Planetary Science

  1. Planetary Science

    Did rivers once run on the Red Planet?

    A fan-shaped region of debris on Mars is providing new evidence that some places on the Red Planet, now bone-dry, once had long-lasting rivers or lakes.

    By Ron Cowen
  2. Planetary Science

    Did rivers once run on the Red Planet?

    A fan-shaped region of debris on Mars is providing new evidence that some places on the Red Planet, now bone-dry, once had long-lasting rivers or lakes.

    By Ron Cowen
  3. Planetary Science

    Martian sand ripples are taller than Earth’s

    New data gathered by a Mars-orbiting probe suggest that large ripples found in sandy areas of the Red Planet are more than twice as tall as their terrestrial counterparts.

    By Sid Perkins
  4. Planetary Science

    Giant picture of a giant planet

    The Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft has taken the sharpest global portrait of Jupiter ever obtained, showing the planet's turbulent atmosphere in true color.

    By Ron Cowen
  5. Planetary Science

    Moonopolies

    Recently discovered tiny satellites, all orbiting the outer planets in strange paths, may shed new light on a critical last phase in the formation of the planets.

    By Ron Cowen
  6. Planetary Science

    Bone-dry Mars?

    The presence of large amounts of olivine, a mineral that undergoes rapid chemical transformation when exposed to liquid water, argues against ancient oceans or lakes on Mars.

    By Ron Cowen
  7. Planetary Science

    Martian Invasion

    If all goes according to plan, three spacecraft—one in December, two in January—will land on the Red Planet, looking for evidence that liquid water once flowed on its surface.

    By Ron Cowen
  8. Planetary Science

    To the moon, European style

    The European Space Agency launched its first lunar mission, which is scheduled to reach the moon in 2005 and will search for water that may lie in the moon's permanently shadowed craters.

    By Ron Cowen
  9. Planetary Science

    News Splash: Strong evidence of lakes on Titan

    Using Earth-based radar to penetrate the thick atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, planetary scientists have the best evidence yet that the smog-shrouded moon has lakes or oceans of hydrocarbons over large stretches of its surface.

    By Ron Cowen
  10. Planetary Science

    Galileo’s Demise: A planetary plunge, by Jove

    Out of fuel and according to plan, the Galileo spacecraft ended an 8-year tour of Jupiter and its moons on Sept. 21, when it dove into the planet’s dense atmosphere.

    By Ron Cowen
  11. Planetary Science

    After the Tragedy

    NASA's plan to return the space shuttles safely to flight after the Columbia accident is coming under intense scrutiny.

    By Ron Cowen
  12. Planetary Science

    Earthly Field Trip to Mars

    Interested in seeing Martian landscapes and features up close on Earth? This Web site offers kids a “field trip” to formations in the state of Washington that resemble those found on the Red Planet. Take a look at floodplains, volcanoes, basalt columns, lakebeds, canyons, sand dunes, and more. Go to: http://www.kidscosmos.org/field-trip-to-mars.html

    By Science News