Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Planets

In this image, light from the star TWA 7 has been subtracted. The potential exoplanet TWA 7 b is the orange circle within the blue debris disk.

The James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Its First Direct Image Discovery of an Exoplanet

Researchers identified the likely planetary candidate’s infrared light after blocking out its host star’s overwhelming glare

An artistic rendering of the Odyssey spacecraft in orbit over Mars. 

NASA Spacecraft Orbiting Mars Captures Image of Giant Ancient Volcano Just Before Dawn

The perspective is what astronauts would see out their window if there was an International Space Station flying around the red planet

Water may have arisen as early as 100 million years after the universe began.

Did Water Form in the Earliest Years of the Universe?

A recent study suggests huge volumes of the molecule emerged during the cosmic dawn

The five dwarf planets recognized by the International Astronomical Union are Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake—and these are pictured with 2017 OF201 in a telescope image.

Astronomers Discover a Possible Dwarf Planet Far Beyond Neptune, Where There Should Have Only Been Empty Space

As it orbits the sun once every 25,000 years, the celestial body 2017 OF201 travels beyond the Kuiper Belt into a region thought to be largely devoid of objects

Enceladus (center) orbits Saturn in this 2007 image captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.

Should Scientists Inject Saturn’s Moon Enceladus With Life?

A new study proposes that seeding the orb’s underground ocean with microbes might help us learn how to make other worlds habitable

An artistic rendering of one of the Voyager probes.

NASA Engineers Revive Long-Dormant Thrusters on Voyager 1, the Farthest Spacecraft From Earth, in a ‘Miracle Save’

In the nick of time, NASA teams addressed clogging issues in the probe’s backup roll thrusters, before the only antenna capable of sending commands to it went offline

The sun launched a powerful solar flare on May 14, 2025, captured here by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Sun Launches Its Strongest Solar Flare of the Year So Far, Causing Radio Blackouts Around the World

The new sunspot responsible for this powerful blast is rotating into view, which could bring more solar activity—and potential aurora-causing coronal mass ejections—to Earth in the coming days

The first image in visible light of green auroras on Mars (left), compared to the night sky of Mars without auroras.

See the First Visible Auroras Captured on Mars, Glowing a Hazy Green Above the Planet

Scientists directed NASA’s Perseverance rover to take an image of the Martian sky after a solar storm in hopes that an aurora would show up

An artist's concept of K2-18b, the exoplanet at the center of the debate

A New Analysis Raises Doubts About Potential Hints of Life Recently Detected on a Distant Exoplanet

Astronomers published evidence of possible biosignatures on the planet K2-18b earlier this month, but another look at the data suggests the finding could be statistical noise

Workers prepare Venera 4, a Soviet space probe, for its flight to Venus' atmosphere in 1967.

A Soviet Spacecraft Is About to Crash Back to Earth After Being Stuck in Orbit for 53 Years

The Cosmos 482 lander was intended to reach Venus, but it has instead been circling Earth since 1972

An artistic rendering of an exoplanet in a tight orbit, followed by a dusty, comet-like tail of debris.

Astronomers Discover a Doomed Exoplanet That’s Crumbling Away and Leaving Behind a Comet-Like Tail

The planet orbits its host star in just 30.5 hours, losing a mass of material roughly equal to Mount Everest each time

An artist's impression of K2-18b and its distant host star, visualized as if the planet had water and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

Chemical Hints on a Distant Planet Offer ‘Strongest Evidence Yet’ for Life Outside Our Solar System, Astronomers Say

The James Webb Space Telescope spotted possible signatures for life in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. Still, researchers caution it’s far too early to call the findings definitive

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover spotted a large dust devil (on the right) consuming a smaller, fainter twister (on the left in the foreground).

Watch a Spinning Martian Dust Devil ‘Consume’ Another in a New Video Captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover

Tracking dust devils helps researchers learn more about Mars’ atmosphere, wind and weather conditions

An artist’s impression of ten hot planets similar to Jupiter outside our solar system that scientists have detected. Creative liberties were taken for the colors of the planets, which are currently unknown. The exception is the top-right one, which is known to sport a blue exterior.

From Worlds That Look Like Cotton Candy to Others Covered in Volcanoes, These Are the Strangest and Most Captivating Exoplanets

Scientists are using an array of instruments to detect other planets, some of which may harbor life—and others that most definitely don’t

At the left, an enhanced-color image of Neptune from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. At the right, that image is combined with data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to show auroras, represented by cyan coloring.

Check Out Neptune’s Beautiful Auroras, Captured for the First Time by the James Webb Space Telescope

Scientists suspected the ice giant hosted auroras—and had already observed them on Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. But an observation of Neptune’s lights remained elusive for decades

Saturn's iconic rings are not always clearly visible from Earth.

Saturn’s Rings Have ‘Disappeared’ in an Optical Illusion. Here’s Why We See This Temporary Vanishing Act

Every 13 to 15 years, Earth crosses through Saturn’s “ring plane,” making the gas giant’s most iconic feature become nearly invisible

In 2013, the Curiosity rover drilled this hole, which measures about 0.6 inches wide and 2.6 inches deep, into martian rock. The sample is now thought to contain long-chain organic molecules.

Curiosity Rover Discovers Largest Organic Compounds Ever Found on Mars, a Possible Sign of Ancient Life

The molecules may be remnants of fatty acids, which form cell membranes in Earth’s organisms, though they might have formed through a non-biological process

An artist’s rendering of Barnard’s Star, as seen from one of the newly discovered exoplanets orbiting it

Astronomers Find Four New Exoplanets Orbiting a Neighboring Star, the ‘White Whale’ of Planet Seekers

More than 60 years after the first debunked discovery of a planet orbiting Barnard’s Star, the closest single-star system to Earth, a pair of telescopes has revealed multiple rocky worlds around it

An artistic rendering of Saturn and a few of its many moons

Cool Finds

Astronomers Discover 128 New Moons Orbiting Saturn, Cementing the Planet’s Title of ‘Moon King’

The sheer number of objects suggests scientists will soon have to grapple with what counts as a moon versus what’s just a large rock

Researchers used a miniaturized laser mass spectrometer to identify signs of fossils in a gypsum quarry in Algeria. They suggest the same tool could find early fossils on Mars.

Scientists Hope This Tool Could Identify Tiny Fossils on Mars, Revealing Hints to Potential Early Life on the Planet

If Mars ever hosted microorganisms in its bygone oceans, their fossils might still be preserved in minerals—and now, we have a new potential way to find them

Page 3 of 21