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Planets

NASA's latest image of Venus taken by the Parker Solar Probe. Using Venus's gravity, the Parker Probe will circle our host star seven times while getting closer and closer over the course of seven years.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Snaps Luminous Photo of Venus

The image revealed unknown capabilities of the imaging instrument, WISPR, aboard the Parker Solar Probe and more insight into the planet’s atmosphere

Researchers simulated how colliding dust particles imitating a dust storm on the red planet may emit tiny violet flickers of electricity known as triboelectrification, or static charges.

Dust Storms on Mars May Sparkle and Glow at Night

Martian dust clouds may create miniature statically-charged sparks, which could help researchers further understand the planet’s atmosphere

Artist’s conception of the Perseverance rover sampling rocks on the floor of Jezero crater. The rover also carries the Ingenuity helicopter (not shown) that can fly in advance of the rover and scout out high priority rocks and outcrops for the rover to visit.

Smithsonian Voices

Is There Life on Mars?

Smithsonian scientist John Grant says we have to know what to look for and where to go on the planet for evidence

Could humans be visiting Venus in the future?

Ask Smithsonian

Will We Ever Send Humans to Venus?

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

The orbits of the Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects (ETNOs) were tilted and elongated towards the sun, leading researchers to suspect the ETNOs were bunched together because of Planet Nine's gravitational pull.

New Study Knocks Theory of Planet Nine’s Existence Out of Orbit

It was previously thought the object’s gravitational pull was responsible for the strange orbits of six dwarf planets that whiz beyond Neptune

An artist's illustration imagines the newly discovered Farfarout (lower right), now confirmed to be the most distant object ever observed in our solar system. Farfarout is 132 times the distance of Earth to the sun (upper left) and is estimated to be around 250 miles across.

New Research

Meet Farfarout, the Most Distant Object in the Solar System

The new planetoid unseats Farout, which held the title for about two years

"We didn’t think there was a lot of wind-driven activity on Mars because the atmosphere is so thin,” says the Smithsonian's Mariah Baker. “We’ve discovered that Mars is a very active place."

Exploring Mars

Why a Smithsonian Researcher Is Tracking the Wind on Mars

When Perseverance lands, Mariah Baker will collect data that will prepare the way for crewed missions to the Red Planet

Ingenuity undertakes its first test flight on Mars in this illustration.

Exploring Mars

NASA’s Helicopter Ingenuity Will Attempt the First Flight on Mars

If the craft succeeds, it will provide crucial information for exploring the other planets by air

An artist's rendering of the five-planet system that orbits star HD 108236, or TOI-1233. In the foreground is a hot, rocky planet that resembles Earth.

Balancing Homework and A.P. Classes, These High Schoolers Discovered Four Exoplanets

Thanks to a Harvard-Smithsonian mentoring program, high school students Kartik Pinglé and Jasmine Wright helped discover new worlds

The Parkes Telescope in Australia

Astronomers Discover Mysterious Radio Signal From Proxima Centauri

Scientists searching for aliens are trying to understand the signal’s origins

This year's top ten titles explore the cosmos, fear and cleanliness alongside narratives about owls, fish and eels.

The Ten Best Science Books of 2020

New titles explore the mysterious lives of eels, the science of fear and our connections to the stars

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is name after NASA's first chief of astronomy.

How NASA’s New Telescope Will Help Astronomers Discover Free-Floating Worlds

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to detect small, distant planets without stars

This illustration depicts a giant planet the size of Jupiter, WD 1856 b. The planet is about seven times larger than the white dwarf star that it orbits every 34 hours.

This Giant Planet Is Orbiting a Dead Star

In a first, NASA astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting a ‘dead’ white dwarf star

Venus, the second planet from the sun

In Clouds on Venus, New Potential for Microbial Life

Astronomers have detected a chemical in Venus’ atmosphere that signifies life on Earth. Could it mean the same on Venus?

This orthographic projection shows Ceres, centered on Occator crater and the brightest spot on Ceres.

New Research

NASA Mission Shows Dwarf Planet Ceres Is Geologically Active

Seven studies of data from the Dawn spacecraft’s final orbit makes the case for liquid under the dwarf planet’s surface

An illustration of high-altitude "shallow lightning" storms on Jupiter

The Forecast on Jupiter Is Cloudy With a Chance of ‘Mushballs’

New research describes the gas giant’s wild weather

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover onboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Thursday, July 30, 2020, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Here Are Three Things the Perseverence Rover Will Do When It Gets to Mars

NASA’s newest space robot will build on the goals of previous missions to find out whether life ever existed on the Red Planet

Three of the four units of the ESO's Very Large Telescope, in Chile's Atacama desert

See Two Giant Exoplanets Orbit a Distant Star in This Rare Image

Researchers used the Very Large Telescope in Chile to capture the image

A 3D model of Venus' surface featuring two coronae, which are ring-shaped geological structures associated with volcanic activity. Venus' volcanoes were once thought to be dormant but new research found that at least 37 coronae, including one named Aramaiti which is on the left in this image, are active volcanoes.

New Research

Researchers Discover What May Be 37 Active Volcanoes on Venus

Scientists had long assumed Venus’ volcanoes were dormant, but a new study suggests the inhospitable planet has 37 active volcanoes

According to Getty: Photographed in July 2018, this view looking south at Herbert Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, shows the Milky Way over Mount Temple and the peaks of the Continental Divide. To the left in the clouds, Mars is hiding. Then Jupiter flanks the Milky Way on the right, while Saturn sits within the Milky Way.

How to See Five Planets in the Night Sky This Weekend

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible during the early morning hours on July 19

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