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See a rare conjunction of Mercury and Venus late tonight
By Jamie Carter last updated
The inner planets Mercury and Venus will both be visible in the east-southeast sky before sunrise on Tuesday, Nov. 25.

Odd-looking rock on Mars is totally alien to the Red Planet, Perseverance rover finds
By Harry Baker published
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover recently came across an odd rock, dubbed "Phippsaksla," that is unlike anything else the robot has found on the Red Planet. It turns out that it probably isn't from our neighboring world and likely crashed on Mars instead.

2 million black 'streaks' on Mars finally have an explanation, solving 50-year mystery
By Harry Baker published
A new analysis of data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals that the majority of the Red Planet's dark "slope streaks" did not form as most researchers previously assumed.

On Saturn's largest moon, water and oil would mix — opening the door to exotic chemistry in our solar system
By Victoria Atkinson published
On Saturn's largest moon, Titan, molecules that would never mix on Earth are mixing together, seemingly defying a fundamental rule of chemistry.

Science history: Astronomers spot first known planet around a sunlike star, raising hopes for extraterrestrial life — Nov. 1, 1995
By Tia Ghose published
About 50 light-years from Earth, a gas giant about half the mass of Jupiter orbits a sunlike star. The discovery of Pegasi 51 b ushered in a new era of exoplanet research.

'Planet Y' theory hints at hidden Earth-size world lurking in the solar system — and it could be much closer to us than 'Planet Nine'
By Harry Baker published
A new study has proposed the existence of Planet Y, an alternative Planet Nine candidate that is smaller and closer to Earth than the hypothetical Planet X, which astronomers have been hunting for almost a decade. However, the evidence for this newly theorized world is "not definitive."

Which planets are the youngest and oldest in our solar system?
By Abby Wilson published
There are a couple of ways that scientists can date planets, so which planets formed first in our solar system?

Soar through a 1,000-mile-long maze on Mars in this mesmerizing new satellite video
By Elizabeth Howell published
A stunning new video, made from Mars Express orbiter data, allows you to soar over a gigantic maze on the Red Planet in incredible detail.

Scientists find best evidence yet that icy moon Enceladus is habitable
By Sophie Berdugo published
An ocean flowing beneath the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus is spewing ice that holds the building blocks of life.

It's official: Humans have found 6,000 planets beyond our solar system
By Evan Gough published
Just two decades after astronomers discovered the first exoplanet, NASA has confirmed the existence of 6,000 alien worlds. The total will rise even quicker as next-generation telescopes take flight.
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