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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Checking in on Uranus and Neptune, September 2015 edition
There are no spacecraft at Uranus or Neptune, and there haven't been for 30 and 25 years, respectively. So we depend on Earth-based astronomers to monitor them, including Damian Peach.
Searching for the Origins of Earth’s Water
Three recently proposed low-cost space missions all aim to answer the same question: Where did Earth's abundant water come from?
Spectacular New Horizons photo of Pluto's hazes and mountains: How it was made
Today, New Horizons released a stunning new image of Pluto's backlit mountains and hazes. I explain how the image was taken with its Ralph Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera.
Roundup of the September 11, 2015 New Horizons raw image release
Last Friday the Internet received its first post-encounter pile of goodies from the New Horizons flyby of the Pluto system.
How the duck got its neck: Rapid temperature changes from self-shadowing may explain 67P's unusual activity and shape
When Rosetta approached comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko last summer, both its shape and its activity were surprising. It looked like two comets welded together at a skinny neck. A new paper explains how the neck may be steepening itself.
Pretty Pictures: Downlink of the Full New Horizons Data Set Has Begun
New Horizons has begun the long process of downlinking all the images it acquired during its July Pluto flyby.
Dawn Ceres image bonanza: Grab your 3D glasses!
For months, Dawn has been steadily, methodically sharing dozens of images of brand-new sights of a previously unexplored icy world. For the last couple of days I've been making up for lost time, completely buried in the Dawn Ceres images, and I have some maps and 3D anaglyphs to share with you.
Aluminum Shapemodel of Comet 67P
Mattias Malmer describes his MacGyver-esque process in creating a homemade aluminum version of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
Populating the OSIRIS-REx Science Deck
The assembly of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft continues, with many elements integrated onto the spacecraft ahead of schedule. Last month both OTES and OVIRS were delivered to Lockheed Martin and installed on the science deck.
New Horizons extended mission target selected
The New Horizons mission has formally selected its next target after Pluto: a tiny, dim, frozen world currently named 2014 MU69. The spacecraft will perform a series of four rocket firings in October and November to angle its trajectory to pass close by 2014 MU69 in early January 2019. In so doing, New Horizons will become the first flyby craft to pass by a target that was not discovered before the spacecraft launched.
Three space fan visualizations of New Horizons' Pluto-Charon flyby
It has been a difficult wait for new New Horizons images, but the wait is almost over; Alan Stern announced at today's Outer Planets Advisory Group meeting that image downlink will resume September 5. In the meantime, a few space fans are making the most of the small amount of data that has been returned to date.
Dawn Journal: Mapping Ceres
More than two centuries after its discovery, Ceres is being mapped in great detail by the Dawn spacecraft. Chief Engineer and Mission Director Marc Rayman gives an update on Dawn's progress.
ESA's cool new interactive comet visualization tool based on amateur imaging work with open data
A terrific new visualization tool for comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko demonstrates the value of sharing mission image data with the public. The browser-based tool lets you spin a simulated 3D view of the comet. It began with a 3D model of the comet created not by ESA, but by a space enthusiast, Mattias Malmer.
New Robotic Spacecraft Posters
Another round of posters to celebrate historic planetary missions.
Dawn Journal: Descent to HAMO
With a wonderfully rich bounty of pictures and other observations already secured, Dawn is now on its way to an even better vantage point around dwarf planet Ceres.
Proposals to Explore the Solar System’s Smallest Worlds
Van Kane rounds up some of the latest NASA Discovery mission proposals aiming to explore our solar system's smallest bodies.
Looking back at Pluto
I don't think anyone was prepared for the beauty -- or the instant scientific discoveries -- in this
What in the world(s) are tholins?
The question “why is Pluto red” has been answered with a word that most people have never heard of and perhaps even fewer people can actually define—“tholins”.
New Horizons encounter plus one week: Weird and wonderful images from the Pluto system
So many new image goodies from the Pluto system!
Dawn at Ceres: A haze in Occator crater?
While Pluto deservedly stole the headlines last week, Chris Russell’s Dawn update at the Exploration Science Forum at NASA Ames reminded us that the other dwarf planets are also sharing their secrets with eager scientists.