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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Remember Comet Siding Spring? Mars Orbiter Mission got photos, too
A set of photos released by Mars Orbiter Mission last week completes the set of Mars spacecraft observations of the comet. Now we wait for science results!
Using Lasers to Lock Down Exoplanet Hunting
The Planetary Society is launching a new collaboration with Yale exoplanet hunter Debra Fischer and her team, the Exoplanets Laser project. We will support the purchase of an advanced, ultra stable laser to be used in a complex system they are designing to push radial velocity exoplanet hunting to a whole whole new level.
The Birth of the Modern Universe
Amir Alexander reviews Alan Hirshfeld's newest book,
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Perception
Astrophotographer Adam Block shares two recent images of star clusters, along with a pair of depth perception-defying galaxies.
The Habitable Zone of Inhabited Planets
A team of Colombian researchers are arguing for a new refinement to the idea of the habitable zone that takes the presence of life itself into account.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Interacting Galaxies
Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block showcases some of his stunning images of what happens when galaxies get a little too close to each other.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos
Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block shares some of his recent work.
A GRB in M31...or not
The Twittersphere has been alive with speculation about a Gamma Ray Burst in the nearby galaxy M31. The problem is, there was never a claim of such an event, and it turns out that the tentative result that triggered this story was overstated.
The Case of the 5-Millisecond Cosmic Radio Burst
Everyone loves a good mystery. In astronomy, there is nothing more exciting than an unexplained signal.
How Weird Is Our Solar System?
Earth and its solar system compatriots all have nearly circular orbits, but many exoplanets orbit their stars on wildly eccentric paths. Is our home system strange? Or is our sense of the data skewed?
The Birth of the Wanderers
How did planets originate? This is a question that has puzzled scientists for centuries, but one which they have been able to tackle directly only in the last few decades, thanks to two major developments: breakthroughs in telescope technology and ever-increasing computing power.
Opposition time for Mars, and several months of dancing with the stars
The Mars Express team showcases some of the best viewing opportunities of Mars in 2014, including how to spot Comet Siding Spring when it flies past Mars this October.
Update on the search for planets in the Alpha Centauri system
Update from Debra Fischer and her team on the intriguing results of their observations of the main Alpha Centauri stars, as well as future plans.
Cosmos with Cosmos Episode 12: Encyclopedia Galactica
Cosmos returns in fine form in its penultimate episode. Sagan explores the historical and scientific precedents for the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI) and our human desires to not be alone in the universe.
Super-close supernova in M82
The astronomy world is all a-twitter this morning over the discovery of a new supernova in M82, a galaxy that's in our astronomical backyard,
Cosmos with Cosmos Episode 10: The Edge of Forever
Carl Sagan takes us from the birth to the death of the universe. How do we reconcile our place within a universe that will die? Join us for the latest discussion on episode 10 of Cosmos.
Shaping the Search for Life
A short film on the Giant Magellan Telescope, which could revolutionize exoplanet research and shape the search for life in the Universe.
Planetary Radio: The Gemini Planet Imager
It's very nice to infer the existence of planets circling other stars. It's even better to see them. This new instrument has just become the most powerful exoplanet viewer yet created.
Cosmos with Cosmos Episode 9: The Lives of the Stars
This episode highlights the other big idea in Cosmos: that we are profoundly connected with the universe around us. Our constituent parts are forged in the bellies of massive stars; we exist through their deaths.
Cosmos with Cosmos Episode 8: Journeys Through Space and Time
Sagan makes us confront the limitations of our mortality given the immensities of space and time presented to us by the cosmos.