Planets

This illustration shows a star's light illuminating the atmosphere of a planet.

The Search for Habitable Worlds Just Got a Boost

More realistic simulations of the atmosphere of far-flung planets are helping researchers sort out the best candidates for possible life

Behind Saturn's icy rings is the moon Tethys, illuminated by the planet's reflected sunlight.

How Scientists Engineered Cassini’s Final Demise

After a rich scientific life, Cassini went out in a blaze, becoming one with the planet it had revolved around for so long

This 1846 map of the solar system includes Vulcan as the planet closest to the sun.

Why Everyone Went on a Wild Goose Chase Looking for the Planet Vulcan

The idea of a ninth planet in the Solar System would resolve a mathematical conundrum about Mercury–only problem is, it wasn't there

An image from the New Horizons satellite showing three officially named features on Pluto: Norgay Montes, Hillary Montes and Sputnik Planitia

Pluto's Surface Features Get Their First Official Names

The International Astronomical Union approved 14 dark and heroic names for the erstwhile planet

A development test model of the Voyager spacecraft looms large in the Air and Space Museum's Exploring the Planets gallery.

Forty Years Later, the Voyager Spacecraft Remain Beacons of Human Imagination

Remembering the mission that opened Earth’s eyes to the vastness and wonder of space

An illustration of what the surface of exoplanet TRAPPIST-1f could look like if it had liquid water

Could These Nearby Earth-Sized Exoplanets Harbor Liquid Water?

Analysis of the TRAPPIST-1 stellar system shows that several of its planets have the right conditions for liquid water

Backyard Worlds is using the power of citizen scientists to search for the elusive Planet 9.

The Universe Needs You: To Help in the Hunt for Planet 9

How one citizen science endeavor is using the Internet to democratize the search for distant worlds

It May Rain Diamonds Inside Neptune and Uranus

Scientists have finally simulated the long-proposed shower of gems

The Joshua tree is one of the Mojave Desert's most iconic inhabitants. But it's under threat—and the key to saving it may lie in better understanding its tiny winged partner.

How a Tree and Its Moth Shaped the Mojave Desert

The partnership between the Joshua tree and the yucca moth may be key to understanding how plants and insects co-evolve

Asteroid 2014 MU69 may be composed of two spheres

New Horizon's Next Target Is an Oddly Shaped Asteroid

New data shows that MU69 is less than 20 miles long and may actually be two asteroids orbiting one another

New cloud complex discovered on Neptune

New Storm as Big as Earth Is Stirring Up Neptune's Atmosphere

Astronomers aren't sure if the 5,600-mile-wide storm will peter out or if a deep vortex will keep it churning

Astronomers Find the Smallest Star Yet

The faint orb is just a smidgen bigger than Saturn and around 2,000 to 3,000 times dimmer than our own sun

Is Jupiter the "Star" in Lord Byron's Famous Poem?

According to astronomer Donald Olson, the brilliant star described in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage is actually a planet

Auroras on Uranus caused by changes in its magnetosphere

Magnetic Field Around Uranus Are a Chaotic Mess

Using data from the Voyager 2 mission, researchers have modeled Uranus's off-kilter magnetosphere

Kepler Finds 219 New Planets

NASA released the final catalog from its planet-hunting telescope, bringing its total up to 4,034 potential planets

Jupiter Could Be the Solar System's Oldest Resident

The early former may have set up just the right conditions for Earth to take shape

The star KELT-9 and its hellish planet KELT-9b

Researchers Discover a Planet That's As Hot As a Star

It's daytime temperatures clock in at a scorching 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit

Jupiter's South Pole is a cluster of dramatic storms.

New Views of Jupiter Offer Up Marvel and Mystery

From stunning polar images to weird aurorae, the gas giant is even weirder than we thought

Looking toward the sunlit side of Saturn's rings, Cassini captured this image in violet light on Oct. 28, 2016.

Cassini Survives Its Daredevil Plunge Toward Saturn

The craft’s first date with the “big empty” went off without a hitch

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captures three of Saturn's moons—Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas—in this group photo.

How and When Did Saturn Get Those Magnificent Rings?

The planet's rings are coy when it comes to revealing their age, but astronomers are getting closer

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