All
All
Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Hayabusa's return: a review
Hayabusa's return: round up some of the amazing photos, movies, and artworks that were posted and shared and Tweeted and re-Tweeted over the previous dozen hours or so.
Six days left for Hayabusa: A recap of the mission
The Hayabusa spacecraft is about to die. On Sunday, June 13, at 14:00 UTC, Hayabusa will burn up in Earth's atmosphere, bringing its dramatic seven-year mission to an end.
Progress on WISE's asteroid survey
I wrote some time ago about the expectations for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)'s contributions to solar system science. A couple of days ago, JPL posted an image and movie documenting the progress to date.
Arecibo saves us from another potentially hazardous asteroid
That's a bit of an overdramatic title, but it's true that the most efficient way for us to reduce the risk we face from asteroids that have a very small chance of hitting Earth in the future is to determine their orbits more precisely.
How radio telescopes get "images" of asteroids [DEPRECATED]
Every time I post a radio telescope image of a near-Earth asteroid, I get at least one reader question asking me to explain how radio telescopes take photos, so I'm hereby writing a post explaining the basics of how delay-Doppler imaging works.
Naming X: A contest for kids to name small bodies
A contest has just been announced that appears to create a pathway for schoolchildren to suggest names to the International Astronomical Union for minor planets -- all those small things in the solar system that don't orbit the eight big ones.
Hubble turns 20
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. It's hard to believe it's been going strong for so many years.
Hayabusa's coming home
It really looks like Hayabusa is going to make it home. Hayabusa's sample return capsule will be returning to Earth on June 13, 2010, landing in the Woomera Prohibited Area, Australia at about 14:00 UTC.
21 Lutetia, Rosetta's July target
While I was waiting for President Obama's speech yesterday, I read over a paper by I. N. Belskaya et al titled
Quaoar: A rock in the Kuiper Belt
The paper I'm writing about today,
Updates on Shoemaker NEO Grant Recipients (18 March 2010)
Our past Shoemaker NEO grant recipients have once again shown themselves to be a hardworking and enterprising group.
Propose for a Shoemaker Near Earth Object Grant
Are you a serious amateur astronomer who enjoys the challenge of following up on the discoveries of faint near-Earth objects?
LPSC: Wrapping up Tuesday: The Moon, Mars, Mercury, Vesta, and back to Mars
Well, it's already mid-day on the Friday a week after the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference ended and I'm STILL not done writing up my notes.
Programming Note: The Pluto Files
This is just a brief note to advertise this evening's edition of NOVA on public television here in the U.S. The show is
Lovely album of photos from WISE
Today the Wide-field Survey Explorer (WISE) team released a small album of beautiful astrophotos.
Inside the U.N.'s Near Earth Object Working Group
This week Bruce Betts is attending a U.N. meeting in Austria, in particular the parts focused on international considerations of the near-Earth object threat.
Planetary Society Researcher Max Rocca Discovers Largest Impact Crater in South America
It was January of 2004 when the elegant curve of the Vichada first caught the attention of geologist Max Rocca of Buenos Aires. Could the course of the river have been shaped by the circular outlines of an impact crater? Rocca decided to find out.
WISE has found its first comet, P/2010 B2 (WISE)
Having discovered its first asteroid on January 12, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has now officially discovered its first comet, P/2010 B2 (WISE).
New maps of Pluto show pretty amazing amounts of surface change
I just posted my writeup of today's press briefing on a new map of Pluto produced from Hubble images. The main conclusion was that Pluto has shown an astonishing amount of changes across its surface between 1994 and 2002 -- more, in fact, than any other solid surface in the solar system.
Spectacular Hubble view of the aftermath of an asteroid collision
Hubble has caught an astonishing view of something that's never before been observed, the aftermath of a collision between two asteroids in the main belt.