When studying exoplanets, scientists often judge habitability by the possibility of liquid water on the planet’s surface. But there is more to Earth’s habitability than water. The liquid iron dynamo Keep reading
Tag: planetary science
Jovian Circulation
Jupiter‘s atmosphere remains quite mysterious, due to our limited ability to measure the depths of the gas giant’s clouds. But measurements from the Juno spacecraft are continuing to shape researchers’ Keep reading
Probing Saturn’s Interior
Saturn’s rings are one of the most iconic sights in our solar system, and scientists are using them to learn more about the planet they surround. Until recently, scientists believed Keep reading
Jupiter in Many Lights
Sometimes the key to unraveling a mystery is to observe the phenomenon in different ways. That’s why researchers are increasingly taking advantage of multiple instruments simultaneously observing targets like Jupiter. Keep reading
Ingenuity’s Dust Cloud
Mars is quite dusty. It periodically gets swallowed by planet-spanning dust storms, but it’s also home to regular dust devils whose size can put Earth’s to shame. Exactly how so Keep reading
The Variable Venusian Day
Venus is a thoroughly unpleasant place thanks to its hellish temperatures and acidic clouds, but a new study adds another wrinkle to our strange sister planet: Venus’s day varies by Keep reading
Ferrovolcanism
Beyond Earth, scientists expect to find objects formed by a volcanism much different than what we typically see here. Researchers used Syracuse University’s Lava Project apparatus to simulate ferrovolcanism — Keep reading
Blue Dunes
This false-color image shows a Martian dune field near the northern polar cap. The image itself covers an area 30 kilometers wide, but the dune field stretches over an area Keep reading
Rainfall Beyond Earth
Rain is not unique to our planet: Titan has methane rain and exoplanet WASP 78b is home to iron rain (ouch). A new study examines rainfall across planets from the Keep reading
Jovian Auroras
Like Earth, Jupiter is home to polar auroras that light the sky as charged particles interact with the planet’s magnetosphere. A recent paper identifies interesting features in the aurora that Keep reading