jupiter has developed a second red spot, which is now visible in the predawn sky with a telescope 10 inches or larger.

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  9. Planetary Science

    Propelling Evidence: Cassini finds clues to source of Saturn’s rings

    Four propeller-shaped gaps in one of Saturn's main rings are the latest evidence that a shattered moon produced the planet's dazzling hoops.

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  10. Planetary Science

    Pluto’s posse

    Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on Feb. 15 confirm that Pluto has two small, previously unknown moons.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Eyeing a Saturn storm

    The Cassini spacecraft recently captured an image of the most powerful storm ever seen on Saturn.

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  12. Planetary Science

    Stellar passage yields Charon’s girth

    By observing Pluto's moon Charon passing in front of a star, astronomers have obtained precise measurements of the moon's radius and density.

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