Planets

More Stories in Planets

  1. Planets

    Let’s learn about Venus

    Venus’ surface is hot enough to melt lead, studded with volcanoes and shrouded in clouds of corrosive acid.

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  2. Planets

    Listen to the crackle of ‘mini-lightning’ on Mars

    Scientists suspected Mars had these zaps but had never detected them — until now. NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded them generated by dusty gusts.

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  3. Space

    35 years on, Hubble continues to revolutionize astronomy

    The Hubble Space Telescope is an icon in astronomy. Here are some of its most out-of-this-world images.

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  4. Space

    A new dwarf planet may skirt the edge of our solar system

    For the distant object, one trip around the sun takes over 24,000 years. Its orbit challenges a proposed path for a hypothetical “Planet Nine.”

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  5. Planets

    Here’s how future Martians might take their first breaths 

    Mars would need an atmosphere thick enough to hold heat and with enough oxygen for people to breathe. This is how we might terraform Mars.

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  6. Planets

    The surface of Venus is morphing

    Circular landforms speckling Venus' surface may be the work of tectonics — similar to the forces that reshape Earth’s surface.

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  7. 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.

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  8. 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.

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  9. Planets

    A giant, busted planet fuels a nebula’s mysterious glow

    This Helix Nebula is like a colorful explosion frozen in time. Its center seems to be steadily radiating X-rays.

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