https://phys.org/space-news/planetary-sciences en-us Planetary science and exoplanets exploration news stories and features from Phys.org A Chinese rover has found new evidence to support the theory that Mars was once home to a vast ocean, including tracing some ancient coastline where water may once have lapped, a study said Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-chinese-rover-evidence-ancient-martian.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:56:32 EST news650213785 Scientists have developed a new method to compute how tides affect the interiors of planets and moons. Importantly, the new study looks at the effects of body tides on objects that don't have a perfectly spherical interior structure, which is an assumption of most previous models. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-spectral-method-tidal-effects-planet.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:08:02 EST news650210881 Proba-3 is such an ambitious mission that it needs more than one single spacecraft to succeed. In order for Proba-3's Coronagraph spacecraft observe the sun's faint surrounding atmosphere, its disk-bearing Occulter spacecraft must block out the fiery solar disk. This means Proba-3's Occulter ends up facing the sun continuously, making it a valuable platform for science in its own right. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-proba-constantly-sun-energy-output.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 07 Nov 2024 12:57:49 EST news650206663 When we think of exoplanets that may be able to support life, we home in on the habitable zone. A habitable zone is a region around a star where planets receive enough stellar energy to have liquid surface water. It's a somewhat crude but helpful first step when examining thousands of exoplanets. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-stellar-threats-impact-habitable-zone.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Nov 2024 15:56:04 EST news650130961 Tiny grains from a distant asteroid are revealing clues to the magnetic forces that shaped the far reaches of the solar system more than 4.6 billion years ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-asteroid-grains-outer-solar.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Nov 2024 12:14:04 EST news650117641 One thing we've learned in recent decades is that exoplanets are surprisingly common. So far, we've confirmed nearly 6,000 planets, and we have evidence for thousands more. Most of these planets were discovered using the transit method. though there are other methods as well. Many stars are known to have multiple planets, such as the TRAPPIST-1 system with seven Earth-sized worlds. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-additional-exoplanets.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 05 Nov 2024 16:29:02 EST news650046541 As ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense departed its homeworld, it looked back to Earth to show the moon orbiting around it. In this sequence of images the terrestrial disk gradually shrinks as the spacecraft recedes away from it, and the moon moving around Earth changes from a half to full moon. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-moon-goodbye-hera.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:04:05 EST news650023442 On November 26, 2018, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) mission landed on Mars. This was a major milestone in Mars exploration since it was the first time a research station had been deployed to the surface to probe the planet's interior. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-scientists-figured-martian-soil-crusty.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:02:09 EST news650023321 A trio of geologists and environmental scientists from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of Minnesota has found evidence suggesting that the Haasttse-baad Tessera formation on Venus was likely formed due to two large impacts early in the planet's history. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-venus-haasttse-baad-tessera-formation.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:00:02 EST news650019008 On Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, NASA's Parker Solar Probe will complete its final Venus gravity assist maneuver, passing within 233 miles (376 km) of Venus's surface. The flyby will adjust Parker's trajectory into its final orbital configuration, bringing the spacecraft to within an unprecedented 3.86 million miles of the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024. It will be the closest any human-made object has been to the sun. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-venus-flyby-nasa-parker-solar.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:43:03 EST news649953781 On a cold, ancient Mars, rivers flowed and a lake the size of the Mediterranean Sea swelled under the protection of thick ice ceilings, according to new research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-carbon-dioxide-collapse-icy-mars.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:55:26 EST news649936521 Is there something strange and alien confined deep inside the Earth? Is it trying to break free and escape into the heavens? No, of course not. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-earth-poles-flip.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 01 Nov 2024 23:50:01 EDT news649680168 In the 1997 movie "Contact," adapted from Carl Sagan's 1985 novel, the lead character scientist Ellie Arroway (played by actor Jodi Foster) takes a space-alien-built wormhole ride to the star Vega. She emerges inside a snowstorm of debris encircling the star—but no obvious planets are visible. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-hubble-webb-probe-smooth-disk.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:48:03 EDT news649684081 The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission, a collaboration between NASA and France's CNES (Center National d'Études Spatiales), detected the unique contours of a tsunami that sloshed within the steep walls of a fjord in Greenland in September 2023. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-international-swot-satellite-planet-rumbling.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:43:24 EDT news649680197 Earth planning date: Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 https://phys.org/news/2024-11-sols-team-effort.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:43:17 EDT news649680191 In June 2018, Japan's Hayabusa 2 mission reached asteroid 162173 Ryugu. It studied the asteroid for about 15 months, deploying small rovers and a lander, before gathering a sample and returning it to Earth in December 2020. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-tiny-fragments-billion-year-asteroid.