Articles

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

It’s a team effort

Robots, scientists, citizens, and artists team up to explore the Cosmos in this week’s Downlink.

A space smorgasbord

Sample the best tidbits from space exploration this week, including news from across the Solar System and beyond, and personal insights from leaders of exploration.

How Uranus and Neptune are key to unlocking how planets form

A flagship mission to the ice giants — Uranus and Neptune — will forever change our understanding of the origin and evolution of our solar system.

Meet the snow worlds

Earth isn't the only planet with snow. From Io to Enceladus, here's where snow can be found in our solar system.

New year, same universe

While missions are achieving new things, the cosmos reminds us that some things are universal.

Space is always worth the wait

With space missions like JWST and Voyager, decades of development yield decades of discovery.

Explorers beware, you’re in for a scare!

In celebration of Halloween, take a terrifying tour through our creepy cosmos.

NASA’s Lucy mission: an odyssey to the Trojan asteroids

On October 16, NASA's Lucy spacecraft is expected to depart for the Trojan asteroids — rocky bodies that share an orbit with Jupiter.

Some good old-fashioned space mysteries

Exploration is teaching us a lot about the cosmos, and a lot about how much we still don’t know.

Hubble Space Telescope picture of Jupiter, 2020

The shape of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is changing. Here’s why.

A new study says the winds within the famous Great Red Spot are speeding up in some places and slowing down in others.

Jaw-Dropping Jupiter

10 years after launching, Juno is still showing us Jupiter’s stunning beauty.

Cyclones and Storms and Flares, Oh My!

Jupiter’s cyclones are beautiful, and the Sun’s storms and flares are a little bit scary.

Eclipses: It’s All About Perspective

Look at eclipses from the perspective of Earth, the Moon, and beyond. Plus catch up on the week’s space news.

Io's shadow on Jupiter during perijove 22 (closeup)

The best Jupiter pictures from NASA’s Juno mission

As the spacecraft prepares to embark on its extended mission, here are some of the most captivating images of Jupiter from NASA's Juno probe so far.

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.