Space Exploration

Quantum entanglement is one of the most counter-intuitive and perplexing effects in modern physics. Two objects can be separated by great distances, yet they share the same quantum states. Famed physicist Albert Einstein once described the process of affecting an object in this way as “spooky action at a distance,” …

Saturn’s moon Titan is one of the most interesting celestial bodies in the outer solar system. It’s the only moon with a dense atmosphere, and the surface is covered with lakes of liquid hydrocarbons. In order to send a spacecraft millions of miles into the outer solar system, you first …

New research has found that most waves on Titan’s seas of liquid hydrocarbons are diminutive, reaching only about 1 cm (0.4 inches) high and 20 cm (8 inches) long — a finding that indicates a serene environment that could be good news for future robotic lander missions to Saturn’s hazy …

Earth has been hit by large asteroids and comets many times in the past, and it’s a matter of when rather than if it happens again. There weren’t any humans on Earth for the large impacts in the past, some of which led to mass extinctions. That’s something everyone can …

Mars experienced a single colossal impact during its first 130 million years, the equivalent to the largest body in the today’s asteroid belt slamming into the red planet. This is the result of models developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, who …

A new paper published in the Astronomical Journal suggests that the unusual tilt of some Kuiper Belt objects could be explained by a Mars-sized planet lurking in the outer solar system. To be clear, this hypothetical planet-sized mass is not the same thing as the hypothesized Planet 9 that we’ve …

A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics suggests that the magnetosphere of the ice giant Uranus gets flipped on and off like a light switch every day as it rotates along with the planet. It’s ‘open’ in one orientation, allowing solar wind to flow into …

A few years ago we were all holding our breath during each SpaceX launch, wondering if the company’s innovative Falcon 9 rocket would be able to land itself after sending the second stage into orbit. Now, it’s becoming commonplace. In the last few days, there have been two successful SpaceX …

Using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera — the most powerful camera ever to orbit another planet, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter caught a view of the agency’s Curiosity rover this month amid tan rocks and dark sand on Mount Sharp, Gale crater, Mars. This color-enhanced view of NASA’s …

A study of the potential future mission to ‘ice giant’ planets Uranus and Neptune and their moons has been released — the first in a series of mission studies NASA scientists will conduct in support of the next Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Left: arriving at Uranus in 1986, Voyager 2 …