Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the smallest planet in our solar system. With a diameter of about 3,032 miles (4,880 kilometers), the planet is less than half the size of Earth, which is about 7,926 miles (12,756 km) in diameter. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in … Read more
With its resplendent ring system, Saturn is arguably the most stunning planet in our solar system. Located sixth in line from the sun, it is the second-largest world orbiting the sun, after Jupiter. Though Saturn is famous for its rings, all the other giant planets, including Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, feature ring systems. But Saturn … Read more
Space may be the final frontier, but the good people of Canada aim to tame that frontier with law and order. Last week, the Canadian Parliament proposed a measure that will, essentially, make it illegal for Canadian astronauts to commit crimes on the moon, or while in orbit. The measure, which was tucked partway through … Read more
Roaming Mars is a lonely existence for NASA’s Perseverance, but the exploratory rover now has a traveling companion: a hitchhiking “pet rock” that got stuck in one of its wheels. Luckily, the Martian stone won’t impact the rover’s science mission and is only a minor inconvenience — like having a pebble stuck in your shoe. … Read more
When mountaineers climb Mount Everest, they routinely carry oxygen cylinders, devices that allow them to breathe freely at high altitudes. This is necessary because the closer you get to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere, the less oxygen there is available compared with the plentiful amounts found at sea level. This is just one example of … Read more
Astronomers have discovered a perplexing trend in Neptune’s atmosphere: Ever since the planet’s southern hemisphere summer began almost two decades ago, atmospheric temperatures in this region have plummeted, and scientists aren’t sure why. Neptune is the most distant planet in the solar system, around 30 times farther from the sun than Earth is. Just like … Read more
So far no one has found evidence of intelligent aliens elsewhere in the cosmos. But if they do exist, they might be hanging out on Dyson spheres circling the husks of sunlike stars called white dwarfs scattered throughout the Milky Way, a new paper argues. And that’s there we should be focusing our search for … Read more
Venus is a hot and hellish world and the second planet from the sun. The Earth-size planet could be considered our twin if not for its thick, toxic atmosphere and surface temperatures that are hot enough to melt lead. Despite such extremes, researchers have long wondered if organisms could exist in the upper cloud layers … Read more
The Milky Way is home to millions of potentially habitable planets — and approximately four of them may harbor evil alien civilizations that would invade Earth if they could, new research posted to the preprint database arXiv (opens in new tab) suggests. The new paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, poses a peculiar question: … Read more
NASA’s marsquake-hunting lander has detected its two largest seismic events to date — and on the far side of the planet, no less. NASA’s InSight lander touched down on Mars in November 2018 carrying the most sensitive seismometer ever designed. Since the mission’s arrival, it has detected countless events dubbed marsquakes, using the signals to … Read more
