Tricarbon Molecule Detected in Atmosphere of Titan
The tricarbon molecule (C3) is likely produced in the upper atmosphere of Titan by the reaction of abundant acetylene with atomic carbon. This view of Titan is among the last…
Planetary Scientists Discover Giant Shield Volcano on Mars
Provisionally designated Noctis Mons, the newly-discovered volcano is located just south of Mars’ equator, in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus, west of Valles Marineris, the planet’s vast canyon system. Noctis Mons. Image…
NASA Scientists Unveil Design for Europa Clipper’s ‘Golden Record’
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry a triangular metal plate with a special message when it launches in October 2024 and heads toward Jupiter’s moon Europa. This side of a…
Europa Produces Less Oxygen than Previously Thought
Using data from the Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) instrument onboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary scientists have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to…
Mars Express Spots Sand Dunes and Ice Layers at Martian North Pole
New images from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft show the terrain surrounding the permanent north polar ice cap of Mars. This image from ESA’s…
Study: Most Sightings of UAPs Occur in American West
Sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), formerly known as unidentified flying objects (UFOs), have been reported throughout history. Given the potential security and safety risks they pose, as well as…
Asteroid Moonlet Dimorphos May Have Been Reshaped Following Impact from NASA’s DART Mission
On September 26, 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully impacted Dimorphos, the natural satellite of the binary near-Earth asteroid Didymos. New numerical simulations indicate that the DART…
Ancient Mars May Have Had Hydrothermal Systems
The history of water on Mars is a puzzle that is of interest to planetary scientists as well as the general public. The Red Planet currently has water in the…
Kuiper Belt May Be Much Larger than Previously Estimated
Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) are thought to be the dominant source of interplanetary dust particles in the outer Solar System due to both collisions between KBOs and their continual bombardment…
Titan Most Likely Non-Habitable, Astrobiologists Say
Saturn’s moon Titan has an organic-rich atmosphere and surface with a subsurface ocean that may represent a habitable environment. In a new study, astrobiologists determined the amount of organic material…