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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Cosmos with Cosmos Episode 4: Heaven & Hell
Humans face the consequences of our own knowledge about the cosmos in this latest episode recap and analysis of Carl Sagan's classic series.
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.
Results of ten Venus years of cloud tracking by Venus Express
What Venus Express' Visual Monitoring Camera images of Venus have taught us about the motions of Venus' atmosphere.
A Map of the Evening Star
Beautiful maps of a mysterious place.
One Ocean World Among Many
I'm absolutely floored when I stop to think that our beautiful blue ocean is only one of perhaps a half dozen or more oceans on other worlds in our solar system, and only one of probably millions (or more) oceans on other Earth-like planets in our galaxy. Oceans abound!
One Day in the Solar System
Dispatches from five different worlds--all sent by robotic spacecraft on the same day.
Messages of Wonder
Some lovely, rarely-seen images from the MESSENGER mission.
Pretty picture: tessera terrain on Venus
In which I dive into the Magellan radar data set and come up with some images of an unusual and possibly unique solar system terrain: tessera.
DPS 2012, Tuesday: Titan's surface
Tuesday morning at the Division of Planetary Sciences meeting featured talks on the surface composition and landforms on Titan, including lakes and
A couple of gems from the archives
We're still working on migrating content from the old to the new website. This week, that means I am looking, one by one, through some great amateur-processed space images.
Talking Climate With Bill Nye
Talk about changing climates on this world and others brought 600 people to the Boulder Theater.
Not Necessarily Your Last Venus Transit!
Unless you are lucky and healthy enough to live for another 105 years, tomorrow will be your last chance to see a Venus transit from the surface of the Earth. But this need not be the last transit of Venus that you will ever see.
Some Details About Transits of Venus
The upcoming rare transit of Venus is one step in a long dance among Earth, Venus and the Sun. Transits of Venus follow a peculiar pattern—two transits 8 years apart, then 105.5 years with no transits, then two transits 8 years apart, then 121.5 years with no transits, for a total cycle of 243 years—and thereby hangs a tale.
Venus' very pretty craters
Each Magellan images of Venus seems to be a work of abstract art.
Is there life on Venus? Not in reprocessed Venera-13 images.
At the end of last week, a rather sensational article appeared in both the Russian- and English-language sites of the Russian news agency, RIA Novosti.
Russia's Venera-D mission (DPS-EPSC 2011)
During the afternoon poster session at the Division of Planetary Sciences / European Planetary Science Congress meeting, I had a long talk with Ludmila Zasova (IKI) about Russia's Venera-D mission to Venus.
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)?
Memo to early risers: Look up!
There is a traffic jam of planets on the eastern horizon in the early morning right now and for the next several weeks, a prize for those of you who have to rise before dawn.
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.