Astronomers are closing in on one of the most tantalizing possibilities in planetary science, evidence that a previously ...

The search for life beyond Earth is a key driver of modern astronomy and planetary science. The U.S. is building multiple major telescopes and planetary probes to advance this search. However, the ...

This artist’s concept depicts one of the solar system’s inner planets slamming into Earth after being nudged on a collision course by a passing star. Such a world-shattering cataclysm is extremely ...

At the ragged frontier where the Sun’s influence gives way to the galaxy, a decades‑old spacecraft has stumbled into a ...

Leonardo Testi and team investigate the initial conditions for planet formation in this special astronomy focus ...

Mercury has long baffled astronomers because it defies much of what we know about planet formation. A new space mission ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Short-lived radioisotopes such as aluminum-26 influenced early solar system heat, water retention and the formation of Earth-like rocky planets, according to meteorite analyses and models.

Earth may have a moon today because a nearby neighbor once crashed into us, a new analysis of Apollo samples and terrestrial rocks reveals. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...