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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Solar Plasma and Europan Magma
From solar storms to underwater volcanoes and asteroid close calls, catch up on what’s scary and beautiful this week in space.
Saving the World One Asteroid at a Time
Don’t leave it up to cosmic fate; take action right now to defend our planet from dangerous impacts.
Why lightning on Jupiter is a planetary unsolved mystery
As NASA's Juno spacecraft prepares for its extended mission, it’s worth taking a look back at why Jupiter’s lightning remains one of the planet's most fascinating enigmas.
A cosmic bowling ball spinning through space
Jupiter is a world of extremes, and Venus hints at some mysteries. You can take action to help learn more about these worlds and others.
Cosmic streaks, smudges, and fuzz
See images of the cosmos that reflect fascinating features of worlds and stars, and take action to advance exploration.
Solar System History 101
How did our solar system come to be? Why are the planets, asteroids, comets, and other small worlds where they are now?
Jupiter and Saturn Great Conjunction Viewing Guide
There's still time to get outside and see Jupiter and Saturn together in the evening sky.
Atmospheres that intrigue, protect, and obscure
Catch up on the week’s space news and consider planetary atmospheres from a few thought-provoking perspectives.
Jupiter dazzles and Neptune beckons
Feast your eyes on these images from space, catch up on the latest in exploration news, and get the lowdown on what’s up in the night sky.
What’s up (and down) in space?
Wrap your head around orientations in space, and learn the latest in space exploration news.
Jupiter from near and far, and two humans return to Earth
This week, learn about the conditions of the early solar system and get ready for next week’s meteor shower, plus more.
The Next 10 Years
Six scientists share the major planetary science discoveries of the past decade, and the questions that will drive the next 10 years of solar system exploration.
What the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impact Taught Us
Twenty-five years ago, multiple fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter, changing the face of the planet and the course of planetary science.
A new look at Europa, with old data
Ted Stryk shows us a new color, near-global view of Europa made from Galileo spacecraft data captured in 1996.
The Making of Life
Michael L. Wong asks how our understanding of the origin of life on Earth informs our search for it elsewhere.
How I created a Jupiter rotation video using Hubble data
Judy Schmidt shares the technique she used to make a beautiful new animation of Jupiter.
Looking at Io's Volcanoes Since Galileo
It’s been almost 17 years since NASA's Galileo spacecraft took meaningful data of Jupiter’s volcanic moon.
Here are some recent postcards from Jupiter
Let's check in on NASA's Juno spacecraft, which completed its 14th close flyby of Jupiter last month.
Eleven perijoves
Seán Doran has made a cool visual index to the images that JunoCam took during Juno's first 12 closest approaches to Jupiter.
Juno meets Cassini: A new merged global map of Jupiter
The Juno spacecraft that is currently orbiting Jupiter has obtained the first good images of Jupiter's polar regions. I am presenting here a combined global map of Jupiter, made from a Cassini map I made for the equatorial and temperate regions and polar maps made from the Juno JunoCam and JIRAM polar images.