Planet news, features and articles

Live Science keeps you up-to-date with the amazing discoveries astronomers are making about the planets in our universe, from Earth and its solar system sisters to distant exoplanets thousands of light-years away.
Our expert writers and editors report on the discovery of planets more hospitable to life than Earth, research suggesting an unknown "captured" alien planet may be hiding at the edge of our solar system, why the jury is still out on Planet Nine, and even what color the sunset is on other planets. So, whatever your cosmic curiosities, there's sure to be something that captivates you in the latest planet news, features and articles.
Discover more about planets
—Why do the planets in the solar system orbit on the same plane?
—What's the maximum number of planets that could orbit the sun?
Latest about Planets
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Does Mars have a moon?
By Marilyn Perkins Published
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Why does Mars look purple, yellow and orange in ESA's stunning new satellite image?
By Perri Thaler Published
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James Webb telescope discovers its first planet — a Saturn-size 'shepherd' still glowing red hot from its formation
By Ben Turner Published
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Alcohol-soaked star system could help explain 'why life, including us, was able to form'
By Patrick Pester Published
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Mars rover captures first close-up photos of giant 'spiderwebs' on the Red Planet
By Harry Baker Published
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Is Mars really red? A physicist explains the truth.
By David Joffe Published
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JWST spies frigid alien world on bizarre orbit: 'One of the coldest, oldest and faintest planets that we've imaged to date'
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Exoplanets
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James Webb telescope discovers its first planet — a Saturn-size 'shepherd' still glowing red hot from its formation
By Ben Turner Published
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Alcohol-soaked star system could help explain 'why life, including us, was able to form'
By Patrick Pester Published
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JWST spies frigid alien world on bizarre orbit: 'One of the coldest, oldest and faintest planets that we've imaged to date'
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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A hidden 'super-Earth' exoplanet is dipping in and out of its habitable zone
By Keith Cooper Published
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See a young star potentially giving birth to a giant planet in new image from Very Large Telescope
By Patrick Pester Published
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James Webb telescope spots 'groundbreaking' molecule in scorching clouds of giant 'hell planet'
By Harry Baker Published
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Giant planet discovered around tiny star challenges our best theories
By Skyler Ware Published
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James Webb telescope discovers frozen water around alien star
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Astronomers discover doomed planet shedding a Mount Everest's worth of material every orbit, leaving behind a comet-like tail
By Victoria Corless Published
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Jupiter
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James Webb telescope spots weird changes on Jupiter's icy moon Europa
By Carolyn Collins Petersen Published
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Jupiter is shrinking and used to be twice as big, mind-boggling study reveals
By Skyler Ware Published
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James Webb telescope reveals 'impossible' auroras on Jupiter
By Skyler Ware Published
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Jupiter: Facts about the biggest planet in our solar system
By Adam Mann Last updated
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'I won't be surprised if this is happening throughout the universe': Mushball storms on Jupiter offer clues to atmospheres of distant planets
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Powerful solar winds squish Jupiter's magnetic field 'like a giant squash ball'
By Victoria Corless Published
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Jupiter's Great Red Spot is being squeezed, Hubble Telescope finds — and nobody knows why
By Keith Cooper Published
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Asteroid 10 times bigger than the dinosaur-killing space rock smashed Jupiter's largest moon off its axis
By Harry Baker Published
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Jupiter's surreal clouds swirl in new van Gogh-esque view from NASA's Juno probe
By Samantha Mathewson Published
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Mars
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Does Mars have a moon?
By Marilyn Perkins Published
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Why does Mars look purple, yellow and orange in ESA's stunning new satellite image?
By Perri Thaler Published
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Mars rover captures first close-up photos of giant 'spiderwebs' on the Red Planet
By Harry Baker Published
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Is Mars really red? A physicist explains the truth.
By David Joffe Published
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NASA spots Martian volcano twice the height of Mount Everest bursting through the morning clouds: Space photo of the week
By Shreejaya Karantha Published
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Why does NASA's Perseverance rover keep taking pictures of this maze on Mars?
By Stefanie Waldek Published
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Turning the Red Planet green? It's time to take terraforming Mars seriously, scientists say
By Stefanie Waldek Published
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Long, dark 'streaks' spotted on Mars aren't what scientists thought
By Ben Turner Published
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Solar 'cannonballs' may have stripped Mars of its water, study reveals
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Mercury
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Mercury is weird because of a 'hit-and-run' incident in its youth
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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See Mercury's frigid north pole in extraordinary new images from the BepiColombo spacecraft
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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9-mile-thick layer of solid diamonds may lurk beneath Mercury's surface, study hints
By Deepa Jain Last updated
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It's the best time of year to spot Mercury. Here's how to find it.
By Jamie Carter Published
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Mercury may have a 'potentially habitable' region below its surface, salty glaciers suggest
By Briley Lewis Published
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Mercury is still shrinking after billions of years, and scientists can see its 'wrinkles'
By Briley Lewis Published
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Mercury reaches its highest point in the sky this weekend. Here's how to see it.
