Solar System
Latest about Solar System
Space photo of the week: 1st-ever close-up of Neptune is Voyager 2's final portrait of a planet
By Jamie Carter published
Voyager 2, NASA's longest-running mission, explored Neptune during a historic encounter on Aug. 25, 1989, sending back humanity's first close-ups of the planet.
What is the coldest place in the solar system?
By Joe Phelan last updated
What is the solar system's coldest spot and how does the coldest place on Earth compare?
$100,000 quadrillion asteroid Psyche may be rusting, James Webb telescope reveals
By Deepa Jain published
A new James Webb Space Telescope analysis of the giant, metal-rich asteroid Psyche reveals signs of hydration in the form of rust. This could help pin down the mysterious rock's origins.
Over 350 asteroids have hidden moons, Gaia space telescope finds
By Robert Lea published
The European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope has found evidence of more than 350 previously unknown moons orbiting asteroids within our solar system.
9-mile-thick layer of solid diamonds may lurk beneath Mercury's surface, study hints
By Deepa Jain last updated
New simulations suggest that a 9-mile-thick layer of solid diamonds may lurk deep below the surface of Mercury. The gems almost certainly can't be mined for bling — but they may help solve some of the planet's biggest mysteries.
Astronomers want to change how we define a planet — again
By Kristel Tjandra published
Astronomers are proposing a new, more quantitative definition of what makes a planet. The new definition looks more directly at the object's mass — but it would still leave Pluto out of the running.
'Dark comets' may be a much bigger threat to Earth than we thought, new study warns
By Paul Sutter published
A strange class of space rock known as a "dark comet" has qualities of both asteroids and comets — and the hard-to-spot objects may pose a larger threat to Earth than we thought, according to new research.
What would happen if a black hole wandered into our solar system?
By Ashley Hamer published
Black holes aren't "cosmic vacuum cleaners," but what would happen if one wandered into our solar system?
How many moons are in the solar system?
By Harry Baker published
The solar system has many more moons than the one we can see in the sky. But how many do we actually know about? And how many more are waiting to be discovered?
'Space potato' spotted by NASA Mars satellite is actually something much cooler
By Ben Turner published
The starchy-looking moon Phobos, destined to crash into Mars' surface, has been revealed in new detail by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The 'space potato' image was recently shared on NASA's Instagram.
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