Planetary Science News

Although Venus is sometimes referred to as Earth’s twin, its current surface conditions are drastically different, making it inhospitable to life. Not...

The so-called Chicxulub impactor was a carbonaceous-type asteroid that had formed beyond the orbit of Jupiter, according to a new paper published in the...

Chloride deposits are markers for early Mars’ aqueous past, with important implications for the understanding of the Martian climate and habitability....

New data about the Martian crust gathered by NASA’s InSight lander allowed geophysicists at the University of California San Diego and the University...

One-third of Mars’ surface has shallow-buried water, but it is currently too cold for use by life. Proposals to warm Mars using greenhouse gases require...

This new image from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft shows Caralis Chaos, broken-down and dried-up remnants...

In lunar regolith samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 probe, planetary scientists have identified few-layer graphene formed together with complex...

Yellow crystals of elemental sulfur were revealed after NASA’s Curiosity rover happened to drive over a rock and crack it open on May 30, 2024, according...

Europa and Enceladus are key targets to search for evidence of alien life in our Solar System. However, the surface and shallow subsurface of these airless...

Established in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union, the current definition specifies that to qualify as a planet, a celestial body must orbit...

Saturn’s moon Titan was explored by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft from 2004 to 2017. While Cassini revealed a lot about this Earth-like world, its radar...

In a new study, planetary scientists found strong similarities between soils found in Gale Crater on Mars and those of Canada’s Newfoundland, a cold...

Within the uncertainties of involved astronomical and biological parameters, the Drake equation typically predicts that there should be many exoplanets...

Current impact rates at Mars could be 2-10 times higher than previously estimated, depending on the size of the meteoroids, according to new research. Mars;...

These bright (hot) ‘thermal rings’ are a common phenomenon, and they are indicative of active lava lakes, according to a new analysis of data from...

Ocean worlds are planetary bodies that have a liquid ocean, often under an icy shell or within the rocky interior. In our own Solar System, several moons...

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is the only known planetary body besides Earth on which standing liquids persist. Liquid hydrocarbons, supplied by rainfall...

Using high-resolution color images from ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Mars Express missions, planetary researchers have found evidence for morning...

Planetary scientists first made the connection between Earth and Jupiter in 2018 when they noticed a striking similarity between images of Jupiter’s...