Articles

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

A beginner’s guide to stargazing

It only takes a few basic tips to start exploring the night sky.

How to spot Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas

Catch this once-in-a-lifetime comet over the next few days.

Connecting ancient life to other worlds

Looking to the past to guide the search for life.

Starship prior to first integrated test flight

How soon will Starship fly?

One rocket could decide how soon humanity returns to the Moon — and maybe one day sets foot on Mars.

How to spot the ISS

Seeing the ISS is easy and amazing stargazing.

How to see the nova (“new star”) in Corona Borealis

A giant stellar explosion is going to be visible from Earth. Here's how to see it.

Apparent sizes of Phobos and Deimos in Curiosity's sky compared to the Moon in Earth's sky

Earth’s quasi-moons, minimoons, and ghost moons

They may not be real moons, but they're worth exploring and studying.

Chang’e-6 launch: What to expect

China will attempt to return the first-ever samples from the far side of the Moon.

What are planets made of?

A look at the compositions of terrestrial planets, gas giants, and ice giants in our Solar System.

The hottest and coldest places in the Solar System

The worlds of our Solar System run the gamut of temperatures. Here are some of the hottest and coldest places we know of.

Is the Moon shrinking?

The Moon is shrinking in both actual volume and its apparent size from Earth’s perspective. We explain how scientists know this, why it happens, and how it might affect Earth.

An exquisite cosmic coincidence

Why eclipses on Earth are unlike anything else in the Solar System.

The best places to search for life in our Solar System

From Earth's neighboring planets to distant moons, these are the best places to look for alien life.

What to look forward to in space in 2024

A total solar eclipse and the launch of Europa Clipper are on our list of cosmic events to get excited about this year.

Why the true colors of the planets aren't what you think

Cameras on our space probes act as proxies for our own eyes, but what they see isn't necessarily what our eyes would see.

Sharing an eclipse with kids

Here's a simple and safe way to observe solar eclipses that's appropriate for young children, with no eclipse glasses or other special equipment needed.

Earth's water may have been on our planet since its formation, or could have been brought here by impactors early in our planet's history. Here's a look at the leading theories about where Earth's water came from.