The Solar System

Have We Been to Uranus? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 56 – NASA

by
Have We Been to Uranus? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 56 – NASA

Have we ever been to Uranus? The answer is simple, yes, but only once. The Voyager II spacecraft flew by the planet Uranus back in 1986, during a golden era when the Voyager spacecraft explored all four giant planets of our solar system. It revealed an extreme world, a planet that had been bowled over … Read more

Hubble Helps Determine Uranus’ Rotation Rate with Unprecedented Precision – NASA Science

by
Hubble Helps Determine Uranus’ Rotation Rate with Unprecedented Precision – NASA Science

An international team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made new measurements of Uranus’ interior rotation rate with a novel technique, achieving a level of accuracy 1,000 times greater than previous estimates. By analyzing more than a decade of Hubble observations of Uranus’ aurorae, researchers have refined the planet’s rotation period and … Read more

Eclipses, Science, NASA Firsts: Heliophysics Big Year Highlights  – NASA Science

by
Eclipses, Science, NASA Firsts: Heliophysics Big Year Highlights  – NASA Science

One year ago today, a total solar eclipse swept across the United States. The event was a cornerstone moment in the Heliophysics Big Year, a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. From October 2023 to December 2024 — a period encompassing two solar eclipses across the U.S., two … Read more

20-Year Hubble Study of Uranus Yields New Atmospheric Insights – NASA Science

by
20-Year Hubble Study of Uranus Yields New Atmospheric Insights – NASA Science

The ice-giant planet Uranus, which travels around the Sun tipped on its side, is a weird and mysterious world. Now, in an unprecedented study spanning two decades, researchers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered new insights into the planet’s atmospheric composition and dynamics. This was possible only because of Hubble’s sharp resolution, spectral capabilities, … Read more

How Can I See the Northern Lights? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 54 – NASA

by
How Can I See the Northern Lights? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 54 – NASA

How can I see the northern lights? To see the northern lights, you need to be in the right place at the right time. Auroras are the result of charged particles and magnetism from the Sun called space weather dancing with the Earth’s magnetic field. And they happen far above the clouds. So you need … Read more

NASA’s Webb Captures Neptune’s Auroras For First Time – NASA Science

by
NASA’s Webb Captures Neptune’s Auroras For First Time – NASA Science

Long-sought auroral glow finally emerges under Webb’s powerful gaze For the first time, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured bright auroral activity on Neptune. Auroras occur when energetic particles, often originating from the Sun, become trapped in a planet’s magnetic field and eventually strike the upper atmosphere. The energy released during these collisions creates … Read more

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules on Mars

by
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules on Mars

Researchers analyzing pulverized rock onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the largest organic compounds on the Red Planet to date. The finding, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests prebiotic chemistry may have advanced further on Mars than previously observed. Scientists probed an existing rock sample inside Curiosity’s Sample Analysis … Read more