The term “planet” is defined very strictly by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). An astronomical body is officially a planet if it orbits the Sun, has enough mass to be spherical, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, according … Read More
Phobos, it seems, will not live long in the Universe — at least not on a large cosmic timescale. Astronomers have long suspected that Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’ two moons, is slowly spiraling inward to eventual destruction. … Read More
NASA’s Curiosity rover discovered some intriguing organic compounds on Mars that could be signs of ancient Mars life, but testing that hypothesis will take a lot more work. Researchers report in a new study that some of the powdered rock … Read More
It marks the first time a plant has been grown on the Moon. China made history by landing its Chang’e-4 spacecraft on the Moon’s far side. The mission was also the first to experiment with growing plants on the Moon, … Read More
You’ve probably heard that NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made history this year by becoming the first spacecraft to “touch the Sun.” Now there’s video of the probe whizzing through the Sun’s corona, and to say it’s breathtaking is an understatement … Read More
Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the Solar System, deeply marks the surface of Mars; a tectonic crack widened by erosion and marked by nearby channels potentially carved by water. It turns out that some of that water might still … Read More