Explore Worlds
Find Life
Defend Earth
All
All
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Hayabusa2’s flyby of asteroid Torifune
On Sunday, July 5, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Hayabusa2 probe performed a close flyby of the asteroid Torifune.
Solstices, equinoxes, and seasons
How Earth’s tilted axis causes our seasons.
A STEP Grant update: Growing our understanding of deep-space agriculture
The 2023 round of The Planetary Society’s Science and Technology Empowered by the Public (STEP) Grants awarded $50,000 USD to a team led by Dr. Andrew Palmer of the Florida Institute of Technology to study deep-space agriculture to address the challenge of feeding astronauts on long-duration missions.
How do things in space get their names?
From a lunar feature named after a loved one to a planet named after a god, traditions and rules guide how we name things in space.
The best images from Artemis II
Our favorite images from humanity's return to the Moon.
How do you define a planet?
As our ability to study space has improved, our definitions of planets have evolved.
Why do some planets have rings and others don't?
The giant planets of our Solar System all have rings, as do some dwarf planets and even asteroids. So why don’t Mercury, Venus, Earth, or Mars?
What is a "planetary alignment"?
What to expect when multiple planets appear in the sky together.
The Artemis II mission
Artemis II sent humans back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, with four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon and back.
Rogue worlds and the boundaries of planethood
Exploring rogue planets, how they form, and how they expand our conception of what counts as a planet.
The year in pictures 2025
The most memorable and impactful images from space exploration in 2025.
The Planetary Society's Best of 2025 Winners
The official results of The Planetary Society's Best of 2025 voting campaign.
“We’re made of starstuff.” What does that mean?
Carl Sagan's famous quote is more than just poetic — it's true.
What is comet 3I/ATLAS?
A roundup of key facts and surprising discoveries about the third known interstellar object.
A test bed in the search for life
Updates from a Planetary Society STEP Grant-funded project.
The pale blue dot 35 years later
On its 35th anniversary, a reflection on what the pale blue dot means to us.
When space rocks get too close for comfort
Some of the best-documented encounters Earthlings have had with asteroids and meteorites.
Scientists behind threatened NASA missions explain what’s at stake
Here is what they have to say, in their own words.
It's not magic; it's magnetic!
The magnetism behind spectacular phenomena.
Not too hot to handle
How a spacecraft is able to touch the Sun.