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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Weekend treats from Cassini: Enceladus plumes plus bonus Tethys and Dione
Over the last couple of days Cassini flew past Enceladus, Tethys and Dione, so there are lots of treats to see on the raw images website! You should go check it out for yourself, but here are a couple of real favorites.
2008 LC15, the first Trojan asteroid discovered in Neptune's L5 point
Congratulations to Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo for identifying the first known L5 Trojan asteroid of Neptune!
The Stardust Sample Catalog
It never ceases to amaze me how much science is being wrung out of the few grams of material that were returned to Earth by the Stardust mission.
Molar Tooth Texture
Ok, so remember the weird rock I showed in my Galcier Park geology post?
How to Recognize Titan from Quite a Long Way Away
You know, I could fill this blog almost entirely with the amazing images that Gordan Ugarkovic locates, processes into prettiness, and uploads to his Flickr account.
The Geology of Glacier National Park: Part 1
Well, the field trip is over and I am happy to say that I was not eaten by any bears. They seemed much more interested in the huckleberries.
Cassini catches four little moons in motion
I've posted animations from Cassini before in which there are multiple moons moving around, but this is one of the coolest such sequences I've seen yet.
The enigmatic mounds of Acidalia Planitia
Acidalia Planitia is a large basin in Mars' northern lowlands, a dark splotch visible even from Earth telescopes.
Is Eberswalde Really a Smoking Gun?
The other day in Mars journal club, we took a look at a paper about the
Goodies from the latest Cassini data release
I've spent a pleasurable hour or so browsing over the latest release of images from Cassini to the Planetary Data System.
Big Sky Country
Well folks, I'm headed off to Big Sky Country tomorrow (aka Montana)! I'll start the week at the MSL camera team meeting, where I will get all sorts of cool news about the MastCam, MAHLI and MARDI cameras which I will not be able to share with you.
Umbra in Paradise: The July 11, 2010 Planetary Society Solar Eclipse Expedition
If you've never seen a total eclipse of the Sun, make sure to put one on your bucket list!
New crater found in LROC image from the Moon
This news is no surprise, but I think it's the first such discovery I've heard of: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team has identified a new crater on the Moon, one that wasn't there when Apollo 15 flew over.
New Horizons images Jupiter again
Three years after New Horizons flew past Jupiter on its way to Pluto, the spacecraft has imaged the giant planet again.
Voyager at Saturn, one year later
Here are two newly processed portraits of Saturn, showing the planet just after its equinox.
A spectacular new global map of Mars, which YOU can make even better
I am such a nerd. This new map of Mars just brought tears to my eyes. Honestly.
Watching the birth and death of moonlets in Saturn's F ring
The Saturn system is always in motion, always changing. Saturn itself is a gas giant, with swirling storms, and like the other gas giants it has a host of moons flying around, perturbing each other's motions. And then there's the rings.
Color portrait of asteroid 21 Lutetia
Since it doesn't look like the Rosetta mission is going to be releasing any color versions of their Lutetia close-encounter images any time soon, I figured it was time to make one.
Volcanism across the solar system: Io
Three months ago, grandiosely, I announced that I was going to survey volcanism across the solar system, and I began the journey on Earth. Then I failed to follow up.