HS-ESS1-4
Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
- Space
Scientists Say: Lagrange point
Between and around a two-body system — such as the Earth and sun — there are five points of prime celestial real estate.
- Planets
Perseverance took the first picture of a visible aurora on Mars
A faint yet visible aurora has been spotted on Mars. It’s the first such light show seen from another planet's surface.
- Space
A passing star could fling Earth out of orbit — or into the sun
Computer models show that a star's tug could send Mercury, Venus or Mars crashing into Earth — or let Jupiter eject our world from the solar system.
- Space
Scientists Say: Quasi-satellite
Unlike a true satellite, these tagalongs orbit outside a planet’s primary sphere of gravitational control.
- Space
A nearby star system is likely sending lots of comets our way
This Alpha Centauri system loses comets and dust particles, but it produces only about 10 of the several trillion meteors that Earth sees each year.
- Space
Scientists Say: Interstellar medium
Radiant energy and primordial space dust span the vast reaches between star systems.
- Planets
Pluto and its moon Charon may have paired up with a kiss
After about 30 hours of contact, Charon could have separated from Pluto and drifted into its current orbit.
- Planets
A distant crumbling planet spills its guts
Based on the light being emitted by its shed minerals, astronomers can for the first time determine the internal composition of an exoplanet.
- Planets
So many wondrous moons — just a spaceship ride away
Scientists are studying extraterrestrial moons for clues to how planets form, how life began — and whether there’s life out there right now.
- Space
The biggest discoveries of Voyagers — NASA’s most distant explorers
Voyager 1 and 2 left Earth in 1977 to fly by the outer planets. Nearly 50 years later, these spacecraft are still transforming our knowledge of space.
- Space
Let’s learn about the International Space Station
Astronauts on the space station have gathered data on everything from climate change to dark matter.
- Planets
A peek into a stellar nursery has revealed six baby giant worlds
Images of six Jupiter-sized worlds taken by the James Webb Space Telescope offer clues to how planets and stars form.
