Space
One possible recipe for life on Titan is a bust
An experiment mimicking conditions on the Saturn moon suggests that cell-like bubbles don’t form in methane lakes, puncturing hopes for alien life.
Planetary Science
More Stories in Planetary Science
- Planetary Science
A chemical ‘Goldilocks zone’ may limit which planets can host life
Life needs nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. But without the right balance of oxygen, these elements get locked away in planets’ cores.
- Planetary Science
Venus has a massive lava tube
A collapsed lava tube detected in 30-year-old radar data from Venus may be part of a much wider network of underground caves.
- Planetary Science
A newly spotted asteroid spins faster than any of its size ever seen
Among the first finds from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the discovery hints at a population of exceptionally strong asteroids.
- Planetary Science
An asteroid could hit the moon in 2032, scattering debris toward Earth
Researchers are keeping an eye on the building-sized asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon seven years from now.
- Astronomy
New Hubble images may solve the case of a disappearing exoplanet
A massive collision between two asteroid-sized bodies around a nearby star offers a rare look at the violent process of planetary construction.
- Planetary Science
Listen to the crackle of Martian ‘mini-lightning’
A microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded the sounds of electrical discharges generated by dusty gusts.
- Planetary Science
Boiling oceans may sculpt the surfaces of small icy moons
Simulations show that subsurface oceans on small moons may hit boiling conditions, potentially creating features like Miranda’s distinctive ridges.
- Planetary Science
How did Pluto capture its largest moon, Charon?
Planetary scientist Adeene Denton runs computer simulations to investigate Pluto, the moons of Saturn and other icy bodies in the solar system.
- Planetary Science
Dwarf planet Makemake sports the most remote gas in the solar system
The methane gas may constitute a rarefied atmosphere, or it may come from erupting plumes on Makemake’s surface.
