Solar System

Lürssen Launches Project Jupiter

The 403-foot Jupiter hits the water for the first time.<p>Lürssen Yachts has launched Project Jupiter, a 403-foot superyacht, with a 65-foot beam. In …

Jupiter

What We Can Learn From Pluto's Icy Heart

On February 18, 1930—87 years ago this week—Clyde Tombaugh, a telescope operator at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, was flipping through …

Pluto

Juno spacecraft gives up, decides to take the long way around Jupiter

It's permanently stuck in the wrong orbit, but at least there's a nice view<p>The Juno spacecraft has been stuck in the wrong orbit around Jupiter for months, and today NASA announced that they're just going to leave it there. The team has given up on finding a way into a more ideal orbit.<p>The Juno …

Jupiter

Jupiter's South Pole Swirls with Cyclones in Stunning NASA Photo

The JunoCam instrument on NASA's Juno spacecraft, circles the huge planet sending massive amounts of data back to Earth for scientific study.<p>The …

Space

No thanks to the new science thing

I don’t need a new organ or a new continent<p>It often seems a parade of researchers are trying to foist new things I don’t want on me: a new organ, a new planet, a new dwarf planet, a new continent.<p>I would like to respectfully decline. No, thank you, I have quite enough continents already.<p>A group of …

Dwarf Planet

NASA Narrows Down Mars 2020 Rover Landing Sites - Sky & Telescope

<b>Three possible landing sites are now in the running for NASA's Mars 2020 rover.</b><p>A huge inactive shield volcano in NE Syrtis Major.<i><br>NASA / JPL-Caltech /</i> …

Space Exploration

5 Cratered Facts About Mercury

<b>by Alex Carter</b><p>Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, and you would be forgiven for thinking it’s just a boring lump of rock. After all, there’s …

Mercury

The mysterious 9th planet could have your name on it

New citizen-science project allows participants to join the hunt for hidden objects beyond the orbit of Neptune.<p>Don't mention this to Pluto, but the …

Neptune

What is the Weather like on Saturn?

<i>Welcome back to our planetary weather series! Next up, we take a look at the ringed-beauty, Saturn!</i><p>Saturn is famous for many things. Aside from its …

Astronomy

Countdown begins: 6 months to the total solar eclipse

NASA scientists are so pumped for the total solar eclipse of 2017, they've set up an official countdown several months out. Probably because a spectacle like this hasn't been seen from coast to coast across America in 99 years. Sean Dowling (@seandowlingtv) has more. Buzz60<p>CINCINNATI — Six months. …

Astronomy

The 8 Most Famous Solar Eclipses in History

1 of 10<p>Blocking out the sun<p>Since ancient times, people have viewed the moon completely blacking out the sun for mere minutes — the entire solar …

Space

How Long is a Year on Mercury?

Mercury is a planet of extremes. As the closest planet to our Sun, it experiences extremely high surface temperatures. But since it has virtually no …

Mercury

Far-off asteroid caught cohabiting with Uranus around the sun

The second Trojan asteroid of Uranus ever found suggests there could be hundreds more associated with the planet

Astronomy

The strangest eclipse fact of all: the Moon’s shadow isn’t a circle

Sometimes science is stranger than fiction.<p><i>“To morrow, I believe, is to be an eclipse of the sun, and I think it perfectly meet and proper that the</i> …

Space

Notice the moon has moved

Tonight – February 15, 2017 – the moon and planet Jupiter are still close in Earth’s sky. The bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo is also …

Space

The Biggest Heart in the Solar System Has an Incredible Origin Story

Even if you’re feeling a bit lonely here on Earth today, there is one heart that belongs to you, way, way out there in the cosmic void. Sure, it’s …

Pluto

Voyager 1 Red Spot Movie | Galleries

This movie shows the portion of Jupiter around the Great Red Spot as it swirls through more than 60 Jupiter days. Notice the difference in speed and …

Space

The Views of Jupiter You Won't Find in a Textbook

NASA spacecraft Juno is providing a fresh look at the gas giant since settling into its orbit last summer.<p>Imagine Jupiter as it’s usually depicted: A bulbous marble, with alternating bands of reds, oranges, yellows, and creams, a few wisps of blue and green, and that unmistakable round spot just …

Astronomy

'Ring Of Fire' Solar Eclipse In Feb. 2017 - Path It Will Take | Video

On Feb. 26th, 2017, the annular solar eclipse will begin west of Southern Chile and end over Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo …

Space

How Flat Can A Planet Be?

We know that the Earth isn’t flat, and have known this for thousands of years. There are many ways to demonstrate this, from ships’ masts disappearing as they sail out over the horizon, to your ability to see farther at higher altitudes, to the longer shadows cast by the Sun at higher latitudes, to …

Astronomy

Juno Drops the First Images of Jupiter's South Pole

The alluring mysteries of Jupiter continue to come to light thanks to NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which continues to orbit the solar system’s biggest …

Jupiter

Celestial Valentine's Date: Moon, Jupiter Meet Up Tonight

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has a celestial date with the moon tonight (Feb. 14), offering a lovely Valentine's night sky …

Jupiter

NASA just showed off what its next Pluto spacecraft might look like

In this video, NASA describes a new kind of fusion powered spacecraft that could reach Pluto, orbit it, and even land on it.<p><i>Video courtesy of NASA.</i><p><b>Follow Tech Insider:</b> On Facebook

Pluto

A journey to Jupiter, without leaving Earth

<i>[Image credit: Voyager 3]</i><p>I don’t mean to make this blog all Jupiter all the time, but c’mon. It’s <i>Jupiter</i>.<p>The biggest planet in our solar system is …

Space

BepiColombo: ESA and JAXA join hands to explore Mercury in 2018!

BepiColombo is a European-Japanese joint mission to the innermost planet in the solar system—Mercury. The mission will be launched in 2018.<p><b>Also Read:</b> <b>Researchers have found 10 faint galaxies that kick-started the whole universe!</b><p>Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) is the carrier orbiter which will supply …

Mercury

2017 February 13 - Cloud Swirls around Southern Jupiter from Juno

<b>Cloud Swirls around Southern Jupiter from Juno</b> <b><br>Image Credit:</b> NASA, JPL-Caltech, SwRI, MSSS; <i>Processing:</i> Damian Peach<p><b>Explanation:</b> Juno just completed …

Space

Put a Ring on It! Saturn Impresses in Stunning Valentine's Day Photos

NASA's Cassini spacecraft sends its love this Valentine's Day with photos of Saturn’s beautiful rings, moons and polar vortex.

Astronomy

91 Astronomers Combine 1000 Images Into One Amazing Journey to Jupiter

A renewed era of space exploration is underway. Compared to the Space Race of the 20th century, which was characterized by two superpowers locked in …

Jupiter

MRO data utilized for Mars 2020 landing-site selection

Artist’s depiction of NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) above the Red Planet. Image Credit: James Vaughan / SpaceFlight Insider<p>As scientists …

Space Exploration

10 Weird Planetary Phenomena Discovered by Amateur Astronomers

Professional astronomers are responsible for 13 billion years' worth of discoveries about our universe, but the cosmos is a big place, and at-home …

Astronomy