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

Mariner 7 approach image of Mars (reconstructed)

Looking back at Mariner images of Mars

Bruce Murray was an early advocate for the inclusion of cameras on planetary spacecraft. As a tribute to him, I thought I'd take a look at a few of the images from the early Mariner missions to Mars.

Phobos' shadow darkens Mars

A special Phobos eclipse

Those sneaky scientists on Curiosity managed to catch a Phobos transit of the Sun with one set of cameras, and to watch its shadow darkening the surface with another. COOL!

Earth and Moon from Elektro-L

Beautiful science by Elektro-L

Six months ago, I wrote about the Russian weather satellite Elektro-L, which has more than two years of successful experience in the geostationary orbit. Then I promised that I would be here to share the materials that we collected. I think it's time to deliver on the promise.

An Eclipse by Earthlight

Shadowland

Seasons, sunlight, and shadow at the Moon's north pole

Pioneer 10 departs Jupiter (and Io)

Jupiter and Io from Pioneer 10

This is a parting shot of Jupiter and Io, taken December 5, 1973, by the Pioneer 10 spacecraft, the first to see either world as a crescent.

Dawn departs Vesta

Terra Cognita

Pushing back the frontier, and filling in the blank spaces on the map.

Solar system montage with eight planets

Pretty picture: Looking backward

Here it is: the view from Saturn of our Earthly home, one and a half billion kilometers away. We see Earth and the Moon through a thin veil of faintly blue ice crystals, the outskirts of Saturn's E ring. Earth is just a bright dot -- a bit brighter than the other stars in the image, but no brighter than any planet (like Saturn!) in our own sky.

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