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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Spotting Jupiter's Moons...with a Solar Telescope!?
I was astounded to learn this morning that SOHO can not only see Jupiter, it can actually resolve Jupiter's moons (at least its two outer ones) as points of light separate from their planet!
Checking in on Jupiter: the belt is coming back
Since it's been several months since I last took a look at Jupiter, I thought it was time to see what's up with the South Equatorial Belt.
Mercury: a moon-scale body
As I wait for the MESSENGER Mercury Orbit Insertion webcast to start, I thought I'd fiddle with some images to point out that Mercury is a bridge between the scales of planets and the scales of moons.
LPSC 2011: Day 4: Ted Stryk on icy moons and The Moon
Here are Ted Stryk's notes from the sessions he attended in the afternoon of Thursday, March 10, at the 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
LPSC 2011: Kirby Runyon on Mars, the Moon, Hartley 2, and Ganymede
Kirby Runyon, a second-year grad student at Temple University, offered to send me some writeups of selected presentations from last week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, and I enthusiastically agreed.
LPSC 2011: Wanted: Pioneer 10 & 11 digital data
This is both a Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) update and a public service announcement. Ted Stryk has been working for years to locate the original Pioneer 10 and 11 image data from the Jupiter and Saturn encounters.
The Solar System from the Inside Out - and the Outside In
Space probes grant us perspective, the ability to see our place within the vastness of the solar system. But opportunities to see all of the solar system's planets in one observation are rare. In fact, there's only been one opportunity on one mission to see the whole solar system at once, until now.
Snapshots from Space: Voyager views of the Great Red Spot, Björn Jönsson
I've got a new column in the Planetary Society's member magazine, The Planetary Report, called
Io and Jupiter from Voyager 1
Here's an image I've been meaning to post for months, a new mosaic from Voyager 1 by Ted Stryk of Io crossing Jupiter's terminator as it neared closest approach.
Report from the 2011 New Horizons Science Team Meeting
The annual New Horizons Science Team Meeting was held last week at NASA's Ames Research Center.
365 Days of Astronomy Podcast: Unmanned Space Exploration in 2011
Today the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast aired my contribution, Unmanned Space Exploration in 2011, about what to look forward to in solar system exploration this year.
Juno in an alternate universe
I was browsing JPL's Planetary Photojournal today and noticed that they've posted an updated artist's concept of the Juno spacecraft, which is set to launch in August for a 2016 arrival at Jupiter.
Bye bye, Kodachrome, but "Kodak moments" will live on in space
This week is the end for Kodachrome film. It's a casualty of the digital revolution.
Door 22 in the 2010 advent calendar
Time to open the twenty-second door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system are these degraded craters?
Door 14 in the 2010 advent calendar
Until the New Year, I'll be opening a door each day onto a different landscape from somewhere in the solar system. Where in the solar system are these red freckles?
Door 12 in the 2010 advent calendar
Time to open the twelfth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this trapezoidal mountain?
Door 3 in the 2010 advent calendar
Time to open the third door in the advent calendar. Until the New Year, I'll be opening a door onto a different landscape from somewhere in the solar system. Where in the solar system is this wispy terrain?
Jupiter's outbreak is spreading
Jupiter, always a pretty sight in the sky, is now worth visiting every day; the
The Disturbance is Starting
Jupiter's faded belt may be coming back.
An awesome animation of Jupiter's clouds
Ready to see something beautiful? Here's a team effort by Björn Jónsson and Ian Regan to create a really mesmerizing view of the motions of Jupiter's clouds.