Planetary Science News

Venus Express Detects Unexpected Increase of Deuterium to Hydrogen Ratio in Venusian Mesosphere

Venus in real colors, processed from Mariner 10 images. Image credit: Mattias Malmer / NASA.
Aug 26, 2024 by News Staff

Although Venus is sometimes referred to as Earth’s twin, its current surface conditions are drastically different, making it inhospitable to life. Not only is liquid water unable to exist due to the extreme temperatures and pressures beneath the thick cloud layer, but more importantly, it is nearly absent from the Venusian atmosphere. Using data from the Solar Occultation in the Infrared (SOIR) instrument on ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft, planetary...

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Ankylosaurus magniventris, a large armored dinosaur species, witnesses the impact of an asteroid, falling on the Yucatan peninsula 66 million years ago. Image credit: Fabio Manucci.

Dinosaur-Killing Chicxulub Asteroid Came from beyond Jupiter: Study

Aug 16, 2024 by News Staff

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...

This CaSSIS/TGO image shows chloride-bearing deposits (purplish, scaley wave) in Terra Sirenum, Mars. Image credit: ESA / TGO / CaSSIS.

ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter Spots Chloride-Bearing Deposits on Mars

Aug 13, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

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

Cutaway view of NASA’s InSight lander and data it collected. Image credit: James Tuttle Keane / Aaron Rodriquez.

Mid-Crust of Mars May Contain ‘Oceans of Liquid Water’

Aug 13, 2024 by News Staff

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

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

‘Nanoparticle Warming’ Have Potential to Warm Mars, Planetary Scientists Say

Aug 8, 2024 by News Staff

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 image from ESA’s Mars Express shows Caralis Chaos, a Martian region where copious water is thought to have once existed in the form of an ancient lake known as Lake Eridania. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

Mars Once Hosted Lake Larger than Any on Earth: Lake Eridania

Aug 7, 2024 by News Staff

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...

Structural and compositional characterization of few-layer graphene in the Chang’e-5 lunar soil sample. Image credit: Zhang et al., doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwae211.

Flakes of Natural Graphene Found in Lunar Soil Samples

Aug 1, 2024 by Natali Anderson

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 on Mars. Image credit: NASA.

Curiosity Finds Pure Sulfur on Mars

Jul 22, 2024 by News Staff

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...

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.

Study: Biological Amino Acids Could Survive in Near-Surface Ices of Europa and Enceladus

Jul 18, 2024 by News Staff

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...

An artist’s impression of HD 213885b and its host star. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Astronomers Propose New Definition of Planet

Jul 18, 2024 by News Staff

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

An artistic rendering of Kraken Mare, a large liquid methane sea on Titan. Image credit: NASA’s John Glenn Research Center.

Cassini Reveals Surface Properties of Titan’s Hydrocarbon Seas

Jul 16, 2024 by News Staff

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...

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

Ancient Mars was Cool and Relatively Wet, New Study Suggests

Jul 11, 2024 by News Staff

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...

An artist’s impression of the Gliese 414 system. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Scientists Revise Famous Drake Equation

Jul 2, 2024 by News Staff

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

Mars; the center of the scene shows the entire Valles Marineris canyon system. Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Mars is Bombarded by Meteoroids At More Frequent Rates than Previously Thought

Jun 28, 2024 by News Staff

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;...

This image from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft shows a volcanic explosion on Io. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizon.

Juno Spots ‘Hot Rings’ on Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon Io

Jun 27, 2024 by News Staff

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...

This graphic illustrates how Cassini scientists think water interacts with rock at the bottom of Enceladus’ ocean, producing hydrogen gas. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Southwest Research Institute.

Study: Active, Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems on Small Ocean Worlds Could Support Life

Jun 25, 2024 by News Staff

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...

An artist’s rendering of the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Image credit: Benjamin de Bivort, debivort.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Coastlines of Titan’s Largest Lakes and Seas Were Eroded by Wave Activity: Study

Jun 19, 2024 by News Staff

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

This image, obtained by the High Resolution Stereo Camera aboard ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, shows Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano not only on Mars but in the entire Solar System. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

Water Frost Deposits Spotted on Tropical Martian Volcanoes

Jun 11, 2024 by News Staff

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

This composite image, derived from data collected by the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno orbiter, shows the central cyclone at Jupiter’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. JIRAM collects data in infrared, and the colors in this composite represent radiant heat: the yellow (thinner) clouds are about 9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 13 degrees Celsius) in brightness temperature and the dark red (thickest) are around minus 181 degrees Fahrenheit (83 degrees Celsius). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / ASI / INAF / JIRAM.

Jupiter’s Polar Cyclones are Fueled by Processes Similar to Those Acting on Earth: Study

Jun 10, 2024 by News Staff

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

An artistic conception of the early Earth. Image credit: Simone Marchi / NASA.

Freshwater Appeared on Earth About 4 Billion Years Ago, Study Suggests

Jun 4, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Analyzing 4-billion-year-old zircon crystals from the Jack Hills in Western Australia’s Mid West region, geoscientists have pushed back the timeline...

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