Planets

A computer-generated three-dimensional image of Maat Mons, the tallest volcano on Venus, from NASA's Magellan mission

Scientists Spot Recent Volcanic Activity on Venus

The findings in 30-year-old radar image data all but confirm that volcanoes on Earth’s hellish sister planet are still active today

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie with some of the sample tubes it left on the Red Planet's surface using the camera at the end of its robotic arm.

Perseverance Rover Completes Depot of Mars Rock Samples

The collection is a failsafe for the Mars Sample Return project, which aims to deliver Martian rocks to Earth

This illustration shows the exoplanet LHS 475 b and its red dwarf host star, located 41 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Octans.

James Webb Telescope Confirms the Existence of Its First Exoplanet

The high-tech observatory is helping to study the rocky, Earth-sized world that's 41 light-years away

Frost-capped sand dunes near Mars's north pole, captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter two days after the planet's winter solstice

See the Chilling Beauty of Winter on Mars

NASA images reveal frost, geysers and intricate frozen patterns on the Red Planet

Kepler-1658b was the first exoplanet discovered by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope in 2009.

This Exoplanet Is Doomed to Be Obliterated by a Star

Kepler-1658b is slowly spiraling toward a fiery demise

NASA's Perseverance rover takes a selfie on September 10, 2021.

Listen to the Sound of a Dust Devil Swirling Around on Mars

For the first time, scientists have recorded the noise of a Martian dust storm using a microphone on NASA's Perseverance rover

The “Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery” is now open to visitors at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The Jury-Rigged Experiment that Led to the Discovery of Unknown Worlds

See the Kepler technology demonstrator at the National Air and Space Museum, along with a host of technologies that brought success to space exploration

James Webb's new image of L1527

James Webb Captures a Protostar in a Fiery Hourglass

The very young star is a window into our own solar system's past

HAARP's antennas

Why Scientists Are Sending Radio Signals to the Moon and Jupiter

Researchers conducted wide-ranging experiments at Alaska's HAARP facility, known for atmospheric research and conspiracy theories

An illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover approaching Mars

‘Conan the Bacterium’ Has What It Takes to Survive on Mars

After experiments here on Earth, researchers say some hardy microbes could endure hundreds of millions of years on the Red Planet

The exoplanet TOI-3757 b has the same average density as a marshmallow.

Puffy, Marshmallow-Like Planet Could Float in a Bathtub

Scientists found the new exoplanet located in the Auriga constellation 580 light-years away

Asteroid moonlet Dimorphos as seen by the DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. 

NASA Successfully Altered an Asteroid’s Orbit

The agency's DART mission exceeded expectations, marking the first time humans have changed the trajectory of a celestial body

An image of Neptune captured by the Webb telescope's Near-Infrared Camera. 

Webb Telescope's Images of Neptune Showcase Its Rings and Moons

They’re the clearest pictures of the distant planet's rings in over three decades

James Webb Space Telescope's first images of Mars, captured by its Near-Infrared Camera (right), and a reference map (left)

James Webb Captures Its First Images of Mars

With some adjustments, the highly sensitive telescope could successfully observe the bright Red Planet

A photo of Saturn taken by NASA's Voyager 1 space probe from a distance of 34 million kilometers in 1980. 

What Caused Saturn’s Rings and Tilt? Perhaps the Destruction of a Moon

Scientists propose that about 160 million years ago, the moon was torn apart, creating the planet’s iconic rings

These telesopes in the Atacama Desert in Chile were used to discover the new planet. The project also has telescopes on Tenerife, an island west of Morocco. 

Scientists Discover a Planet With the Potential to Support Life

It orbits a small, cold star about 100 light-years from Earth

James Webb Space Telescope's mosaic image of the Tarantula Nebula

James Webb Space Telescope Snaps Spectacular New Photos of the Tarantula Nebula

The stellar nursery, located 161,000 light-years away, offers insights into a period of intense star formation in the early universe

An artist's rendition of the exoplanet, called WASP-39b

Webb Telescope Detects Carbon Dioxide on a Far-Away Planet

Finding this greenhouse gas on other worlds could give scientists clues in the search for extraterrestrial life

James Webb Space Telescope composite image of Jupiter 

See the James Webb Space Telescope’s Stunning New Images of Jupiter

Its Near-Infrared Camera captured auroras, moons and the Great Red Spot

Uranus (left) and Neptune (right)

Why Neptune Appears Bluer Than Its Cousin Uranus

Though the solar system’s two outermost planets are very similar, their color is a puzzling difference

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