Skip to content

It’s a wonderful world — and universe — out there.

Come explore with us!  

Subscribe / Renew Now
  • All Topics
    • Life
      • Animals
      • Brain
      • Plants
      • Fossils
      • Ecosystems
      • Microbes
      • Genetics
      • View All
    • Humans
      • Health & Medicine
      • Psychology
      • Archaeology
      • View All
    • Earth
      • Environment
      • Climate
      • Oceans
      • Agriculture
      • View All
    • Space
      • Planets
      • View All
    • Tech
      • Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • View All
  • Science News
  • Menu
    • All Stories
    • Collections
    • Explainers
    • Word of the Week
    • Experiments
    • Comics
    • Analyze This
    • Technically Fiction
    • Action for Earth
    • Cool Jobs
    • Invention & Innovation
    • Classroom Questions
  • About Us
  • Education Resources
Donate

Science News Explores

Science News Explores

  • All Topics
    • Earth
      • Environment
      • Climate
      • Oceans
      • Agriculture
    • Humans
      • Health & Medicine
      • Psychology
      • Archaeology
    • Life
      • Animals
      • Brain
      • Plants
      • Fossils
      • Ecosystems
      • Microbes
      • Genetics
    • Physics
      • Materials Science
    • Space
      • Planets
    • Tech
      • Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
    • Chemistry
    • Math
    • Science & Society
    • All Topics
  • Life
    • Life
      • Animals
      • Brain
      • Plants
      • Fossils
      • Ecosystems
      • Microbes
      • Genetics
    • Recent posts in Life

      • Animals

        Scientists Say: Amphisbaenian

        By Fechi Inyama10 hours ago
      • Animals

        Songs prep unhatched finches’ brains for a hot world

        By Jake BuehlerAugust 4, 2026
      • Life

        Fog — it’s alive! 

        By Lily BurtonAugust 3, 2026
  • Humans
    • Humans
      • Health & Medicine
      • Psychology
      • Archaeology
    • Recent posts in Humans

      • Tech

        Explainer: What is bioprinting?

        By Tejasri GururajAugust 6, 2026
      • Health & Medicine

        U.S. sunscreen users are finally getting a new option  

        By Meghan RosenJuly 30, 2026
      • Physics

        Experiment: Measure fake blood spatter

        By Science BuddiesJuly 29, 2026
  • Earth
    • Earth
      • Environment
      • Climate
      • Oceans
      • Agriculture
    • Recent posts in Earth

      • Earth

        Scientists Say: Fjord

        By Katie Grace CarpenterJuly 27, 2026
      • Climate

        A ‘super’ El Niño appears to be emerging. What’s the big deal?

        By Carolyn GramlingJuly 22, 2026
      • Earth

        Scientists Say: Subsidence

        By Alison Pearce StevensJuly 20, 2026
  • Space
    • Space
      • Planets
    • Recent posts in Space

      • Space

        ‘Superpuff‘ planets are as dense as cotton candy

        By Lisa Grossman10 hours ago
      • Space

        Scientists Say: Event horizon

        By Katie Grace CarpenterJuly 13, 2026
      • Earth

        Analyze This: A rocket reentry spiked metal levels in the atmosphere

        By Adam Mann and Carolyn WilkeJune 24, 2026
  • Tech
    • Tech
      • Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
    • Recent posts in Tech

      • Tech

        Explainer: What is bioprinting?

        By Tejasri GururajAugust 6, 2026
      • Animals

        Chatty cats and talking dogs could one day ‘speak’ in our language 

        By Laura SandersJuly 20, 2026
      • Brain

        VR can train the human brain to treat wings like real limbs

        By Yujia HuangJuly 6, 2026
Collection

Pluto

  • 053118_lg_pluto-dunes_feat_free.jpg
    Planets

    Pluto’s heart has dunes of methane ice

    By Lisa GrossmanJuly 5, 2018
  • pluto surface
    Planets

    Weird Pluto gives up its secrets

    By Christopher CrockettDecember 21, 2015
  • Science News Explores
    Planets

    Pluto hosts ice mountains, data suggest

    By Christopher CrockettJuly 16, 2015
  • The New Horizons spacecraft maintains radio silence as it focuses on snapping super-close-up features of the dwarf planet — like this heart-shaped one
    Planets

    Picture This: Pluto hearts us

    By Christopher CrockettJuly 14, 2015
  • Planets

    Hello, Pluto!

    By Science News ExploresJuly 13, 2015
  • The New Horizons spacecraft is completing a 9.5-year, 5-billion-kilometer trek across the solar system to spend a few hours with Pluto and its moons. The probe will tear past the dwarf planet on July 14.
    Planets

    Visiting Pluto

    By Christopher CrockettJuly 10, 2015
  • This is what the dust-measuring instrument looked like before it was installed on the New Horizons spacecraft in August 2004.
    Space

    Students sent instrument to Pluto

    By Christopher CrockettJuly 10, 2015
  • Pluto's moons
    Planets

    Cosmic collision may have given birth to Pluto’s moons

    By Christopher CrockettJune 16, 2015
  • saturn
    Planets

    Explainer: What is a planet?

    By Jennifer CutraroOctober 8, 2008
  • Planets

    The trouble with Pluto

    By Jennifer CutraroOctober 7, 2008
  • Planets

    Pluto, plutoid: What’s in a name?

    By Jennifer CutraroJune 17, 2008
  • Science News Explores
    Planets

    Sizing up Pluto’s moon

    By Emily SohnFebruary 15, 2006

Pagination Navigation

Go to page1 Go to page2 Next

Science News Explores

Founded in 2003, Science News Explores is a free, award-winning online publication dedicated to providing age-appropriate science news to learners, parents and educators. The publication, as well as Science News magazine, are published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education.

  • Science News
  • Science News Learning

Subscriber Services

  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • Follow Science News Explores on Facebook
  • Follow Science News Explores on X
  • Follow Science News Explores via RSS
  • Follow Science News Explores on Instagram
  • Follow Science News Explores on Threads
  • Follow Science News Explores on Bluesky
  • Follow Science News Explores on SoundCloud

More Information

  • Using Science News Explores in the Classroom
  • Rights & Permissions
  • Newsletters

Society for Science

  • About the Society
  • Donate
  • Careers

© Society for Science & the Public 2000–2026. All rights reserved.

1776 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 202.785.2255
Terms of Service Privacy Policy