Solar System

Latest about Solar System

a faint comet with bright short tail hangs in space over a dark curve of earth, slightly illuminated in the atmosphere.

How comet Hale-Bopp can reveal the origins of life on Earth — and maybe beyond

By Victoria Corless published

Scientists are tracking the evolution of comet Hale-Bopp, one of the brightest comets ever seen.

Comets
A large planet hued in vibrant oranges, yellows, and dark browns.

Venus' 'missing' giant impact craters may be hiding in plain sight

By Keith Cooper published

Venus' wrinkled, deformed "tesserae" terrain may be ancient impact features the size of continents, a new study suggests.

Venus
a bright flare of light on a wavy, fuzzy-looking background

Sun erupts with powerful X2.3 solar flare, triggers radio blackouts (video)

By Meredith Garofalo published

A X2.3 solar flare Wednesday morning (Nov. 6), leading to shortwave radio blackouts for parts of the southern hemisphere.

The Sun
Two scientists in white coveralls examine a black piece of space tech with wires on one end.

New NASA coronagraph will measure temperature, speed of solar wind from ISS

By Conor Feehly published

We're about to learn more about the solar wind, thanks to NASA's Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX), which just arrived at the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft.

The Sun
An artist's depiction of NASA's Parker Solar Probe flying past Venus.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe flies by Venus before historic sun encounter

By Sharmila Kuthunur last updated

NASA's Parker Solar Probe swoops in for its seventh and final swing past Venus ahead of its history-making encounter with the sun on Christmas Eve.

The Sun
a reddish-orange planet lined with craters and valleys

Boost for Mars life? Red Planet's magnetic field may have lasted longer than thought

By Keith Cooper published

Mars' global magnetic field may have hung around for 200 million years longer than scientists had thought, possibly giving life a longer window to take hold on the Red Planet.

Mars

Satellites watch devastating floods in Spain from space (photos)

By Elizabeth Howell published

Valencia was particularly hard-hit.

Earth
A giant white flare, like an X bursts from the center of a fiery surface, blazed with reds and oranges in a swirling inferno.

X-class Halloween solar flare erupts from sun, causes radio blackouts (video)

By Meredith Garofalo published

The sun erupted with an X-class solar flare on Halloween, and solar activity is expected to remain high through Nov. 3.

The Sun
Jupiter's moon Europa is the next destination for the Juno spacecraft.

Explore Jupiter's icy ocean moon Europa in NASA virtual tour (photos)

By Stefanie Waldek published

Thanks to images from various NASA spacecraft, we can get an up-close look at the Jupiter ocean moon Europa long before the agency's Europa Clipper probe arrives.

Jupiter
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this view of a solar eclipse on Sept. 30, 2024. Phobos, one of the Red Planet's two moons, is crossing the sun's face.

Perseverance rover watches 'googly eye' solar eclipse from Mars (video)

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover was treated to a 'googly eye' solar eclipse on Sept. 30 as the planet's moon Phobos passed in front of the sun.

Mars
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