Planets

Astrobiologists ponder sending gene sequencers, weather stations, drilling rigs and more to the Red Planet

NASA's Cassini spacecraft dove between Saturn and its rings yesterday (April 26), snapping the closest-ever views of Saturn's atmosphere.

Recent observations that a tiny object in our solar system is a likely dwarf planet has some planetary scientists grumbling again about Pluto's demotion to that status.

A relocatable lander could explore the hazy skies of Saturn's intriguing moon Titan, according a new mission proposal.

A new method could mix dust from the moon or Mars with a series of solvents to create flexible, tough 3D-printed tools.

Jupiter is famous for its Great Red Spot, a storm twice the diameter of Earth that rages on the gas giant's surface. Now, researchers have found that it has a second great spot, almost as large.

Hubble snapped the photo on Monday (April 3), just four days before Jupiter comes into "opposition," forming a straight line with Earth and the sun (with Earth in the middle).

In "Calculating the Cosmos," author Ian Stewart presents a guide to the cosmos, from our solar system to the entire universe.

The putative Planet Nine may be a former "rogue planet" that was captured by our solar system at some point in the past, a new study suggests.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected several comets diving toward a young star about 95 light-years from Earth.

Dust particles on the lunar surface appear to "levitate," as there is no wind or flowing water on the moon to otherwise transport the particles, new research shows.

The "New Years' Eve Comet" that's been streaking across the sky this December isn't the only otherworldly visitor ringing in the New Year in Earth's neighborhood.

Pile up all of the human-made structures on the planet — from skyscrapers to cell phones — and it’d weigh in at approximately 30 trillion tons, according to a new study.

Behold! The European Space Agency's new Mars orbiter just sent back its first high-resolution images of the Red Planet, and the view is amazing.

A stunning new photo of Saturn's north pole spotlights the planet's bizarre hexagon-shaped vortex and beautiful bands of swirling winds.

Astronomers have discovered a large valley on Mercury that provides further evidence for the planet's shrinkage — an odd phenomenon that has been the topic of debate for decades.