Planetary Science News

Classification of realms across the Martian surface. Image credit: McBratney et al., doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2026.110649.

Planetary Scientists Create Classification System and Map of Martian Soils

Oct 19, 2026 by News Staff

Planetary researchers at the University of Sydney have proposed a new way to classify the soils of Mars, along with a new word for them: areth (the name...

This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / J. Cowart.

Giant Martian Cloud May Form Through Physics Never Before Seen in Planetary Atmosphere

Oct 7, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud is a wisp of water ice that appears downwind of the 20-km- (12.4-mile) tall Arsia Mons volcano — the southernmost...

Map of the six north polar locations analyzed by P. Mohan & A.R. Khuller, where water ice is exposed at the Martian surface. Image credit: P. Mohan & A.R. Khuller, doi: 10.1038/s44453-026-00054-9.

Water Ice at Mars’ North Pole is Considerably Cleaner than Previously Believed

Sep 30, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new analysis of orbital and lander data from Mars suggests the exposed north-polar water ice contains less than 3% dust, far below earlier estimates...

Molecular hydrogen points to hydrothermal activity in an ocean beneath the icy surface of Enceladus. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Cassini Reveals Surprising Diversity in Salt Grains from Enceladus’ Ocean

Sep 25, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of nearly 1,000 ice grain measurements from Saturn’s E ring shows that Enceladus’ salty ocean spray freezes and fragments in a more...

The concentric feature in the East Margin of the Margin unit, Jezero crater, Mars. Image credit: Bedford et al., doi: 10.1038/s43247-026-03997-9.

Mysterious Rock Formation in Jezero Crater Reveals Mars’ Complex Watery Past

Sep 22, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using data collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover, planetary scientists have revealed that a geologically puzzling formation in Jezero crater experienced...

This close-up view of McGetchin crater was taken on December 5, 2025, by the Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Image credit: NASA Goddard / Intuitive Machines.

New Impact Crater Spotted on the Moon

Sep 18, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using images from the LROC instrument onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), scientists have discovered the biggest newly formed impact crater...

The magnetogram recorded at Greenwich Magnetic Observatory (London) from 11:20 UT on 18 October 1848 to 00:20 UT on 19 October 1848. Powerful geomagnetic disturbances are apparent on the evening of 18 October 1848 from 21:20 UT. Image credit: Wild et al., doi: 10.1029/2026SW005239.

Study: Famous ‘Space Weather’ Train Delay Actually Happened Seven Years Later

Sep 16, 2026 by News Staff

Although the famous Carrington Event of 1859 is often described as the first major space weather event to affect technology, earlier incidents did occur....

NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft captured this view of Venus in February 1974. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

New Study Explains Why Venus Has No Moon

Sep 15, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Dr. Stephen Kane from the University of California, Riverside and colleagues offer a tidy explanation for one of the Solar System’s enduring puzzles:...

This color image of Mercury was generated from three MESSENGER images taken through filters sensitive to light in different wavelengths. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Mercury Has Shrunk Even More than Planetary Scientists Thought

Sep 14, 2026 by News Staff

The Solar System’s smallest planet has contracted by nearly 19 km (12 miles) across, as crater debris masked telltale wrinkles on its surface, according...

An artist’s impression of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft in cruise configuration, with Mercury in the background. On its 7.2 year journey to the innermost planet, BepiColombo will fly by Earth once, Venus twice and Mercury six times before entering into orbit. The MTM module is shown with ion thrusters firing, and with its solar wings extended, spanning about 100 feet (30 m) from tip-to-tip. The 24.6-foot (7.5 m) long solar array of the MPO orbiter in the middle is seen extending to the top. The Mio orbiter is hidden inside the sunshield in this orientation. Image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab / NASA / JPL.

BepiColombo Begins Final Approach to Mercury

Sep 6, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

After nearly eight years and billions of kilometers of travel, BepiColombo — a science mission led by ESA in close collaboration with JAXA —...

This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER’s primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up the planet’s surface. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Mercury’s Crust May Hide Metal beneath Its Surface

Aug 31, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

Using a novel laboratory calibration, planetary researchers in Germany have produced the most reliable map yet of silica (SiO2) concentrations across the...

Venus in real colors, processed from Mariner 10 images. Image credit: Mattias Malmer / NASA.

Something in Venus’ Clouds is Absorbing Astonishing Amount of Sunlight

Aug 27, 2026 by News Staff

New research puts stringent limits on the unknown ‘material’ responsible for Venus’ dark ultraviolet markings, suggesting it must absorb sunlight...

This image of Phobos in front of the Sun was captured by Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z camera on August 12, 2026. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU / MSSS / SSI.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Spots Phobos Crossing the Sun

Aug 24, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Perseverance has caught the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, sweeping across the solar disk in a fresh transit video from Jezero crater. This...

This artist’s impression shows a field of Population III stars as they would have appeared a mere 100 million years after the Big Bang. Image credit: NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva / Spaceengine.

Rocky Planets May Have Started Forming Just 100 Million Years after Big Bang

Aug 12, 2026 by News Staff

New simulations suggest supernova explosions of the Universe’s first stars scattered the ingredients for rocky planets only 100 million years after the...

This Pluto mosaic was made from New Horizons LORRI images taken on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 49,700 miles (80,000 km). This view is projected from a point 1,118 miles (1,800 km) above Pluto’s equator, looking northeast over the dark, cratered Cthulhu Regio toward the bright, smooth expanse of icy plains called Sputnik Planum. Pluto’s North Pole is off the image to the left. This mosaic was produced with panchromatic images from the New Horizons LORRI camera, with color overlaid from the Ralph color mapper onboard New Horizons. Image credit: S.A. Stern et al.

Liquid Nitrogen May Have Flowed on Pluto’s Surface in Recent Past

Aug 9, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Planetary researchers analyzing images from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft have found evidence that liquid nitrogen may still be seeping up from beneath...

$The polygon fractures discovered by Curiosity in Gale crater, Mars. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.$