http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/solar_system/ Solar System Planets. Astronomy articles on the eight planets, plus the two dwarf planets, Pluto and Eris. Great pictures of everything in the solar system. Updated daily. en-us Thu, 15 May 2008 01:05:01 EDT Thu, 15 May 2008 01:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/solar_system/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514073843.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls of Martian soil and buried ice. The solar-powered robotic lander will manipulate a 2.35 meter arm (7.7 foot) to scoop up samples of underground ice and soil lying above the ice. Onboard laboratory instruments will analyze the samples. One research goal is to assess whether conditions at the site ever have been favorable for microbial life. Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514073843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507110712.htm New scientific evidence suggests that deep inside the planet Mercury, iron "snow" forms and falls toward the center of the planet, much like snowflakes form in Earth's atmosphere and fall to the ground. The movement of this iron snow could be responsible for Mercury's mysterious magnetic field. Thu, 08 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507110712.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm NASA has a new plan to send a spacecraft closer to the sun than any probe has ever gone. The ambitious Solar Probe mission will study the streams of charged particles the sun hurls into space from a vantage point within the sun's corona -- its outer atmosphere -- where the processes that heat the corona and produce solar wind occur. At closest approach Solar Probe would zip past the sun at 125 miles per second, protected by a carbon-composite heat shield that must withstand up to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and survive blasts of radiation and energized dust at levels not experienced by any previous spacecraft. Sun, 04 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm Astronomers appear to have solved a long-standing mystery about the cause of anomalies in Jupiter's gossamer rings. A faint extension of the outermost ring beyond the orbit of Jupiter's moon Thebe, and other observed deviations from an accepted model of ring formation, result from the interplay of shadow and sunlight on dust particles that make up the rings. Thu, 01 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm A new life-detecting instrument is preparing for a mission to the Red Planet. The Urey: Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector instrument, developed by a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, received approximately $2 million in NASA funding to further refine the design and technology for the European Space Agency's (ESA) 2013 ExoMars Rover Mission. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm As a powerful electrical storm rages on Saturn with lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than those found on Earth, the Cassini spacecraft continues its five-month watch over the dramatic events. Scientists with NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission have been tracking the visibly bright, lightning-generating storm--the longest continually observed electrical storm ever monitored by Cassini. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm Chondritic meteorites have a similar chemical composition to the sun and are therefore reliable witnesses as to what the solar nebula, from which the planets formed, was composed of. This can be used to deduce what the Earth consists of chemically. However, researchers have now discovered that strictly speaking this fundamental geological assumption is not true. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm Astronomers are looking to identify Earth-like watery worlds circling distant stars from a glint of light seen through an optical space telescope and a newly developed mathematical method. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114718.htm A radar instrument has looked beneath the surface of Mars and opened up a new dimension for planetary exploration. The technique's success is prompting scientists to think of other places in the solar system where they would like to use radar sounders. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114718.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm NASA is extending the international Cassini-Huygens mission by two years. The historic spacecraft's stunning discoveries and images have revolutionized our knowledge of Saturn and its moons. Cassini's mission originally had been scheduled to end in July 2008. The newly-announced two-year extension will include 60 additional orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its exotic moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan, seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene. The extension also includes studies of Saturn's rings, its complex magnetosphere, and the planet itself. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415134614.htm NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25 landing on the Red Planet. The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to intersect with Mars. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415134614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414094156.htm The European Space Agency has chosen the GSI accelerator facility to assess radiation risks that astronauts will be exposed to on a Mars mission. GSI was selected because its accelerator is the only one in Europe able to create ion beams similar to those found in space. To determine possible health risks of manned space flights, scientists from all over Europe have been asked to investigate the effects of ion beams in human cells and organs. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414094156.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411091532.htm NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25 landing on the Red Planet. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411091532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092032.htm NASA is preparing to send a small spacecraft to the moon in 2011 to assess the lunar atmosphere and the nature of dust lofted above the surface. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409231029.htm A new stereo view of Phobos, the larger and inner of Mars' two tiny moons, has been captured by a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took two images of Phobos 10 minutes apart on March 23. Scientists combined the images for a stereo view. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409231029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080404114325.htm ESA's Venus Express has measured a highly variable quantity of the volcanic gas sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere of Venus. Scientists must now decide whether this is evidence for active volcanoes on Venus, or linked to a hitherto unknown mechanism affecting the upper atmosphere. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080404114325.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402202055.htm Scientists analyzing the data from the European Venus Express spacecraft now orbiting Earth's prodigal twin planet have been piecing together an understanding of why the climate on both worlds is so different. Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402202055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402160216.htm Astronomers have, for the first time, detected a storm of shooting stars on Mars. The detections were made using predictions of when meteor showers should occur as the orbit of Mars intersects with debris from comet 79P/du Toit-Hartley. These predictions were cross-referenced with observations of activity in the Martian ionosphere. Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402160216.