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 31 Oct 2024 09:31:47 EDT news649585903 What do the Earth's gravitational field and the trajectories of satellites and space debris have in common? The Earth's gravitational field influences the orbits of our companions in space, while the changes in the orbits in turn allow conclusions to be drawn about changes in the gravitational field and thus existing water masses. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-laser-track-space-debris-masses.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 30 Oct 2024 16:39:03 EDT news649525141 The Perseverance rover lurks in the quiet, cold, desolate landscape of Jezero crater on Mars, a place masked in shadows and haunted by past mysteries. Built to endure the planet's harsh conditions, Perseverance braves the thin atmosphere and extreme temperature swings. Its microphone captures the eerie whispers of martian winds, sending shivers down your spine, and records ghostly dust devils swirling across the barren terrain. Has the microphone caught the sound of a skeleton rattling its bones? We'll leave that up to your imagination. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-martian-landscape-spooky-soliday.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:56:06 EDT news649522563 Landsat 8's Operational Land Imager acquired this image of an elongated lenticular cloud, locally nicknamed the "Taieri Pet," above New Zealand's South Island on Sept. 7, 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-image-lenticular-cloud.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:00:01 EDT news649511658 The key to unlocking the secrets of distant planets starts right here on Earth. Researchers at Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, and Hokkaido University have developed a model that considers various atmospheric chemical reactions to estimate how the atmosphere—and the first signs of life—evolved on Earth. The study is published in Astrobiology. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-life-began-earth-ancient-atmosphere.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Wed, 30 Oct 2024 09:19:04 EDT news649498742 Evidence suggests Mars could very well have been teeming with life billions of years ago. Now cold, dry, and stripped of what was once a potentially protective magnetic field, the red planet is a kind of forensic scene for scientists investigating whether Mars was indeed once habitable, and if so, when. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-mars-habitable-thought.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:51:04 EDT news649435862 A recently discovered comet that some stargazers had hoped to see during Halloween week has disintegrated before the day of ghosts and ghouls. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-halloween-comet-flying-sun.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 29 Oct 2024 14:40:01 EDT news649429929 Summer heat has significant effects in the mountainous regions of the western United States. Melted snow washes from snowy peaks into the rivers, reservoirs, and streams that supply millions of Americans with freshwater—as much as 75% of the annual freshwater supply for some states. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-nasa-instrument-snowpack-airborne.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:57:53 EDT news649429062 NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is negotiating a steeply sloping route up Jezero Crater's western wall with the aim of cresting the rim in early December. During the climb, the rover snapped not only a sweeping view of Jezero Crater's interior, but also imagery of the tracks it left after some wheel slippage along the way. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-nasa-perseverance-rover-climbing-slippery.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:57:34 EDT news649429050 A new study suggests Uranus' moon Miranda may harbor a water ocean beneath its surface, a finding that would challenge many assumptions about the moon's history and composition and could put it in the company of the few select worlds in our solar system with potentially life-sustaining environments. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-uranus-moon-miranda-ocean-beneath.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:10:07 EDT news649419001 The changes to the plan Wednesday, moving the drive a sol earlier, meant that we started off planning this morning about 18 meters (about 59 feet) farther along the western edge of Gediz Vallis and with all the data we needed for planning. This included the knowledge that once again one of Curiosity's wheels was perched on a rock. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-sols-contact-science-table.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 29 Oct 2024 09:52:48 EDT news649414365 Most stars form in collections, called clusters or associations, that include very massive stars. These giant stars send out large amounts of high-energy radiation, which can disrupt relatively fragile disks of dust and gas that are in the process of coalescing to form new planets. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-astronomers-danger-zones-planet-disks.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 28 Oct 2024 16:04:32 EDT news649350268 The two CubeSat passengers aboard ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense have exchanged their first signals with Earth, confirming their nominal status. The pair were switched on to check out all their systems, marking the first operation of ESA CubeSats in deep space. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-hera-asteroid-mission-cubesat-passengers.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 28 Oct 2024 15:51:10 EDT news649349465 Newborn stars are surrounded by disks of gas and dust within which planets are born, known as protoplanetary disks. In the Orion Nebula, the brightest and most massive stars emit intense ultraviolet radiation that illuminates protoplanetary disks, allowing them to be photographed in unusual detail. The striking images of these UV-illuminated protoplanetary disks, called proplyds, were one of the first major discoveries by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope decades ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-nasa-telescopes-brown-dwarf-protoplanetary.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 28 Oct 2024 15:48:12 EDT news649349289 The TRAPPIST-1 system is a science-fiction writer's dream. Seven Earth-sized worlds orbit a red dwarf star just 40 light-years away. Three of those worlds are within the habitable zone of the star. The system spans a distance less than 25 times that of the distance from the Earth to the moon. Oh, what epic tales a TRAPPIST civilization would have. That is, if life in such a system is even possible. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-life-trappist-survive-star-superflares.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 28 Oct 2024 12:46:03 EDT news649338361