Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    Top of the Martian hill

    After a 14-month climb up a Martian hill, NASA's rover Spirit took a panoramic image of the view from the top.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Satellites could detect quakes on Venus

    Strong seismic activity on Venus could cause brief but detectable temperature increases high in that planet's atmosphere.

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  3. Planetary Science

    Radar for rovers on future Mars trips?

    Scientists are developing ground-penetrating radar equipment that could serve as geologists' helpers on future Mars-roving vehicles.

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  4. Planetary Science

    Enceladus: Small but feisty

    Close-up observations of Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus reveal that its south pole is hotter than its equator and that the icy satellite continues to undergo eruptions.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Bigger than Pluto: Tenth planet or icy leftover?

    Astronomers have found a body larger and more distant than Pluto, the biggest object found in the solar system since Neptune and its moon Triton were discovered in 1846.

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  6. Planetary Science

    Cassini eyes youthful-looking Saturnian moon

    On July 14, the Cassini spacecraft came within 175 kilometers of the south polar region of Saturn's bright, tiny moon Enceladus, revealing a tortured terrain of faults, folds, and ridges.

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  7. Planetary Science

    A Grand Slam

    A 372-kilogram copper projectile released from NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft successfully slammed into Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, producing some heavenly fireworks.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Pebbles from Heaven: Tracking planets in the making

    Recording radio waves from the region around a young star, astronomers have for the first time documented the making pebbles, a key step in the rocky road to planethood.

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  9. Planetary Science

    Flashy news from Mars

    A streak across the Martian sky observed by the rover Spirit was most likely a meteor associated with a comet called Wiseman-Skiff.

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  10. Planetary Science

    Opportunity rolls out of Purgatory

    After being stuck for nearly 5 weeks, the Mars rover Opportunity has freed itself from a sand trap on the Red Planet.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Planet Hunt Strikes Rock: Hot kin of Earth orbits nearby star

    Astronomers have found the closest known cousin to Earth, a solid world just 15 light-years beyond the solar system.

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  12. Planetary Science

    Renegade moon

    Saturn's outlier moon Phoebe didn't coalesce from material near the ringed planet but was captured from the distant Kuiper belt.

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