By Jamie Carter Published
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See Mercury's giant, comet-like tail in stunning new image as it passes close to the sun
By Harry Baker Published
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Mercury: Facts about the smallest planet
By Patrick Pester Published
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Neptune
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James Webb telescope captures auroras on Neptune for first time ever
By Skyler Ware Published
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Space photo of the week: 1st-ever close-up of Neptune is Voyager 2's final portrait of a planet
By Jamie Carter Published
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Neptune keeps growing enormous dark and bright spots, and scientists don't know why
By Robert Lea Published
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All of Neptune's clouds have mysteriously disappeared, and the sun may be to blame
By Ben Turner Published
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Ghostly rings of Neptune shine in new James Webb Telescope images
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Neptune: The farthest planet from our sun
By Patrick Pester Published
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Astronomers perplexed by plummeting temperatures in Neptune's atmosphere
By Harry Baker Published
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'Diamond rain' on Uranus and Neptune seems likely
By Paul Sutter Published
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Scientists probe the weird, alien water inside of Uranus and Neptune
By Chelsea Gohd Published
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Pluto
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James Webb telescope discovers 'a new kind of climate' on Pluto, unlike anything else in our solar system
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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How Pluto captured its largest moon Charon with a 10-hour icy 'kiss'
By Robert Lea Published
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James Webb Space Telescope deciphers the origins of Pluto's icy moon Charon
By Robert Lea Published
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Pluto's huge white 'heart' has a surprisingly violent origin, new study suggests
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Pluto may have an ice-spewing 'supervolcano' the size of Yellowstone, New Horizons data reveals
By Briley Lewis Published
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When will Pluto complete its first orbit since its discovery?
By Elizabeth Howell Published
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Ice volcanoes on Pluto may still be erupting
By Rebecca Sohn Published
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Pluto's atmosphere is starting to disappear
By Chelsea Gohd Published
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Rare plutonium from space found in deep-sea crust
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Saturn
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There's liquid on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. But something's missing and scientists are confused
By Julian Dossett Published
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Saturn: Facts about the ringed planet
By Adam Mann Published
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There's a weird, disappearing dark spot on Saturn's moon Enceladus
By Monisha Ravisetti Published
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We might have been completely wrong about the origin of Saturn's rings, new study claims
By Patrick Pester Published
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Saturn's moon Titan may have a 6-mile-thick crust of methane ice — could life be under there?
By Robert Lea Published
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Saturn at opposition: How to see the ringed planet at its biggest and brightest this week
By Gretchen Rundorff Published
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Saturn's planet-wide storms driven by seasonal heating, Cassini probe reveals
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Enormous 'San Andreas fault' on Saturn's moon could help reveal signs of alien life
By Robert Lea Published
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Saturn's 'Death Star' moon Mimas may have an underground ocean scientists never believed could exist
By Robert Lea Published
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Uranus
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Surprised scientists discover the 'dark sides' of Uranus' moons are the wrong way around
By Harry Baker Published
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Scientists finally know how long a day on Uranus is
By Skyler Ware Published
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Icy moon of Uranus may have once hid watery secret, Voyager 2 archives reveal
By Conor Feehly Published
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Scientists finally know why ultraviolent superstorms flare up on Uranus and Neptune
By Paul Sutter Published
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A moon of Uranus could have a hidden ocean, James Webb Space Telescope finds
By Robert Lea Published
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Neptune isn't as blue as you think, and these new images of the planet prove it
By Robert Lea Published
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Space photo of the week: Uranus 'rings' in the New Year in stunning James Webb telescope image
By Jamie Carter Published
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Raging 'polar vortex' discovered over Uranus' north pole for 1st time
By Keith Cooper Published
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4 of Uranus' biggest moons have secret, underground oceans, new study suggests
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Venus
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Hold the syrup: Weirdly perfect 'pancakes' on Venus may prove the planet is buckling
By Deepa Jain Published
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Venus may be geologically 'alive' after all, NASA reveals
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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See Venus at its 'greatest brilliancy' this week — or wait until Sept. 2026
By Jamie Carter Published
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Venus goes 'new moon' as it passes between Earth and the sun this weekend
By Harry Baker Published
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Venus, the 'love planet', will look extra special this Valentine's Day. Here's why.
By Jamie Carter Published
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Japan loses contact with Akatsuki, humanity's only active Venus probe
By Andrew Jones Published
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Molecule responsible for robbing Venus of its water may finally have been identified
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Venus is leaking carbon and oxygen, and scientists aren't totally sure why
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Photographer snaps extremely rare 'green flash' coming from Venus
By Harry Baker Published
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More about Planets
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JWST spies frigid alien world on bizarre orbit: 'One of the coldest, oldest and faintest planets that we've imaged to date'
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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James Webb telescope discovers 'a new kind of climate' on Pluto, unlike anything else in our solar system
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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NASA spots Martian volcano twice the height of Mount Everest bursting through the morning clouds: Space photo of the week
By Shreejaya Karantha Published
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