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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Gravity assist
With the recent announcement by NASA that the 36 year-old spacecraft Voyager 1 has officially entered interstellar space at a distance from the sun about four times further than Neptune's orbit, and with Voyager 2 not far behind, it seems worthwhile to explore how humans managed to fling objects so far into space.
Europe Will Select Its Next Major Science Mission in November
The European Space Agency will announce two major science missions this November, one of which is likely to be devoted to solar system exploration.
Uranus or Bust (and on a budget)
New plans may make a mission to Uranus affordable within NASA's new, constrained budget.
Lesser-known views of Uranus and Neptune
Despite the fact that Voyager 2 returned relatively few high-resolution images from either Uranus or Neptune, there are many more photos in the archives than regularly make it to public view.
Planetary Society Weekly Hangout: The Ice Giants, with Heidi Hammel
My guest this was Planetary Society Board vice president Heidi Hammel. We discussed two planets near and dear to our hearts, Neptune and Uranus. What's new on these icy worlds since Voyager 2 passed by, and what are the prospects for their future exploration?
DPS 2012: The most detailed images of Uranus' atmosphere ever
New ground-based images of Uranus show more finely detailed structure than any photos I have ever seen.
Cure for the blues: processing images of a blue planet
I noticed today that I hadn't seen any amateur-processed versions of Voyager's departing shots of Uranus, so I decided to give it a try.
Following up the dark spot on Uranus
It was a surprise and delight to have our Icarus paper highlighted in Emily Lakdawalla's blog. Thanks for highlighting Uranus, since it has gotten, ahem, a bum rap over the years. Here's more about our discovery of the dark spot on Uranus.
New spots on Uranus
New Hubble photos show that Uranus has both dark and bright spots!
Scale solar system presentation slide, a provisional version for you to review
I'm preparing a talk for the Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show here in Pasadena on Sunday afternoon at 1:45. I have spent the morning putting together a slide that I have long wanted to have for presentations.
Summer Sights of the Solar System
What can you expect to see if you look at the night sky this summer (2011)?
The scale of our solar system
Space.com has taken advantage of the infinitely scrollable nature of Web pages to produce a really cool infographic on the scales of orbital distances in the solar system.
A Planetary Society Trifecta
A Planetary Society trifecta -- that's what Neil Tyson calls this episode of his StarTalk radio show broadcast this week. His guests include the Society's Vice President, Heidi Hammel, and its Executive Director, Bill Nye, (along with the Society's friend, Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator for the Mars Exploration Rovers).
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.
Uranus and Challenger
In the past week there have been 25th anniversaries of two events in 1986, one great, one terrible: the closest approach of Voyager 2 to Uranus on January 24, and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger upon liftoff on January 28.
Voyager Mission Status Bulletins: Jupiter and Saturn
Last week I posted a stack of Voyager Mission Status Bulletins, which were once the main resource for space enthusiasts to follow the dramatic events and photos of an in-flight space mission.
Hubble turns 20
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. It's hard to believe it's been going strong for so many years.
Planetary Society Advent Calendar for December 31: Uranus
Did you think I was going to skip Uranus? How could I?
Planetary Radio Q and A: Not-so-gassy giants
On Planetary Radio's
On the pronunciation of "Uranus"
On the pronunciation of