• MAVEN returns its first Mars observations

    Just after arrival, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), the first spacecraft sent to explore the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars, has started working on it's mission. Within 24 hours of being placed in the Red Planet's orbit, the spacec

  • Martian geology continues to baffle scientists

    The official geological history of the planet Mars is a confused and murky tale filled with contradictions and shifting narratives. Astonishing scientific data obtained in the last decade has only deepened the storyteller’s confusion. At the recent 8th Internation

  • Colliding atmospheres – Mars vs Comet Siding Spring

    It's a known fact that planets have atmospheres, but the same can't be said for comets. The atmosphere of a comet, called its "coma," is made of gas and dust that spew out of the sun-warmed nucleus and it's typically wider than Jupiter.La

  • Observations suggest frequent massive eruptions on Jupiter’s moon Io

    Observations made using Keck and Gemini observatories, Hawaii, revealed three massive volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon Io within a two-week period in August 2013, leading astronomers to speculate that these presumed rare "outbursts" migh

  • Massive storm systems formed on planet Uranus

    As hurricanes threaten the Aloha State, astronomers working at W. M. Keck Observatory on the island of Hawaii were surprised by the appearance of gigantic swirling storm systems on the distant planet Uranus.During the Voyager encounter with Uranus in 1986, only a scant

  • Asteroid vesta shatters planet formation theory

    In the previous Space News, we discussed astronomer's recent admission that they now need a whole new theory to explain about how planets form. Today yet another discovery has shattered conventional ideas about planet formation and the so-called early solar system.

  • The most thorough map of the Martian surface to date

    The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released the most thorough map of the Martian surface to date. The data for the new map was collected by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and

  • Steve Smith: Mars – The Great Desert in 3D – EU2014

    Martian areography tells a story of incredibly violent events. It appears from the many images sent to Earth that it once experienced powerful plasma discharges on a massive scale. Burned and blasted craters, piles of scorched dust covering almost an entire hemisphere,

  • Symbols of an Alien Sky: The Lightning Scarred Planet, Mars

    "After much deliberation, we made the decision to release this full documentary. Year by year the evidence for global electric scarring of Mars continues to grow. Bringing the facts to public attention will be amongst our highest priorities in coming months."I