Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

Uranus' biggest unsolved mysteries

Distant, icy Uranus has puzzled scientists for decades. From its sideways spin to its mysterious magnetic field, the oddball world has many secrets waiting to be revealed.

Asteroids vs comets vs meteorites/meteoroids/meteors

A handy guide to help tease apart the differences between asteroids, comets, meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids. e

Why the true colors of the planets aren't what you think

Cameras on our space probes act as proxies for our own eyes, but what they see isn't necessarily what our eyes would see.

What is a planetary conjunction?

An explainer on planetary conjunctions, and what it means when a planet is at conjunction or at opposition.

Sharing an eclipse with kids

Here's a simple and safe way to observe solar eclipses that's appropriate for young children, with no eclipse glasses or other special equipment needed.

How do we see the surface of Venus from space?

Although Venus is shrouded in a thick atmosphere, several spacecraft have been able to image its surface from space. Future missions will expand and refine the maps we already have.

What are Jupiter’s Galilean moons?

An introduction to Jupiter's moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

China's plans for outer Solar System exploration

A Callisto impactor, a Uranus flyby, and a dedicated ice giant orbiter could be on China’s planetary exploration horizon.

Earth's water may have been on our planet since its formation, or could have been brought here by impactors early in our planet's history. Here's a look at the leading theories about where Earth's water came from.

Looking for long waves

Why JWST observes in the infrared.

Earthrise by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

How old is the Earth?

The Earth is thought to be about 4.54 billion years old. Learn more about how it formed, and how we know when this all happened.

The best pictures of Mars from space

Spacecraft have been taking pictures of Mars from space since 1965. Here are some of our favorites.

Lucy’s flyby of Dinkinesh: Everything you need to know

On Nov. 1, 2023, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew past Dinkinesh, a small asteroid in the main belt, and discovered a binary pair of moonlets in orbit around the asteroid.

Why aren't there more close-up images of Uranus and Neptune?

There aren't many close-up, high-resolution images of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. The reason comes down to distance.

Psyche mission successfully launches

The spacecraft has begun its six-year journey to the same-name metal world.

How astronomers search for life on exoplanets

Technologies for studying planets around other stars are advancing all the time. Along with those advancements come new ways to look for possible signs of life on those planets.