Planetary Science News

Perspective view of Mars’ north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark troughs forming a spiral-like pattern. The view is based on images taken by ESA’s Mars Express and generated using elevation data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / NASA / MGS / MOLA Science Team.

Martian North Polar Vortex Creates Seasonal Ozone Layer, Planetary Scientists Say

Sep 17, 2025 by News Staff

The polar vortex is a consequence of Martian seasons, which occur because the planet’s axis is tilted at an angle of 25.2 degrees, according to University...

Saturn’s moon Enceladus with a plume. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / Kevin M. Gill.

Planetary Scientists Question Ocean Origin of Organic Molecules in Enceladus’ Plumes

Sep 16, 2025 by News Staff

Saturn’s magnetosphere contains trapped plasma and energetic charged particles which constantly irradiate the surface of Enceladus. The plasma consists...

This artist’s impression shows how Mars may have looked about 4 billion years ago. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Perseverance Finds Potential Chemical Signatures of Ancient Microbial Life on Mars

Sep 10, 2025 by News Staff

NASA’s Perseverance rover has explored and sampled igneous and sedimentary rocks within Jezero crater to characterize early Martian geological processes...

Protopapa et al. used Webb observations (white) to detect methane gas on Makemake; sharp emission peaks near 3.3 microns reveal methane in the gas phase above Makemake’s surface; a continuum model (cyan) is overlaid for comparison; the gas emission peaks are identified where the observed spectrum rises above the continuum. Image credit: S. Protopapa / I. Wong / SwRI / STScI / NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb.

Webb Detects Methane Gas on Dwarf Planet Makemake

Sep 9, 2025 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have found evidence for gaseous methane on the distant dwarf planet Makemake. Reported in...

Juno capturing the marks on Jupiter of all four Galilean moons; the aurorae related to each are labeled Io, Eur (for Europa), Gan (for Ganymede), and Cal (for Callisto). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / UVS Team / MSSS / Gill / Jónsson / Perry / Hue / Rabia.

Juno Observes Ultraviolet Satellite Footprint of Jupiter’s Moon Callisto

Sep 4, 2025 by News Staff

Jupiter hosts the brightest and most spectacular aurorae in the Solar System. Near its poles, these shimmering lights offer a glimpse into how the planet...

A giant collision in the early history of Mars created a global magma ocean. Image credit: Vadim Sadovski / Imperial College London.

Martian Mantle Holds Frozen Record of Planet’s Violent Beginnings, Study Suggests

Aug 28, 2025 by News Staff

The mantle of Mars contains ancient fragments up to 4 km wide from its formation — preserved like geological fossils from the planet’s violent...

This image of the asteroid Ryugu was captured by the Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic (ONC-T) on JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft on June 26, 2018, from a distance of 13.7 miles (22 km). Image credit: JAXA / University of Tokyo / Kochi University / Rikkyo University / Nagoya University / Chiba Institute of Technology / Meiji University / Aizu University / AIST.

Asteroids Bennu and Ryugu are Part of Polana Collisional Family, Webb Observations Suggest

Aug 26, 2025 by News Staff

The new Polana collisional family in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt is the hypothesized origin of the near-Earth asteroids (101955) Bennu, which...

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 images collected on December 2, 2018 by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam instrument from a range of 15 miles (24 km). Image credit: NASA / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona.

Elements in Samples from Asteroid Bennu Reflect Composition of Early Solar System, Study Says

Aug 26, 2025 by News Staff

The first bodies to form in the Solar System acquired their materials from stars, the presolar molecular cloud and the protoplanetary disk. Asteroids that...

This illustration depicts the interior of Ceres, including the transfer of water and gases from the rocky core to a reservoir of salty water; carbon dioxide and methane are among the molecules carrying chemical energy beneath Ceres’ surface. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Dwarf Planet Ceres May Have Had Lasting Source of Chemical Energy to Fuel Habitability

Aug 20, 2025 by News Staff

Although there is no evidence that microorganisms ever existed on Ceres, the results of a new study support theories that this dwarf planet may have once...

