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How to watch the full Wolf Moon 'swallow' Mars in the sky tonight — no telescope required
By Gretchen Rundorff last updated
Tonight (Jan. 13), bright Mars will disappear behind the full Wolf Moon for several hours before reappearing on the other side. It's the only lunar occultation of Mars visible from the U.S. this year. Here's how to get the most out of it.

See Mercury's frigid north pole in extraordinary new images from the BepiColombo spacecraft
By Stephanie Pappas published
A joint Japanese-European mission to Mercury just made its sixth flyby of the planet, revealing stunning close-ups of the permanently shadowed craters at Mercury's north pole.

Giant 'kidney beans' spotted in Mars satellite images could point to signs of water and life
By Damien Pine published
A NASA satellite has spotted frozen "kidney beans" on Mars' sand dunes trapped in place until springtime. Photographing them can help us determine if there was ever enough water on Mars to sustain life.

Mars at opposition: See the Red Planet at its best and brightest this week — or wait until 2027
By Jamie Carter last updated
As Mars approaches opposition this week, it will become a dazzling spectacle in the night sky. See it at its best now, or wait until 2027.

Mars rock samples may contain evidence of alien life, but can NASA get them back to Earth?
By Patrick Pester published
NASA will explore two different strategies for fetching Mars rocks collected by the Perseverance rover, and there's a chance these samples contain evidence of alien life.

10 amazing things we found on Mars in 2024, from hundreds of 'spiders' to a 'Martian dog'
By Harry Baker published
From arachnid-like formations and mysterious blobs to an underground ocean and a giant volcano, here are our 10 favorite things scientists discovered on Mars this year.

There's a weird, disappearing dark spot on Saturn's moon Enceladus
By Monisha Ravisetti published
"After staring at dozens and dozens of image pairs, she found something interesting."

'Mathematically perfect' star system discovered 105 light-years from Earth may still be in its infancy. Could that change its prospects for life?
By Jenna Ahart published
Once thought to be 8 billion years old, the star HD 110067 — famous for its six synchronized exoplanets — may be only 2.5 billion years old, new research suggests.
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