/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/df/c4/dfc4351a-3a08-463c-989b-6331c0262310/ross_128b.jpg)
Earth-Sized Planet Detected Just 11 Light Years Away
Orbiting the star Ross 128, our new planetary neighbor is thought to be temperate, with days up to a balmy 68 degrees Fahrenheit
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/80/5f/805f305c-b001-4182-87f2-06c74a26c4ad/jupiter_3.jpg)
Take in the Surreal Beauty of Jupiter in These Incredible New Images
NASA released the raw data earlier this week, allowing the public to process the beautiful images
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/d1/eb/d1eb2809-ae01-4c50-abc8-079d82dac72d/hubble_big_bang.jpg)
Astronomers Spot One of the Oldest Galaxies in the Universe
The dusty, star-forming galaxy is 12.8 billion years old
:focal(487x182:488x183)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/f5/11/f51128bb-4915-4261-b3d9-1e566115aab4/jupiter_aurora.jpg)
Jupiter’s Auroras Are Surprisingly Out of Sync
X-ray bursts from the poles are expected to line up, but the south is regular while the north produces haphazard bursts
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/eb/6d/eb6de480-dcfd-4cc5-bf2c-edb132a1b8b0/152219.jpg)
Using 18th-Century Writings and Illustrations, Scientists Model an Ancient Magnetic Storm
The vibrant aurora lit up the night sky over the city of Kyoto, Japan, some 250 years ago
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/04/63/04633bf9-c7bf-498f-bd5c-992b955692de/solar_flare.jpg)
Could a Magnetic Shield Protect Earth From Space Weather?
A bad geomagnetic storm would fry the electric grid and cripple civilization for years—a space shield is cheap by comparison
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/b3/00/b300b1dc-59db-4026-bbc4-0bda822bc2b5/asteroid.jpg)
Hubble Spots Strange Pair of Space Rocks in the Night Sky
The duo, dubbed 288P, may help scientists better understand asteroid evolution
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/a1/81/a181b38f-0b8e-43c0-8a7a-30295d361dc0/first_dive_rings.jpg)
What Cassini’s Daring Dives Have Taught Us About Saturn
Before the probe’s final plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere, here’s a look back at what we’ve learned so far
:focal(450x328:451x329)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/74/95/74959ea4-0156-4545-9749-b8eb5d1fc8af/cassinifinale.jpg)
Celebrate Cassini’s Historic Voyage in Eight Incredible Images
After 13 years of exploration, one of NASA’s most successful probes will crash into Saturn’s atmosphere
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/28/93/28933aab-e5fb-4e31-a456-c376bc07eed2/7753691170_99f4ac3509_o.jpg)
The Sun’s Core Spins Roughly Four Times Faster Than Its Surface
Satellite data lets scientists peer into the depths of our star, uncovering hints to its formation
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/1a/2e/1a2e2ca4-2719-4eb6-ba9b-d8ebc8604e5d/uranus_magnetic_field.jpg)
Magnetic Field Around Uranus Are a Chaotic Mess
Using data from the Voyager 2 mission, researchers have modeled Uranus’s off-kilter magnetosphere
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/1b/dc/1bdc086c-db97-4bca-89b1-f59848e36f9f/jupiter.jpg)
Jupiter Could Be the Solar System’s Oldest Resident
The early former may have set up just the right conditions for Earth to take shape
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/f9/d5/f9d5eaf4-e9dd-4721-8fb3-0ec151bc5cb9/pioneer_plaque.jpg)
Now You Too Can Own a Piece of Space History
The engraver who inscribed Carl Sagan’s and Frank Drake’s 1973 message to extraterrestrials is now taking orders
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/af/d4/afd46ac5-56f9-43ab-8934-49478465ed80/deedee.jpg)
Meet DeeDee, the Solar System’s Newest Dwarf Planet (Maybe)
Though the tiny icy orb meets all the criteria, it has yet to receive the official designation
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/88/fa/88fa42df-7f6a-4634-8c75-61a26283c0e0/enceledus_plumes.jpg)
NASA Detects Microbe-Friendly Food Spouting From Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
The Cassini spacecraft has detected the ingredients for life in sprays from the icy world
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/1e/48/1e486395-b67e-440d-9e61-6f50434cce7c/uranus.jpg)
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
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/bb/c0/bbc0e44d-b1ab-48bc-8148-d26f1a0e14cb/heic1708a.jpeg)
Hubble Snags Splendid Snapshot of Jupiter
The perfect photographic conditions make for a grand view of the gas giant
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/c2/72/c2722305-4f2d-41fe-8825-bed9cf8898dd/mars_rings.jpg)
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
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/29/25/2925a43d-e90d-427c-b33d-1014562211c4/pan_2.jpg)
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
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/5f/c9/5fc9b1d9-ab1b-4fed-ae77-333bae755e3b/pluto_charon.jpg)
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
Page 17 of 21