Venus

An occultation is a celestial event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. In this Jupiter occultation illustration, we see our Moon passing directly between Earth and Jupiter, thereby blocking or “hiding” Jupiter from view. This is a relatively rare event because it requires the Moon and Jupiter to be very closely aligned along the line of sight from Earth. When it does happen, it can be a spectacular sight for amateur and professional astronomers alike. Credit:…

Maat Mons is displayed in this computer-generated, three-dimensional perspective of the surface of Venus. The viewpoint is located 634 kilometers (393 miles) north of Maat Mons at an elevation of 3 kilometers (2 miles) above the terrain. Lava flows extend for hundreds of kilometers across the fractured plains shown in the foreground, to the base of Maat Mons. NASA Magellan mission synthetic aperture radar data is combined with radar altimetry to develop a three-dimensional map of the surface. The vertical scale in this…

A space advocacy organization is rallying the scientific community in an effort to revive NASA’s VERITAS mission to Venus, which has been delayed indefinitely due to staff and budgeting issues at the space agency.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewThis week, the Planetary Society published an open letter to Congress calling for a 2029 launch date for the Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy (VERITAS) mission. The letter has already been signed by…

The Maine Farmers’ Almanac started featuring Native American-inspired names for full Moons in the 1930s, which have since become well-known and commonly utilized. As per this almanac, the full Moon in April is referred to as the Pink Moon, a name derived from the herb moss pink. This plant, also called creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox, is indigenous to the eastern United States and is among the first widespread blossoms to appear in spring. Credit: NASA/Joel KowskyThe Next Full Moon is the Pink, Sprouting…

A false-color image of the sulfurous Venusian cloud cover was produced using two ultraviolet channels from Akatsuki, the Japanese PLANET-C, and Venus Climate Orbiter, which highlights the convective turbulence of the planet’s tropical regions, in contrast with the clear, smoother polar regions. Credit: Daimia Bouic/JAXA/ISAS/DARTSExperts from the Universities of Seville and of the Basque Country believe that discontinuity may be playing a very significant role in the acceleration of this planet’s atmosphere.A group of…

Maat Mons is displayed in this computer-generated, three-dimensional perspective of the surface of Venus. The viewpoint is located 634 kilometers (393 miles) north of Maat Mons at an elevation of 3 kilometers (2 miles) above the terrain. Lava flows extend for hundreds of kilometers across the fractured plains shown in the foreground, to the base of Maat Mons. NASA Magellan mission synthetic aperture radar data is combined with radar altimetry to develop a three-dimensional map of the surface. The vertical scale in this…

In a rare planetary alignment, five planets (Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars) have lined up near the moon. The rare occurrence is visible in tonight's sky. The five planets under the moon are visible from around the world.  The five-planet spread can be seen from anywhere on Earth, as long as you have clear skies and a view of the west. “That's the beauty of these planetary alignments. It doesn't take much,” NASA astronaut Bill Cooke said. As per the NASA astronomer, Jupiter, Venus and…

This month saw the announcement of one of the most exciting findings about Venus in decades: the first direct evidence of an active volcano there. But rather than jubilation, the mood in the planetary science community is grim, as funding has been gutted for a key Venus mission that was poised to answer some of the biggest questions about the planet and its volcanic activity.  Venus is a hellish, inhospitable place with scorching surface temperatures and atmospheric pressure 100 times greater than Earth. Its surface is…

Keep an eye to the sky this week for a chance to see a planetary hangout. Five planets — Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars — will line up near the moon.WHERE AND WHEN CAN YOU SEE THEM? The best day to catch the whole group is Tuesday. You'll want to look to the western horizon right after sunset, said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke. The planets will stretch from the horizon line to around halfway up the night sky. But don't be late: Mercury and Jupiter will quickly dip below the horizon around half an hour after…

TRAPPIST-1b is a superhot rocky world just 40 light-years away. Astronomers recently trained the Webb Space Telescope this exoplanet, a world in the TRAPPIST-1 star system, and found that it’s devoid of an atmosphere.The finding could alter what we know about the formation of exoplanets that orbit similar ultracool red dwarf stars, also known as M stars. Because life as we know it needs an atmosphere to survive, the research also has implications for the search for life beyond Earth. The team’s findings are published…