OUTERPLANETS

845 articles

Juno radio data revises Jupiter's size and shape after five decades of Voyager-era estimates
May 01, 2026 (SPX)
The study, published in Nature Astronomy and led by Dr. Eli Galanti under the direction of Prof. Yohai Kaspi of Weizmann's Earth and Planetary Sciences Departme...
Ocean Wave Mechanics Across the Solar System and Beyond
Apr 16, 2026 (SPX)
Published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the study introduces a model the team has coined "PlanetWaves." The researchers apply it to predict h...
Simple collapse may build cosmic snowman worlds
Feb 23, 2026 (SPX)
Far beyond Neptune, the Kuiper Belt holds icy, largely untouched planetesimals that preserve conditions from the dawn of the solar system. Observations suggest ...
Jupiter size refined by new radio mapping
Feb 05, 2026 (SPX)
The study, published in Nature Astronomy, replaces six measurements from NASA's Voyager and Pioneer missions with 26 carefully analyzed passes by Juno. Those ea...
Europa ice delamination may deliver nutrients to hidden ocean
Jan 21, 2026 (SPX)
Europa, one of Jupiters largest moons, holds more liquid water beneath its frozen shell than all of Earths oceans combined, but the ocean is sealed away under t...
Birth conditions fixed water contrast on Jupiters moons
Jan 21, 2026 (SPX)
Since the first spacecraft explored the Jovian system in the late 1970s, scientists have recognized that Jupiter's large moons display strikingly different char...
Study links Europa's quiet seafloor to hidden potential for life
Jan 21, 2026 (SPX)
The research team used models that accounted for Europa's size, rocky interior, long-term cooling, and the powerful tidal forces exerted by Jupiter to assess wh...
Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets' interior details
Jan 21, 2026 (SPX)
Given that both planets are similar in many ways - they are roughly the same size and made from the same gaseous elements - the stark difference in their polar ...
Computer models let scientists peer into the mystery beneath Jupiter's clouds
Jan 19, 2026 (SPX)
But a new study led by University of Chicago and Jet Propulsion Lab scientists has given us a deeper look at the planet by creating the most complete model to d...
Jupiter's moon Europa has a seafloor that may be quiet and lifeless
Jan 06, 2026 (SPX)
A new study led by Paul Byrne, an associate professor of Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences, throws cold water on the idea that Europa could support l...
Uranus and Neptune may be rock rich worlds
Dec 11, 2025 (SPX)
To investigate the interiors of Uranus and Neptune, the team created a new framework for modeling planetary structure that combines physically motivated equatio...
SwRI links Uranus radiation belt mystery to solar storm driven waves
Dec 08, 2025 (SPX)
Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have flown past Uranus, and its instruments detected a trapped electron population at energy levels that exceeded extra...
Looking inside icy moons
Nov 25, 2025 (SPX)
"Not all of these satellites are known to have oceans, but we know that some do," said Max Rudolph, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences at the U...
Saturn moon mission planning shifts to flower constellation theory
Nov 12, 2025 (SPX)
Titan's dense atmosphere, irregular gravity, and low sunlight make orbital missions particularly challenging. Conventional satellites often struggle to maintain...
Could these wacky warm Jupiters help astronomers solve the planet formation puzzle?
Oct 15, 2025 (SPX)
If you're Diego Munoz, an assistant professor in Northern Arizona University's Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, the answer is simple: You get to w...
A New Model of Water in Jupiter's Atmosphere
Oct 01, 2025 (SPX)
Jupiter was considered the first planet in our solar system to form, and its massive gravitational influence shaped the orbital architecture of Earth and the ot...
Out-of-this-world ice geysers on Saturn's Enceladus
Oct 01, 2025 (SPX)
Centuries later, NASA's Cassini-Huygens (Cassini) probe carried the exploration of Saturn even further. Beginning in 2005, it sent back a stream of spectacular ...
3 Questions: How a new mission to Uranus could be just around the corner
Oct 01, 2025 (SPX)
The National Academy of Sciences Planetary Science Decadal Survey published a recommendation in 2022 outlining exploration of Uranus as its highest-priority fla...
Evidence of a past, deep ocean on Uranian moon, Ariel
Sep 30, 2025 (SPX)
"Ariel is pretty unique in terms of icy moons," said paper co-author Alex Patthoff, a Planetary Science Institute senior scientist. Ariel is Uranus' brightest a...
NASA Study: Celestial 'Accident' Sheds Light on Jupiter, Saturn Riddle
Sep 17, 2025 (JPL)
The results were published on Sept. 4 in the journal Nature. The Accident is a brown dwarf, a ball of gas that's not quite a planet and not quite a star. Even a...
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