planetary science

As astronomers get better at finding the comets and asteroids of other stars, they’ll learn more about the universe and our place in it.

Giant blobs nestled deep in the Earth may influence everything from the structure of island chains to mass-extinction events.

A surprisingly youthful estimate of the age of the rings has stirred a backlash.

After an interstellar asteroid shot past the sun, scientists realized that there’s probably a lot of itinerant rocks out there.

Astronomers have discovered a complex planetary system still swirling into existence.

Astronomers are puzzling over a paucity of planets in the galaxy measuring between 1.5 and two times Earth’s size.

A new experiment confirms the existence of “superionic ice,” a bizarre form of water that might comprise the bulk of giant icy planets throughout the universe.

Astronomers will soon take their first glance at the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet. Sarah Hörst is writing the guidebook for these exoplanetary explorers, one that will reveal what a distinctive atmosphere says about the world underneath.

An analysis of lunar craters has found that we’ve been living in a relatively violent period in cosmic history.