This image combines an image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in the optical and observations of the Jovian aurora in the ultraviolet. Image credit: NASA / ESA.

Juno Detects Unusual Plasma Waves in Jupiter’s Aurora

Aug 19, 2025 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary researchers have detected a new type of plasma wave in the auroral zones above Jupiter’s north pole. This...

This image of the Paposo rock was taken by Curiosity’s MAHLI instrument on July 24, 2025. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

Curiosity Finds Coral-Shaped Rocks on Mars

Aug 12, 2025 by Natali Anderson

On July 24, 2025, the 4,608th Martian day, or Sol, of the mission, NASA’s Curiosity rover imaged wind-eroded rocks shaped like a piece of coral in the...

An artist’s impression of the super-Earth exoplanet HD 164922d. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

New Research Sheds Light on Evolution of Lava Planets

Jul 29, 2025 by News Staff

Lava planets are rocky exoplanets that orbit so close to their host star that their dayside is hot enough to melt silicate rock. Boukaré et al. introduce...

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this stunning mosaic of Enceladus on October 5, 2008 as the spacecraft sped away from this geologically active moon of Saturn. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute.

Underground Microbial Life Could Survive on Mars, Europa and Enceladus Using Cosmic Rays

Jul 29, 2025 by News Staff

Radiolysis induced by Galactic cosmic rays could provide a viable energy source for microbial metabolism in the subsurface environments of rocky planetary...

Composite image of Uranus. Image credit: Marcos van Dam / W. M. Keck Observatory.

Uranus May Actually Be Warmer than Previously Expected

Jul 18, 2025 by News Staff

Uranus releases about 15% more energy than it receives from the Sun, according to two new papers published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal...

This HiRISE image shows a flat top, heavily eroded fluvial sinuous ridge on Mars; sand dunes can be seen migrating over the top of the fluvial sinuous ridge. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona.

Mars was Warm and Wet 3.7 Billion Years Ago, New Study Suggests

Jul 14, 2025 by News Staff

Planetary scientists have discovered more than 15,000 km of ancient riverbeds in Noachis Terra, a region in Mars’ southern highlands. This discovery...

Image of the entire NWA 16254 sample studied by Chen et al.: (a) a backscattered electron (BSE) image obtained by the TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA); (b) mineralogical mapping via TIMA; (c) distribution map of the iron content obtained via TIMA; (d) distribution map of the calcium content obtained via TIMA. Image credit: Chen et al., doi: 10.15302/planet.2025.25002.

Newly-Discovered Meteorite Offers Insights into Volcanic Processes on Ancient Mars

Jul 10, 2025 by Natali Anderson

The Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 16254 is a 406-g gabbroic shergottite found two years ago in Algeria. Image of the entire NWA 16254 sample...

Backscattered electron image of the NWA 16286 sample. Image credit: Joshua Snape / University of Manchester.

2.35-Billion-Year-Old Lunar Meteorite Fills One-Billion-Year Gap in Volcanic History of the Moon

Jul 9, 2025 by News Staff

An analysis of Northwest Africa (NWA) 16286, a lunar meteorite with a unique chemical signature, offers fresh insights into how the Moon’s interior evolved,...

An artist’s impression of a terraformed Mars. Image credit: Daein Ballard / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Can We Make Mars Habitable through Terraforming?

Jun 12, 2025 by News Staff

In their new paper, Los Alamos National Laboratory planetary scientist Nina Lanza and colleagues looked at what would be needed to make the surface environment...

This image of an impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars was taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 30, 2015. The crater is approximately 3,300 feet (1-km) wide and appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta. The steep inner slopes are carved by gullies and include possible recurring slope lineae on the equator-facing slopes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona / Alfred McEwen.

Slope Streaks on Mars are Dry, New Study Suggests

May 26, 2025 by News Staff

Slope streaks are dark features on Martian slopes that form spontaneously and fade over years to decades. Some planetary scientists have interpreted those...