Planet News

Makemake’s Mysteriously Missing Atmosphere

Artist's impression of the surface of Makemake, a dwarf planet beyond Pluto (ESO/L. Calçada/Nick Risinger) It turns out there's no…

11 years ago

Keeping an Earthly Eye on Io’s Insane Volcanic Activity

Although space missions Voyager and Galileo observed evidence of volcanic activity on Io, it was a faint blue plume at…

12 years ago

Unexpected Find: ‘Rainforest’ of Phytoplankton Growth in the Arctic Ocean

[/caption] Imagine finding a rainforest in the middle of a desert. That is how NASA scientists are equating a new…

12 years ago

Rogue Planets Could Drive By And Scoop Up Life

[/caption] Free-floating "rogue" planets may occasionally dip into the inner Solar System, picking up dust containing organic compounds -- a.k.a.…

12 years ago

Rogue Planets Can Find Homes Around Other Stars

[/caption] As crazy as it sounds, free-floating rogue planets have been predicted to exist for quite some time and just…

12 years ago

Recent Geologic Activity on the Moon?

[/caption] Recent images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera provide evidence that the lunar crust may be pulling apart in…

12 years ago

Could a ‘Death Star’ Really Destroy a Planet?

[/caption]Countless Sci-Fi fans vividly remember the famous scene in Star Wars in which the Death Star obliterates the planet Alderaan.…

12 years ago

Goldilocks Moons

[/caption] The search for extraterrestrial life outside our Solar System is currently focused on extrasolar planets within the 'habitable zones'…

12 years ago

Scientists Find Trio of Tiny Exoplanets

[/caption] NASA’s Kepler mission has detected no shortage of planets; more than a thousand candidates were discovered in 2011, a…

12 years ago

Top Astronomy Events Coming Up in 2012

[/caption] As 2011 is drawing to a close, the festive season is here and many of us are winding down…

12 years ago