Planetary Science – Science News https://www.sciencenews.org INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 Wed, 06 May 2026 14:34:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/cropped-favicon.jpg?w=32 Planetary Science – Science News https://www.sciencenews.org 32 32 250169482 Going to space? Always, always pack a camera https://www.sciencenews.org/article/space-photography-candice-hansen-koharcheck Thu, 07 May 2026 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3170504 3170504 A small object past Pluto may have a thin atmosphere https://www.sciencenews.org/article/atmosphere-small-object-past-pluto Mon, 04 May 2026 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3170510 93 has a thin atmosphere — a first for any solar system body farther from the sun than Pluto.]]> 3170510 Uranus has weird rings. Astronomers now know the source of two of them https://www.sciencenews.org/article/uranus-rings-origin-mu-moon-mab Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3170218 3170218 Even before splashdown, Artemis II is delivering a scientific treasure trove https://www.sciencenews.org/article/splashdown-artemis-ii-science-moon Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:53:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3169533 3169533 Artemis II sends humans around the moon for first time since Apollo https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nasa-artemis-launch-humans-moon Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:49:46 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168849 3168849 A comet may have flipped its spin and entered into a death spiral https://www.sciencenews.org/article/comet-41p-reversed-spin-death-spiral Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168674 3168674 NASA races to have the first moon base and nuclear-propulsion spacecraft https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nasa-moon-base-nuclear-propulsion-spacecraft Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:42:52 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168495 3168495 A private moon lander challenges ideas about lunar volcanism https://www.sciencenews.org/article/moon-blue-ghost-lander-lunar-volcanism Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168476 3168476 In a rare event, the moon got a massive new crater https://www.sciencenews.org/article/moon-new-crater-nasa-orbiter Mon, 23 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168331 3168331 One possible recipe for life on Titan is a bust https://www.sciencenews.org/article/azotosome-alien-life-titan-moon-saturn Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3167797 3167797 NASA’s DART spacecraft changed an asteroid’s orbit around the sun https://www.sciencenews.org/article/spacecraft-changed-asteroid-orbit-nasa Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3167609 3167609 A Titan collision may link Saturn’s tilt, its moon Hyperion and its rings https://www.sciencenews.org/article/titan-collision-saturn-moon-rings Wed, 04 Mar 2026 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3167461 3167461 A chemical ‘Goldilocks zone’ may limit which planets can host life https://www.sciencenews.org/article/chemical-planets-core-life-oxygen Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3167305 3167305 Venus has a massive lava tube https://www.sciencenews.org/article/venus-massive-lava-tube-caves Mon, 23 Feb 2026 18:30:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3167091 3167091 A newly spotted asteroid spins faster than any of its size ever seen https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rubin-fastest-spinning-asteroid Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3165729 3165729 An asteroid could hit the moon in 2032, scattering debris toward Earth https://www.sciencenews.org/article/asteroid-moon-impact-2032-2024-yr4 Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3165231 3165231 New Hubble images may solve the case of a disappearing exoplanet https://www.sciencenews.org/article/hubble-telescope-exoplanet-mystery Thu, 18 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3165139 3165139 Listen to the crackle of Martian ‘mini-lightning’ https://www.sciencenews.org/article/martian-mini-lightning-listen-nasa Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3163008 3163008 Boiling oceans may sculpt the surfaces of small icy moons https://www.sciencenews.org/article/boiling-oceans-icy-moons-simulations Tue, 25 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3162950 3162950 How did Pluto capture its largest moon, Charon? https://www.sciencenews.org/article/adeene-denton-pluto-moon-formation Wed, 05 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3161857 3161857