Astronomical objects

NASA’s Martian explorer, MAVEN, captured Earth’s neighboring planet in fascinating detail, revealing the changing seasons on Mars as it orbits around the Sun. Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewThe Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission, MAVEN for short, views the planet in ultraviolet light (which has wavelengths shorter than that of visible light). Using its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) instrument, the spacecraft snapped global views of Mars in 2022 and 2023,…

Arresting views of Mars taken from high above the planet’s surface by the Mars Express orbiter have been stitched into a mosaic image of the planet’s surface.Three Astronauts May Be Stranded on the ISS After Disturbing Soyuz Coolant LeakMars Express is a European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft that launched for Mars in 2003, and since its arrival the orbiter has set records for data transmission and for being the first spacecraft to livestream from another world, besides its regularly-scheduled programming of imaging the…

It’s been six weeks since Europe’s JUICE mission launched towards the Jovian system, and the spacecraft is now all suited-up, with its instruments ready to explore the potential habitability of Jupiter’s mysterious, icy moons. NASA Delays Return to Earth's Evil Twin, VenusThis week, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that its JUpiter ICy moons Explorer, or JUICE for short, has fully deployed its solar panels, antennas, probes and booms. The spacecraft’s various instruments were safely tucked away to fit into the…

The telescope caught a glimpse of the spacecraft on its way to Jupiter.Gif: Airbus SpaceEurope’s JUICE mission is on an eight-year journey to the solar system’s largest planet, traveling deep into the solar system to study Jupiter and its icy, potentially habitable moons. A ground-based telescope recently caught a sneaky glimpse of the probe as it barreled through space.NASA Delays Return to Earth's Evil Twin, VenusOn Monday, Airbus Space released rare footage of the JUICE spacecraft,captured by the Airbus Robotic…

Researchers studied two years’ worth of data to find 62 more Saturnian moons, bringing the planet’s total to 145. Image: NASA, ESA, John T. Clarke (Boston University), Zolt G. Levay (STScI)In February, scientists declared that Jupiter had the most moons of any planet in our solar system, with 92 natural satellites, ripping the crown from Saturn’s grasp. Now, Saturn has snatched it back, as astronomers have found an additional 62 objects orbiting the ringed planet, bring its total to a whopping 145 moons.What Is Planet…

A JUICE instrument for scanning the subsurface structure of Jupiter’s icy moons has finally been extended to its full length after stubbornly refusing to do so since launching last month.NASA Delays Return to Earth's Evil Twin, VenusJUpiter ICy moons Explorer, or JUICE for short, is on an eight-year journey to Jupiter, where it will explore Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—three Gallilean moons suspected of harboring subsurface oceans and potentially habitable conditions. This is the European Space Agency’s first mission…

New scrutiny of Uranus’ largest moons suggest the bodies may contain ocean layers that could be dozens of miles deep.What Is Planet Nine and Why Can’t We Find It?Uranus has at least 27 moons, which are cold and icy like their host planet. A recent study looked at the planet’s largest moons: Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, and Miranda (Uniquely, Uranus has moons named after characters created by Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.)The researchers found that four of thosemoons may be large enough to retain internal heat,…

China’s Zhurong rover has found evidence of liquid water on present-day Mars, according to a team that reviewed data from the rover’s cameras.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonTo be clear, the team claims they’ve collected evidence of liquid water on Mars—not the liquid water itself. Water was once plentiful on Mars. NASA, the European Space Agency, and others have found a plethora of evidence for ancient water on the planet; it’s proving the recent presence of water that’s trickier.The (currently malfunctioning)…

A comet-like asteroid has been flaunting a tail of material as it approaches the Sun. But unlike its cometary counterparts, a fresh look at asteroid Phaethon reveals, this tail is made of sodium rather than dust, as was previously thought. What Is Planet Nine and Why Can’t We Find It?The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency, recorded new observations of Phaethon as it passed near the Sun in May 2022. SOHO’s Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph imaged…

For more than two years, the UAE’s Hope probe has been orbiting Mars to gain new insights about the planet’s atmosphere. But a slight change to its orbit placed the Emirati mission closer to Mars’ moon Deimos, revealing a possible planetary origin to the awkwardly shaped space rock. What Is Planet Nine and Why Can’t We Find It?New observations by the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) suggest that Deimos may not be a captured asteroid, as scientists previously thought, but instead may have once been a part of the Red Planet…