Unparalleled 3D animation of planet Mars

Unparalleled 3D animation of planet Mars

Based on images of Mars taken during 6 nights in October and November 2020 with the 1-meter telescope at the Pic du Midi Observatory in the French Pyrenees, astronomers led by Francois Colas built a complete planisphere of Mars and generated hundreds of images to…

Researchers solve mysterious storm patterns on Jupiter’s south pole

Researchers solve mysterious storm patterns on Jupiter’s south pole

Since first spotted by NASA's Juno space probe in 2019, a collection of swirling storms arranged in an unusually geometric pattern has been a mystery to most scientists. A new study may have uncovered how the strange weather forms and why the storms behave…

Eruptive origins of pyroclastic deposits on the Moon

Eruptive origins of pyroclastic deposits on the Moon

A new study by researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) suggests that the early Moon may have been more volatile-rich than previously believed. Previous studies concluded that lunar volcanoes had exploded primarily cold bedrock, but the ASU team said there…

Mysterious, spiral-shaped ultraviolet light pulses over Mars

Mysterious, spiral-shaped ultraviolet light pulses over Mars

New images from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft reveal wide areas of Mars' night sky pulsing in ultraviolet light. While researchers understand the light's source, its mysterious spiral shape left them puzzled. "There is a vast spiral of ultraviolet light…

Extremely elongated cloud returns over Arsia Mons volcano, Mars

Extremely elongated cloud returns over Arsia Mons volcano, Mars

The Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) attached to Mars Express captured a mysteriously long, thin cloud over the 20 km (12 miles) high Arsia Mons volcano on July 17 and 19, 2020. According to ESA, the cloud is a recurrent feature made up of water ice and is influenced…

NASA’s Juno takes never-before seen photos of Ganymede’s north pole

NASA’s Juno takes never-before seen photos of Ganymede’s north pole

NASA's Juno Jupiter probe has captured the first images of the north pole of Ganymede– the largest moon in the solar system and the only moon with its own magnetic field. During a close flyby of Jupiter in December 2019, Juno mapped the north polar regions of…

Study suggests the Moon is millions of years younger than previously thought

Study suggests the Moon is millions of years younger than previously thought

A new study suggests that the Moon is much younger than what was previously thought– about 85 million years younger. Lunar rock samples collected on the Apollo missions are not old enough to confirm the normally accepted 4.51 billion-year for the Moon's age,…

ESO telescope catches the disappearance of massive unstable star

ESO telescope catches the disappearance of massive unstable star

Astronomers have discovered the absence of a massive unstable star in the Kinman Dwarf galaxy using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). One explanation offered is the end of a luminous blue variable (LBV) eruption of a surviving star, with a mild drop in…

Unusual green glow detected for the first time in atmosphere of Mars

Unusual green glow detected for the first time in atmosphere of Mars

The European Space AGency's (ESA) Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) has detected an unusual green glow for the first time in the atmosphere of Mars. According to the new study, the bright emission has been predicted to exist at Mars for around 40 years. "One of the…