Explore Worlds
Find Life
Defend Earth
Where did we come from? Are we alone in the Universe? We can only answer these questions by exploring the planets and other worlds of our solar system and beyond. Learn why these worlds are so important, and how you can get involved.
Your Guide to Mercury
Mercury, the innermost planet, can teach us how the planets formed and what the early solar system was like when life arose on Earth.
Your Guide to Venus
Venus may have had oceans and been habitable to life before being transformed into an inhospitable wasteland.
Earth
Earth is our home and the only world known so far to harbor life.
Your Guide to the Moon
The Moon is the only world besides Earth ever visited by humans. By studying it, scientists can piece together Earth’s origin story.
Your Guide to Mars
Mars, the Red Planet, once had liquid water on the surface and could have supported life. We don't know how it changed to the cold, dry desert-world it is today.
Asteroids, Comets, and Other Small Worlds
There are countless asteroids, comets, and small worlds in our solar system to explore besides the planets.
Your Guide to Jupiter
Jupiter, our largest planet, teaches us how solar systems evolve. Its four planet-like moons make it a solar system of its own.
Your Guide to Saturn
Saturn is the crown jewel of our solar system. It has a stunning set of rings, diverse moons, and so much more to explore.
Uranus
Uranus may be the butt of many jokes, but there's more to this ice giant than meets the eye.
Neptune
Chilly Neptune has winds that travel faster than the speed of sound on Earth.
Your Guide to Exoplanets
We know of more than 4,000 planets orbiting other stars. Does one of them host life as we know it?
A Pale Blue Dot
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us.
What is a Planet?
It's right there in our name: The Planetary Society. But what is a planet? This seemingly simple question is the subject of much debate.
Learn MoreLatest Articles
Your guide to total, partial, and annular eclipses: what causes them, what you'll see, and when the next one will happen.
It's a banner year for sample return missions. In 2020, China, Japan, and the United States are all scheduled to have sample return missions in flight, seeking to retrieve material from near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and eventually Mars.
The Planetary Society has a new improved guide to all the places we've landed—or crashed—on Mars, plus planned locations for the upcoming Perseverance, Tianwen-1, and Rosalind Franklin rover missions.
A group of researchers, backed by NASA funding, wants to use solar sails and the Sun's gravity to capture an image of an exoplanet so sharp we can see continents, oceans, and clouds.