Blogs

What's up in solar system exploration: August 2015 edition

Emily Lakdawalla • August 10, 2015 •

I'm back from two weeks' vacation, so it's time to catch up on the status of all our intrepid planetary missions, from Akatsuki to the Voyagers and hitting the Moon, Mars, asteroids, comets, and Saturn in between.

The not-planets

Emily Lakdawalla • July 14, 2015 •

Now that I have a reasonable-resolution global color view of Pluto, I can drop it into one of my trademark scale image montages, to show you how it fits in with the rest of the similar-sized worlds in the solar system: the major moons and the biggest asteroids.

Two Months from Pluto!

Paul Schenk • May 19, 2015 •

Two months. Eight and half weeks. 58 days. It's a concept almost too difficult to grasp: we are on Pluto's doorstep.

A Sky Full of Stars

Bill Dunford • March 09, 2015 •

In pictures of the planets, the stars aren't usually visible. But when they do appear, they're spectacular.

Approaching Ceres: one bright spot turns into two

At last, Ceres is a geological world

Emily Lakdawalla • February 25, 2015 •

I've been resisting all urges to speculate on what kinds of geological features are present on Ceres, until now. Finally, Dawn has gotten close enough that the pictures it has returned show geology: bright spots, flat-floored craters, and enigmatic grooves.