Planets

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on NASA's final space shuttle mission from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 8, 2011.

Many of NASA's Recent Successes Actually Date Back to the Bush Administration

Some leaps, launches and grand plans for the future

The new dwarf planet—too small to join the ranks of our solar system's eight planets—orbits the sun roughly twice as far away as Pluto.

Say Hello to Our Solar System’s Newest Dwarf Planet

Spotting the dwarf planet could help in the search for Planet Nine

Two 2001 images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter show a dramatic change in the planet's appearance when haze raised by dust-storm activity in the south became globally distributed. The images were taken about a month apart.

Major Martian Dust Storms Might Soon Envelope the Red Planet

A plus for meteorologists but perhaps bad news for rovers

This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off of Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Evidence Stacks Up for Icy Geysers Erupting on Europa

Possible water plumes could give researchers a way to study Jupiter’s moon without drilling

Carmel Johnston (left), crew commander, enjoys her first meal outside the dome.

Astronauts Tell All About Their One Year on “Mars”

In an unprecedented simulation, NASA learned that its astronauts are a bunch of overachievers

The forces that formed Pluto's heart may not be romantic, but the feature was love at first sight for scientists.

Scientists Finally Figured Out Why Pluto Has That Icy Heart

The dwarf planet’s geography, atmosphere and chemistry helped form its most famous feature

As more countries and companies send spacecraft to other worlds, scientists are worried about potential contamination risks. Here, NASA's Curiosity rover takes a self-portrait on Mars.

Can We Save Mars From Ourselves?

When we travel to Earth-like worlds, contamination may be inevitable

Think Curiosity is cool? You ain't seen nothing yet.

How the Next Generation of Mars Rovers will Search for Signs of Life

The Mars 2020 rover doesn’t even have a name yet—but it already has an ambitious goal

An artist's impression of Proxima b

Astronomers Have Discovered an Earth-Sized Exoplanet in Our Cosmic Backyard

But what would potential life look like on this planetary neighbor?

Murray Buttes may look like an earthbound mesa, but there's a difference: It's on Mars.

Here's a Panoramic Glimpse of the Curiosity Rover's Next Destination

Welcome to Murray Buttes. You are now free to rove about the landscape

Grab your sunglasses—all of those far-off stars, black holes and celestial bodies contribute to your killer tan.

Part of Your Suntan Comes From Photons That Are Billions of Years Old

Thank bodies from beyond the galaxy for a bit of that golden glow

Maria Zuber, first woman to run a NASA spacecraft mission, says she has a "genetic predilection" to explore space.

This Scientist Seeks Out the Secret History of Other Worlds

Maria Zuber has spent her career enabling discoveries beyond Earth. She says the best is yet to come

This artist's conception shows a dim red dwarf surrounded by three planets. To hold life at their surface, red dwarf planets must orbit close to their star, putting them in the line of fire from dangerous flares.

Why the Universe Is Becoming More Habitable

The universe is far more welcoming to life today than it was when microbes on Earth arose—and will only grow more so

An artist's impression of a planet forming through accretion.

To Uncover Earth’s Origins, Scientists Must Look Beyond It

Missions to study the other planetary bodies in our solar system could help solve the mystery of how our own came to be.

A false-color image of the Great Red Spot of Jupiter from Voyager 1. The white oval storm directly below the Great Red Spot has approximately the same diameter as the Earth.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Is Also Red Hot

The giant storm pipes out temperatures over 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit

An artist's conception of four of the new planets, orbiting a single dwarf star. These small, rocky worlds are far closer to their star than Mercury is to our sun, but the star is smaller and cooler than our own.

Kepler Just Found 104 New Planets Outside of Our Solar System

Is anyone home?

This spectacular image of the Orion Nebula star-formation region was obtained from multiple exposures using the HAWK-I infrared camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.

Breathtaking New Images Capture Failed Stars and Planet-Sized Objects Inside the Orion Nebula

It’s the deepest look into the nebula ever seen before

An artist's concept of a moon-sized body slamming into a Mercury-sized world in another solar system. High speed collisions like this were more likely to occur in systems with gas giants, but they took place early in a planet's life, allowing time for the world to recover. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

How a Young Jupiter Acted as Both Protector and Destroyer

Like a boisterous older sibling, the gas giant both beat up and protected young Earth

An artist's rendition of Juno in orbit around Jupiter. The craft is powered entirely by the sun's rays.

It's Official: We Are Now in Orbit Around Jupiter

After a nerve-wracking entry, NASA spacecraft Juno successfully entered the gas giant's orbit

Meet Three of Earth's Tiny Celestial Buddies

A handful of quasi-satellites, mini-moons and Trojan asteroids tag along with Earth as it whizzes around the sun

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