Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

First pictures from Chang'E 2 released

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced the success of Chang'E-2 lunar mission on Monday. Yong-Chun Zheng, an associate professor at the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, presents the mission's first released pictures.

Field trip to Piton

Rosaly Lopes relates her time at a workshop in Piton.

First view of Piton volcano, Reunion Island

There are about 60 volcanologists here at the meeting and we are wondering if the volcano is going to erupt and, if it does, what we will be able to see.

Expedition to Piton volcano, Reunion Island

It so happens that there is a Calderas Workshop going on the same week as DPS and I was invited to talk about planetary calderas. I chose several on Venus, Mars and Io to focus on.

It's International Observe the Moon Night

Hey everybody, go out and look up at the Moon! It's International Observe the Moon night.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter press briefing: silicic volcanoes on the Moon

I'm listening to a press briefing from several members of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter science team, regarding three papers published today in Science.

Two natural bridges on the Moon (now with 3D!)

Imagine this landscape: you're walking across an unusually smooth lunar surface, an impact melt sheet on the floor of a relatively recently formed crater.

New Flickr collection of historical NASA photos

NASA announced today that they had placed several new sets of historical photos on their

Earth and the Moon from much closer to the Sun

MESSENGER: A snapshot of home

MESSENGER is in a unique position in the solar system, orbiting the Sun well within the orbit of Venus. From there, it can gaze outward from the Sun to search for tiny objects that may possibly be traveling in the same region, called vulcanoids.

Molar Tooth Texture

Ok, so remember the weird rock I showed in my Galcier Park geology post?

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.

The enigmatic mounds of Acidalia Planitia

Acidalia Planitia is a large basin in Mars' northern lowlands, a dark splotch visible even from Earth telescopes.

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.

New impact crater on the Moon found in LROC image

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.

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.