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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
The Voyager Golden Records: A cosmic love letter
How a message to aliens captured the human spirit.
Computing in space exploration history
Before artificial intelligence, there was human ingenuity.
Earthlings as aliens
Looking at life on Earth from another perspective.
Why the true colors of the planets aren't what you think
Cameras on our space probes act as proxies for our own eyes, but what they see isn't necessarily what our eyes would see.
Why aren't there more close-up images of Uranus and Neptune?
There aren't many close-up, high-resolution images of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. The reason comes down to distance.
How do humans try to communicate with aliens?
SETI is the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, using various techniques to look for signals from advanced alien civilizations. METI (messaging extraterrestrial intelligence) is when we send out our own signals for aliens to find.
Moonshadow, Moonshadow
The Moon casts shadows on itself and on Earth, environmental concerns overshadow a test launch’s success, and exoplanets are awesome (beyond a shadow of a doubt).
Going the distance to get the shot
A brief history of space imaging
Your guide to rings of the Solar System
Tour the rings of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, plus asteroids, a dwarf planet, and an exoplanet.
Launching and descending
Artemis I is on its way to the Moon, Planetary Academy is here to inspire your kids, and LightSail 2 has come down.
Two pale blue dots
Reflecting on Carl Sagan’s influence on this pale blue dot we call Earth.
Patience for Uranus
The road back to Uranus is paved with a complicated mix of science and politics.
Space rocks!
Rock stars love space, and who can blame them! Take a look at awesome images, exciting science, and the connection between music and exploration.
Rather remarkable robots
The robotic explorers of our Cosmos are truly impressive, as showcased by several spacecraft this week.
It’s not easy being this far out
Distant robots run into problems, and distant worlds hold onto secrets — for now.
A fascination with Europa
A look back at when the Voyager spacecraft sparked a love affair with an ocean moon.
Space brings out the best in us
Space exploration is at its core an optimistic, peaceful and cooperative endeavor. This week we look at some reminders of that spirit of exploration.
The best space pictures from the Voyager 1 and 2 missions
NASA’s Voyager missions provided an unprecedented glimpse into the outer solar system.
Olympic-worthy world(s) records
A look at record-breaking missions, worlds and feats of exploration.
Space is always worth the wait
With space missions like JWST and Voyager, decades of development yield decades of discovery.