#solarsystem

Science & Technology | Science

The closest planet to Earth? Probably not the one you’re thinking of

There has recently been some confusion over which of the planets of the Solar System is closest to Earth.

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'Hidden' planet at edge of our solar system could be five times the size of Earth

Scientists believe that a huge planet which has never been seen by astronomers could be lurking, almost invisibly, at the dark edges of our solar system.

Science & Technology | Science & Technology

NASA video explains why Venus is often called ‘Earth’s evil twin’

Astronomers often refer to Venus as Earth's evil twin, but what exactly does that mean and why did that nickname come to be?

Science & Technology | Science & Space

We've Never Found Anything Like The Solar System. Is It a Freak in Space?

Since the landmark discovery in 1992 of two planets orbiting a star outside of our Solar System, thousands of new worlds have been added to a rapidly growing list of 'exoplanets' in the Milky Way galaxy.  We've learnt many things from this

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Two skyscraper-size asteroids are barreling toward Earth this weekend

Two asteroids, 2016 CZ31 and 2013 CU83, are headed toward Earth for back-to-back flybys this weekend.

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Planet Nine: The answer to this cosmic mystery may come sooner than you think

Is it a planet, a black hole, or a group of planets? One astronomer has an ambitious idea to find out.

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We now know why Uranus and Neptune are different colours

Observations have revealed why Uranus and Neptune – the same in almost every way – are different colours.

Science & Technology | Science & Technology

What’s Happening To Neptune? Massive Telescopes See Something Weird Going On With The Eighth Planet

Surprised astronomers have watched a drop in Neptune’s global temperatures followed by a dramatic warming at its south pole. What's happening on the "ice giant" and should NASA send a spacecraft to investigate?

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Sun erupts with 17 flares from single sunspot, triggering solar storms

An overactive sunspot erupted with 17 different flares since Monday (March 28) and could amp up Earth's auroras.

Miscellaneous | Interesting Links

You Can Own a Piece of Mars—Provided You Have $800,000

A new Christie's auction features chunks of Mars, the Moon, and the only known meteorite to ever cause a fatality. (It was a cow.)

Science & Technology | Science & Space

Could NASA Really Find Life on Venus? Here's The Most Likely Place to Look

NASA has selected two missions, dubbed DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, to study the "lost habitable" world of Venus. Each mission will receive approximately US$500 million for development and both are expected to launch between 2028 and 2030.

Science & Technology | Science & Technology

These 7 Earth-size exoplanets named after beer may be incredibly similar

Just 40 light-years from Earth is the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, which includes seven rocky Earth-size planets closely orbiting a dwarf star. Unlike in our solar system, these planets all have a similar density and may have the same composition.

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Why Doesn't the Earth Have a Bunch of Mini Moons? | WIRED

To answer this question, let's take a look at something called the Three-Body Problem.

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Scientists find possible sign of life on Venus

Astronomers have found phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, possibly indicating life.

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A green glow has appeared around Mars

The Mars Trace Gas Orbiter spotted a phenomenon on Mars that has also been observed around Earth. A green glow outlining the planet is the result of charged oxygen atoms gradually calming down.

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$700 Quintillion Metal Asteroid Is Likely Former Planet Core

16 Psyche, an asteroid made up of 95% metals, is estimated to be worth $700 quintillion, and may even be the former core of a protoplanet.

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Interstellar space even weirder than expected, NASA's Voyager 2 reveals

The spacecraft is just the second ever to venture beyond the boundary that separates us from the rest of the galaxy.

Science & Technology | Science & Space

Why is space so cold if the sun is so hot?

Earth is a pretty mild place, but space is full of wild temperature extremes.

Science & Technology | Science

Voyager Mission Detects Unexpected Pressure At The Edge Of The Solar System

NASA’s Voyager 1 mission scientists have calculated the total pressure from particles in the outer region of the solar system, known as the heliosheath during an opportune timing of a solar event that made the measurement possible.

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NASA confirms mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa to explore its icy oceans | TechCrunch

NASA has confirmed a mission to Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, will indeed happen. The mission was initially explored starting in 2017, with the space agency looking for reports on how it might proceed, and now NASA has said it will go ahead and mov

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The moon may be tectonically active, and geologists are shaken

A new look at Apollo-era seismic data revealed that the moon's insides might be warmer than scientists thought possible.

