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Planets

Uranus and its aurora

Cool Finds

Take a Peek at the Auroras on Uranus

This composite image gives the best view yet of the seventh planet’s atmospheric lights and ring

This snapshot shows Jupiter's swirling, banded atmosphere and signature vortices.

Cool Finds

Hubble Snags Splendid Snapshot of Jupiter

The perfect photographic conditions make for a grand view of the gas giant

The view from GJ 1132b

New Research

Atmosphere Detected Around an Earth(ish)-Sized Planet

Just 39 light years away, GJ 1132b is 1.4 times the Earth’s radius and has an atmosphere that may be composed of steam or methane

The latest iteration of the four-legged LEMUR exploration robot clings to a test rock surface in Aaron Parness’ lab in a recent test of its microspine capabilities.

Think Big

A New Generation of Interplanetary Rovers Is Crawling Toward the Stars

These four-legged, wheel-less robots will explore asteroids and the frigid outer worlds of our Solar System

What a ring around Mars may have looked like

New Research

Mars May Have Had a Ring in the Past and Could Have One in the Future

The red planet’s moon may have broken apart into a ring of debris and reformed several times over the planet’s history

Shortly after the announcement of the TRAPPIST-1 system, NASA crowdsourced its Twitter followers for possible planet names. The actual process of naming new planets, however, is a bit more involved.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

How Do New Planets Get Their Names?

Sorry, Planet McPlanetface: Asteroids, moons and other celestial bodies go through a strict set of international naming guidelines

Computer-simulated global view of Venus.

Think Big

The Case for Going to Venus

Sending a probe to Earth’s lifeless twin could help us understand how life rises—and falls—on faraway planets

The little moon has drawn comparisons to ravioli, empanadas, and hamburger.

Cool Finds

One of Saturn’s Moons is Making Astronomers Hungry

New images of the tiny moon are drawing comparisons to a ravioli, empanadas, walnuts, hamburgers…nom, nom, nom

Pluto and its moon Charon

New Research

New Definition Would Make the Moon and Pluto Planets

A suggested update to the International Astronomical Union criteria would add over 100 planets to the solar system

Artists rendering of the suspected Planet 9

Trending Today

NASA Wants the Public to Log In to Help Find Planet 9

Citizen scientists can examine photos to help discover a new planet, which recent evidence suggests is hiding at the edge of the solar system

What thorny ethical issues await us once we make it to Mars? A composite image of the red planet, composed by processing about 1000 Viking Orbiter red- and violet-filter images have been to provide global color coverage at a scale of 1 km/pixel.

Think Big

When Humans Begin Colonizing Other Planets, Who Should Be in Charge?

The biggest threat humans pose to other worlds is what we don’t know—or what we think we know, but don’t

The seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the dwarf star TRAPPIST-1.

Think Big

Scientists Spot Seven Earth-Sized Planets Orbiting a Nearby Star

This newly discovered solar system presents the best opportunity yet to study potentially habitable worlds, NASA scientists report

British statesman and author Winston Churchill reads correspondence at his desk in 1933.

Think Big

“Are We Alone in the Universe?” Winston Churchill’s Lost Extraterrestrial Essay Says No

The famed British statesman approached the question of alien life with a scientist’s mind

This image shows a region in Saturn's outer B ring. NASA's Cassini spacecraft viewed this area at a level of detail twice as high as it had ever been observed before. And from this view, it is clear that there are still finer details to uncover. Researchers have yet to determine what generated the rich structure seen in this view, but they hope detailed images like this will help them unravel the mystery.

Cool Finds

NASA Releases Spectacular New Snapshots of Saturn’s Rings

Millions of moonlets appear to be tucked inside the debris that famously circles the planet

The bow-shaped wave on Venus

New Research

Scientists Spot Massive Wave in Venus’ Atmosphere

The 6,200-mile long bow-shaped wrinkle may have been caused by gravity waves

Caption: Six pairs of hand and footprints were discovered in 1998, including two that are small enough to have belonged to children.

New Research

Footprints Found at Ancient Hot Springs Could Represent Earliest Settlement of Tibetan Plateau

New age measurements of the footprints help pinpoint when humans first settled the highest region on Earth

Ask Smithsonian

Why Were Electric Cars Once Advertised as ‘Ladies’ Cars’?

Your questions answered by our experts

New asteroids are detected every day surrounding Earth, most of which are harmless.

Think Big

Sure, Earth Could Get Hit by a Deadly Asteroid—But There’s an Upside

Con: Devastating outer space impacts. Pro: Global unity!

A compressed view of the entire visible sky from the Pan-STARRS1 Observatory

New Research

Massive Survey Catalogues the Night Sky

Over four years, the Pan-STARRS telescope collected 2 petabytes of photos of the night sky, creating the most complete astronomical atlas yet

This collage of images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows Saturn's northern hemisphere and rings as viewed with four different spectral filters. Each filter is sensitive to different wavelengths of light and reveals clouds and hazes at different altitudes.

New Research

Check Out New Pictures of Saturn From Cassini’s Latest Orbit

New images of the ringed planet herald the spacecraft’s demise

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