Solar System Archives - Page 6 of 14

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Asteroids Predate Our Solar System, New Study Shows

By Enrico de Lazaro December 22, 2023

Astronomical observations show that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are abundant and widespread in the interstellar medium. PAH molecules consist of several adjacent aromatic rings terminated by hydrogens. In new research,…

Enceladus’ Surface May Contain Relatively High Abundances of Pristine Organic Material

By News Staff December 21, 2023

Enceladus, the sixth-biggest moon of Saturn, presents a remarkable opportunity in our Solar System for searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life, given its habitable ocean and plume that deposits organic-bearing…

NASA Streams Cat Video from Deep Space via Laser

By News Staff December 20, 2023

A 15-second ultra-high-definition video, featuring a cat named Taters, was streamed via laser from a record-setting 31 million km (19 million miles, or about 80 times the Earth-Moon distance) away…

Planetary Researchers Detect Hydrogen Cyanide in Plume of Enceladus

By News Staff December 17, 2023

Using data from NASA’s Cassini mission, planetary scientists have detected several compounds of strong importance to the habitability of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, including hydrogen cyanide, acetylene, propylene and ethane.…

Lunar Anthropocene: Are We in New Epoch of Moon’s History?

By Natali Anderson December 11, 2023

In a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Kansas Geological Survey researcher Justin Holcomb and his colleagues argue the new epoch may have dawned in 1959, thanks to the…

NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Beams Back Its First Images

By News Staff December 6, 2023

Already 26 million km (16 million miles) from Earth, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will arrive at its target asteroid Psyche in 2029. The Psyche team wanted to test all of the…

Ice Plumes of Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus May Hold Amino Acids, Study Suggests

By News Staff December 5, 2023

Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life in the Solar System, identified by NASA as the second-highest priority site for a flagship mission in the next decade.…

New Research Sheds Light on Internal Structure of Dwarf Planet Eris

By Natali Anderson December 4, 2023

The trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Eris is tidally locked to its small moon Dysnomia. Recently obtained bounds on the mass of Dysnomia demonstrate that Eris must be unexpectedly dissipative (‘squishy’) for…

ESA Astronaut Captures Stunning Images of Rare Thunder Phenomenon

By News Staff December 1, 2023

As part of the Thor-Davis experiment on the International Space Station (ISS), ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen has captured images of a phenomenon called red sprite. Equipped with a specialized event-based…

Mars Odyssey Beams Back Magnificent Images of Martian Horizon

By News Staff November 29, 2023

In an operation that took mission scientists three months to plan, NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter captured a series of panoramic images that showcases the curving Martian landscape below gauzy layers…