Planetary Science News

SOFIA/GREAT spectrum of oxygen [OI] superimposed on an image of Mars from NASA’ MAVEN mission. The amount of atomic oxygen computed from SOFIA data is about half the amount expected. Image credit: NASA / DLR / USRA / DSI / MPIfR / GREAT Consortium / MPIfS / Rezac et al / MAVEN.

NASA’s SOFIA Observatory Detects Atomic Oxygen in Upper Atmosphere of Mars

May 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the largest airborne observatory in the world, has detected atomic oxygen in the upper...

Topographic map of Mercury with labeled features. Image credit: NASA / U.S. Geological Survey / Arizona State University / Carnegie Institution of Washington / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Scientists Create Global Topographic Map of Mercury

May 9, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona State University, Carnegie Institute of Washington and Johns Hopkins University Applied...

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.

Mars’ Recurring Slope Lineae May Be Formed by Boiling Water

May 3, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Seasonal dark streaks on Mars — called recurring slope lineae by planetary researchers — could be the result of water boiling whilst flowing...

Artist’s impression of C/2014 S3 (PanSTARRS). The comet’s current long orbital period (approximately 860 years) suggests that its source is in the Oort Cloud -- a large region surrounding the Sun like a giant, thick soap bubble -- and it was nudged comparatively recently into an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Unique Rocky Comet from Oort Cloud May Provide Clues about Origin of Solar System

Apr 29, 2016 by News Staff

Observations of a tailless comet called C/2014 S3 (PanSTARRS), made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Canada France Hawaii Telescope, show that...

Cassini caught the sunlight glinting off Titan's seas and lakes filled with liquid methane or ethane. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona / University of Idaho.

NASA’s Cassini Orbiter Explores Titan’s Ligeia Mare

Apr 28, 2016 by News Staff

Ligeia Mare, one of the largest seas on Saturn’s moon Titan, consists of pure methane and likely has a seabed covered by a sludge of organic-rich material,...

Beagle-2 landing site: original image (upper panel) and SRR from 5 input images (lower). The bright object in the upper centre portion is shown in the next figure. Map co-ordinates come from NASA’s HiRISE camera and are not in a global reference system. Image credit: Yu Tao & Jan-Peter Muller, University College London.

Novel Super-Resolution Restoration Technique Shows Mars in Incredible Detail

Apr 26, 2016 by News Staff

The Martian surface — including the location of ESA’s Beagle-2 lander, and the ancient lakebeds discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover —...

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

ESA’s Venus Express Finds Atmospheric Gravity Waves in Venusian Polar Atmosphere

Apr 23, 2016 by News Staff

Strong atmospheric gravity waves dominate the polar regions of Venus’ atmosphere, according to measurements made by ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft...

This image of Haulani Crater was acquired by Dawn from a distance of 915 miles (1,470 km). The bluish material visible here indicates relatively fresh material on the surface. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI.

Latest Images from NASA’s Dawn Orbiter Show Ceres’ Bright Craters

Apr 20, 2016 by News Staff

New images captured by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft from a distance of 240 miles (385 km) show two prominent craters on the surface of Ceres: Oxo and Haulani. This...

The surface of Europa looms large in this newly-reprocessed color view; image scale is 1.6 km per pixel; north on Europa is at right. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

Europa’s Creeping Ice Might Make Far More Heat than Planetary Researchers Thought

Apr 18, 2016 by News Staff

As Europa — the sixth-closest moon of Jupiter and the smallest of its four Galilean satellites — orbits, its icy surface heaves and falls with...