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331191002.htm The Pleiades star cluster will have a beautiful encounter with the slender moon in the western sky after sunset on April 8. Usually the moon's brightness overpowers nearby stars, but not when it's such a thin crescent. Binoculars will reveal the spectacle as the moon passes just below the famous Seven Sisters. The Pleiades are lovely by themselves, and on a clear night they can be seen with the unaided eye in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Known prehistorically, the cluster is identified as a group of women in many cultures around the world, from Australian Aborigine to Native American. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331191002.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330190410.htm Evidence of the biggest meteorite ever to hit the British Isles has been found. Scientists believe that a large meteorite hit northwest Scotland about 1.2 billion years ago near the Scottish town of Ullapool. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330190410.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326151729.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft tasted and sampled a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn's moon Enceladus during a close flyby on March 12. Scientists are amazed that this tiny moon is so active, "hot" and brimming with water vapor and organic chemicals. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326151729.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150022.htm Using visible and infrared data collected from telescopes on Hawaii's Mauna Kea, astronomers have identified three asteroids that appear to be among our solar system's oldest objects. Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150022.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150828.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has discovered evidence that points to the existence of an underground ocean of water and ammonia on Saturn's moon Titan. The findings made using radar measurements of Titan's rotation will appear in the March 21 issue of the journal Science. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150828.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150042.htm Scientists using a Mars-orbiting camera have discovered the first evidence for deposits of chloride minerals -- salts -- in numerous places on Mars. These deposits, say the scientists, show where water was once abundant and may also provide evidence for the existence of former Martian life. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150042.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080319140319.htm A study of meteorites suggests that Mars, the Earth and the Moon share a common composition from 'growing up' in a unique planetary nursery in the inner solar system. The finding could lead to a rethink of how the inner solar system formed. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080319140319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123246.htm Patterns of scalloped-edged cliffs or lobate scarps on Mercury's surface are thrust faults that are consistent with the planet shrinking and cooling with time. However, compression occurred in the planet's early history and Mariner 10 images revealed decades ago that lobate scarps are among the youngest features on Mercury. Why don't we find more evidence of older compressive features? A new simulation reveals a possible cause of Mercury's distinctive features. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123246.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317124002.htm Among luminous spots on Jupiter akin to Earth's Northern lights, scientists have observed a new type of spot. Generally, Jupiter's auroral spots result from waves generated by the giant planet's moon Io. The new discovery upsets previous models of how Jovian auroral spots form, and may have implications for our understanding of distant exoplanets which orbit other stars than the Sun. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317124002.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312115427.htm Promethei Planum, an area seasonally covered with a more than 3500 meters thick layer of ice in the Martian south polar region, has been photographed. The total amount of water ice contained at both the south and north poles of Mars makes up the largest water reservoir on the planet today. If polar ice melted, the entire surface of the planet would be covered by an ocean 11-m deep. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312115427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314112230.htm A new analysis of impact cratering data from Mars reveals that the planet has undergone a series of global volcanic upheavals. These violent episodes spewed lava and water onto the surface, sculpting the landscape that ESA's Mars Express looks down on today. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314112230.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313213204.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft performed a daring flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on March 12, flying about 15 kilometers per second (32,000 mph) through icy water geyser-like jets. The spacecraft snatched up precious samples that might point to a water ocean or organics inside the little moon. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313213204.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310171102.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make an unprecedented "in your face" flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Wed., March 12. The spacecraft, orchestrating its closest approach to date, will skirt along the edges of huge Old-Faithful-like geysers erupting from giant fractures on the south pole of Enceladus. Cassini will sample scientifically valuable water-ice, dust and gas in the plume. The source of the geysers is of great interest to scientists who think liquid water, perhaps even an ocean, may exist in the area. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310171102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307095219.htm On 12th June, a space-bound advertisement will be broadcast from a 500MHz Ultra High Frequency Radar from the EISCAT Space Centre in Svalbard, which lies in the Arctic Ocean about midway between northern Norway and the North Pole. The transmission is being directed at a solar system just 42 light years away from Earth with planets that orbit its star '47 Ursae Majoris' (UMa). 47 UMa is located in the Great Bear Constellation (also known as "The Plough") - easily identifiable to even the most amateur stargazer. It is very similar to our Sun and is believed to host a habitable zone that could potentially harbour small terrestrial planets and support life as we know it. Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307095219.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon. A broad debris disk and at least one ring appear to have been detected by a suite of six instruments on Cassini specifically designed to study the atmospheres and particles around Saturn and its moons. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm Using two ESA spacecraft, planetary scientists are watching the atmospheres of Mars and Venus being stripped away into space. The simultaneous observations by Mars Express and Venus Express give scientists the data they need to investigate the evolution of the two planets' atmospheres. Despite the differences in size and distance from the Sun, Mars and Venus are surprisingly similar. Both planets have beams of electrically charged particles flowing out of their atmospheres. The particles are being accelerated away by interactions with the solar wind, a constant stream of electrically charged particles released by the Sun. