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planetary science

Latest Articles

Lisa Kaltenegger, a woman with red hair, peers through the eyepiece of an antique telescope.
astrobiology

A Dream of Discovering Alien Life Finds New Hope

By Joshua Sokol
November 3, 2022
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For Lisa Kaltenegger and her generation of exoplanet astronomers, decades of planning have set the stage for an epochal detection.

A yellow and orange blob of light appears against a purple grainy background.
astronomy

Webb Space Telescope Snaps Its First Photo of an Exoplanet

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
September 1, 2022
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The grainy image of a “super-Jupiter” is a sign of what’s to come as the telescope’s exoplanet observations ramp up.

An array of images of protoplanetary disks with bright suns at the centers surrounded by rings, arcs, filaments and spirals.]
astronomy

Astronomers Reimagine the Making of the Planets

By Rebecca Boyle
June 9, 2022
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Observations of faraway planets have forced a near-total rewrite of the story of how our solar system came to be.

planetary science

Secrets of the Moon’s Permanent Shadows Are Coming to Light

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
April 28, 2022
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Robots are about to venture into the sunless depths of lunar craters to investigate ancient water ice trapped there, while remote studies find hints about how water arrives on rocky worlds.

geophysics

Scientists Unravel How the Tonga Volcano Caused Global Tsunamis

By Robin George Andrews
April 13, 2022
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The Tonga eruption in January was “basically like Krakatoa 2.” This time, geophysicists could explain the tiny tsunamis that cropped up all over the planet, solving a 139-year-old mystery about Tonga’s predecessor.

climate science

Solving the Faint-Sun Paradox

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
January 27, 2022
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We might have a past faint sun to owe for life’s existence. This has consequences for the possibility of life outside Earth.

Collage illustration of the JWST
astrophysics

The Webb Space Telescope Will Rewrite Cosmic History. If It Works.

By Natalie Wolchover
December 3, 2021
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The James Webb Space Telescope has the potential to rewrite the history of the cosmos and reshape humanity’s position within it. But first, a lot of things have to work just right.

planetary science

Researchers Revise Recipe for Building a Rocky Planet Like Earth

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
November 3, 2021
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Over the past decade, researchers have completely rewritten the story of how gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn form. They’re now debating whether the same process might hold for Earth.

The ringed planet Saturn showing its aurora in green.
planetary science

Gas Giants’ Energy Crisis Solved After 50 Years

By Robin George Andrews
June 22, 2021
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Jupiter and Saturn should be freezing cold. Instead, they’re hot. Researchers now know why.


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