Miscellaneous | Interesting Links

Weirdly shaped, very dark: Ultima Thule is revealing the outer solar system’s secrets

Scientists are learning more and more about Ultima Thule, the Kuiper Belt object visited two months ago by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft.

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The solar system's hidden Planet X may finally be spotted soon

A new paper suggests the hidden world known as Planet X is closer to being seen than previously thought.

Science & Technology | Science & Space

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Just Smashed Two Records in a Single Day

NASA’s historic mission to “touch the Sun” just reached two important milestones: It now holds the record for the closest approach to the Sun by a human-built object—and also the record for the fastest spacecraft ever sent into space.

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Astronomers have found a new crop of moons around Jupiter, and one of them is a weirdo - The Verge

Ten more moons have been confirmed to orbit around Jupiter, bringing the planet’s total known satellite count to 79. That’s the highest number of moons of any planet in the Solar System.

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The Next Solar Eclipse: Eclipse Maps for the Next 50 Years | Time.com

We've listed every total solar eclipse for the next 50 years, after the one on August 21, with maps showing each eclipse's projected path

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Here's how to see other planets during the total solar eclipse

If you look to the sky during the total solar eclipse on August 21, planets will appear. Here's how to see them.

Science & Technology | Cool Stuff

Scientists have a new plan for finding extraterrestrial life in our Solar System

Humanity hasn't even scratched the surface of exploring the Milky Way galaxy, much less the rest of the universe, but when it comes to our own Solar System, we have a pretty good idea of what's here.

Science & Technology | Science & Space

Why Are the Mountains on Mars So Much Taller Than Those on Earth? | Mental Floss

Test your knowledge with amazing and interesting facts, trivia, quizzes, and brain teaser games on MentalFloss.com.

Science & Technology | Cosmic Research

Animation shows how many dwarf planets might orbit past Pluto

Pluto is just an icy appetizer for dwarf planets that may exist in the Kuiper Belt.

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What Happened To The Object That Created Our Moon?

What happened to the object that slammed into the Earth to create the Moon? Was it destroyed entirely, or does it linger in one place?

Science & Technology | Cosmic Research

Earth-like Planet Discovered Near Solar System

European astronomers announced their discovery of a small rocky planet potentially hospitable to life circling the star closest to our own solar system—our nearest neighbor in a galaxy dense with unexplored alien worlds.

Science & Technology | Cool Stuff

Planet Nine? Evidence Grows for Big Addition to Solar System

As described by Brown and fellow astronomer Konstantin Batygin Wednesday in the Astronomical Journal, this new planet would be roughly 10 times the size of the Earth and would take as much as 20,000 years to make a single orbit around the sun. Its theore

Science & Technology | Cosmic Research

Leading Theory Of Solar System Formation Just Disproved! — Starts With A Bang! — Medium

Looks like the inner planets formed *after* the gas giants moved to their current position, and Jupiter ejected a fifth …

Science & Technology | Cosmic Research

To Scale: The Solar System on Vimeo

On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our place in…

Science & Technology | Cool Stuff

NASA probe beams back its first color image of Pluto - CNN.com

After more than nine years of traveling through the solar system, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has sent back its first color image of Pluto.

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NASA releases stunning five-year time lapse of the sun

The Solar Dynamics Observatory, which launched five years ago, has been recording breathtaking images of the Sun.

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Rings Like Saturn’s, but Supersized | TIME

Think you've seen big rings in our own solar system? Not even close.

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Astronomers Find Evidence Of Two Undiscovered Planets In Our Solar System

The possibility of a planet lurking in the outer reaches of the solar system has gained new ground, based on the orbits of recently discovered objects. There is a new twist to the latest evidence, however, with suggestions of not one but two large planets

Science & Technology | Cool Stuff

Scientists: Water on Earth is older than the sun and solar system - The Week

Some 30 to 50 percent of the water on Earth was created more than 4.5 billion years ago and is older than the solar system and the sun, researchers say.

Science & Technology | Cool Stuff

Voyager 2's view of solar system's edge will be unique - space - 29 August 2014

There's reason to think Voyager 2's sensors will pick up changes that contrast with what Voyager 1 saw en route to the edge of interstellar space