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303155815.htm A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near the Red Planet's north pole. The image shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303155815.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227182335.htm NASA has obtained the highest resolution terrain mapping to date of the moon's rugged south polar region, with a resolution to 20 meters per pixel. The imagery generated by the data has been incorporated into animation depicting the descent to the lunar surface of a future human lunar lander and a flyover of Shackleton Crater. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227182335.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160450.htm Two students are currently living, working and communicating with the outside world as if they were on a mission to Mars. Whenever they go outside their small, round habitat where eight people are spending a two-week "mission," they don spacesuits and pass through an airlock. When they send e-mail, it takes 20 minutes before the recipient can see it -- the time it takes for radio waves to travel to and from the red planet. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160450.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160017.htm A mega-collision between two large embryonic planets could have created Venus as we know it, according to a new paper by a Cardiff University scientist. Venus is a sister planet to Earth. It is nearly the same size and density yet it has a surface temperature of 720 K, an atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide and no evidence of oceans or ridges. It has been described as "Earth's evil twin". Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160017.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225110209.htm Modeling of the Earth's atmosphere has acquired economic importance due to its use in the prediction of ozone depletion and in measuring the impact of global warming. Now researchers have found that the rate at which electrons lose energy to carbon monoxide is greater than that to carbon dioxide at higher levels in the atmospheres of both Mars and Venus. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225110209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221084148.htm Venus Express has revealed a planet of extraordinarily changeable and extremely large-scale weather. Bright hazes appear in a matter of days, reaching from the south pole to the low southern latitudes and disappearing just as quickly. Such 'global weather', unlike anything on Earth, has given scientists a new mystery to solve. The cloud-covered world of Venus is all but a featureless, unchangeable globe at visible wavelengths of light. Switch to the ultraviolet and it reveals a truly dynamic nature. Transient dark and bright markings stripe the planet, indicating regions where solar ultraviolet radiation is absorbed or reflected, respectively. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221084148.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220195614.htm Gaps in the soup of high energy particles near the orbits of two of Saturn's tiny moons indicate that Saturn may be surrounded by undiscovered, near-invisible partial rings. And, the larger Saturnian moons may not be the only ones contributing material to Saturn's ring system. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220195614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222112324.htm An enormous plume of dust and water spurts violently into space from the south pole of Enceladus, Saturn's sixth-largest moon. This raging eruption has intrigued scientists ever since the Cassini spacecraft provided dramatic images of the phenomenon. Now a physicist has revealed why the dust particles in the plume emerge more slowly than the water vapour escaping from the moon's icy crust. Enceladus orbits in Saturn's outermost "E" ring. It is one of only three outer solar system bodies that produce active eruptions of dust and water vapour. Moreover, aside from the Earth, Mars, and Jupiter's moon Europa, it is one of the only places in the solar system for which astronomers have direct evidence of the presence of water. Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222112324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220200415.htm Like salt used as a preservative, high concentrations of dissolved minerals in the wet, early-Mars environment known from discoveries by NASA's Opportunity rover may have thwarted any microbes from developing or surviving. "Not all water is fit to drink," said one of the scientists. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220200415.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080219122014.htm Despite the incredible diversity of Saturn's icy moons, theirs is a story of great interaction. Some of them are pock-marked, some seemingly dirty, others pristine, one spongy, one two-faced, some still spewing with activity and some seeming to be captured from the far reaches of the solar system. Yet many of them have a common thread -- black "stuff" coating their surfaces. "We are beginning to unravel the mysteries of these different and strange moons," said Rosaly Lopes, Cassini scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. She coordinated a special section of 14 papers about Saturn's icy moons that appears in the February issue of the journal Icarus. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080219122014.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080205111718.htm Mars is about to come into 3D focus as never before, thanks to the data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera. A new high-resolution Digital Terrain Model data set that has just been released onto the Internet, will allow researchers to obtain new information about the Red Planet in 3D. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080205111718.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213111050.htm European scientists have developed the most accurate method yet for predicting the doses of radiation that astronauts will receive aboard the orbiting European laboratory module, Columbus, recently attached to the ISS. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213111050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080212143619.htm One of Saturn's rings does housecleaning, soaking up material gushing from the fountains on Saturn's tiny ice moon Enceladus, according to new observations from the Cassini spacecraft. This is the latest surprising phenomenon associated with the ice geysers of Enceladus to be discovered or confirmed by Cassini scientists. Earlier, the geysers were found to be responsible for the content of the E-ring. Next, the whole magnetic environment of Saturn was found to be weighed down by the material spewing from Enceladus, which becomes plasma -- a gas of electrically charged particles. Now, Cassini scientists confirm that the plasma, which creates a donut-shaped cloud around Saturn, is being snatched by Saturn's A-ring, which acts like a giant sponge where the plasma is absorbed. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080212143619.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214144532.htm Astronomers have discovered two planets that resemble smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn in a solar system nearly 5,000 light years away. The find suggests that our galaxy hosts many planetary systems like our own. The newly-discovered planets appear to be gaseous planets like Jupiter and Saturn -- only about 80 percent as big -- and they orbit a star about half the size of the sun. The star is dim and cold compared to ours, issuing only five percent as much light. Still, the new solar system appears to be a smaller analog of our own. The larger planet is about as massive compared to its star as Jupiter is to ours. The smaller planet shares a similar mass ratio with Saturn. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214144532.htm