Articles

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

Proximity and distance

Looking at planets and moons from near and far, and figuring out how to get all the way out there.

Seeing Ourselves in Space

When we look at our planet, look for life, or direct a rover to look at itself, we see ourselves in new ways.

Cassini's 'Last Dance': A final portrait at Saturn

The best pictures of Saturn’s rings

Here are some of our favorite pictures of Saturn's iconic rings, featuring images from Cassini, Voyager 1 and 2 and 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.

The Solar System According to Carolyn Porco

The leader of the Cassini spacecraft imaging team discusses pale blue dots, life on Enceladus, terraforming Mars, Pluto, Carl Sagan, and more.

Global color view of Titan with a polar hood (7 December 2011)

In 1983, Carl Sagan Urged NASA to Send a Mission to Saturn and Titan

Long before the Cassini-Hugygens spacecraft launched in 1997 to explore Saturn and Titan, The Planetary Society urged NASA to make the mission a reality.

My 18-Month Affair With Titan

Ian Regan, producer of the Titan segment of In Saturn's Rings, describes the meticulous process of creating the stunning visuals of this shrouded moon.

One of the Cassini mission's goals was to figure out how long a day on Saturn is. We still don't know. A new paper reports a measurement of the rotation period of Saturn that is different from past measurements.

Merged Cassini and Juno global map of 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.

Moon Monday: Prometheus

Happy Monday! Here's a picture of Prometheus. You may think it's a picture of Saturn. Look hard, toward the bottom, and you'll see Prometheus, doing its part to keep the F ring in line.

#MoonMon: Io's pretty plumes

On this Moon Monday, I'm featuring an animation processed by Gordan Ugarkovic, showing Jupiter's volcanic moon Io with its prominent plumes.

#LPSC2018: Titan Is Terrific!

Emily's first report from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference is on the solar system's most atmospheriffic satellite, Saturn's moon Titan.

Cassini’s Last Dance With Saturn: The Farewell Mosaic

Amateur image processor Ian Regan shares the story of processing Cassini's final images of the ringed planet.

Fall 2017 issue of The Planetary Report now available

The Fall 2017 issue of The Planetary Report is in the mail and available online now to our members!

Cassini: The dying of the light

Cassini is no more. At 10:31 according to its own clock, its thrusters could no longer hold its radio antenna pointed at Earth, and it turned away. A minute later, it vaporized in Saturn’s atmosphere. Its atoms are part of Saturn now.