Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

What light through yonder prism splits?

Discover how we use light to look for signs of life beyond Earth, and meet the newest batch of Planetary Society-funded asteroid hunters.

Return to Neptune? The plans to send an orbiter to the elusive planet

Is it time NASA sent an orbiter to study the other blue planet in our solar system? Proposals for missions to study the ice giant planet Neptune and its mysterious moon Triton have been on NASA’s to-do list for over a decade, but until now nothing has happened.

How we use starlight to look for alien life

The process of spectroscopy can help scientists hunt for biosignatures.

Olympic-worthy world(s) records

A look at record-breaking missions, worlds and feats of exploration.

So much more than meets the eye

Space is even more spectacular when you can see beyond what the eye can behold.

Shoot for the moon that shoots back

Saturn’s moon Enceladus has some intriguing features: snow, ice, geysers, stripes and much more, all waiting to be further explored.

Meet the snow worlds

Earth isn't the only planet with snow. From Io to Enceladus, here's where snow can be found in our solar system.

Moon features you can see from Earth

What can you see on the Moon tonight? This guide from The Planetary Society will help you identify some features.

Alone in space, but not lonely

Comet Leonard heads out to roam free in interstellar space, alongside rogue planets, their moons, and maybe even life.

Is life possible on rogue planets and moons?

Our exploration of the solar system combined with two decades of exoplanet research tells us there are several possibilities for life to exist on starless planets and their moons.

What sci-fi dreams are made of

From a space station cemetery to a super-resilient spacecraft, the feats of human ingenuity that make space exploration possible are the stuff of science fiction dreams.