OUTERPLANETS

845 articles

Eris the largest dwarf planet in Solar System
Dec 03, 2014 (Sputnik)
Our universe is full of mysteries but there are a few things we know for certain. For instance, that the Earth orbits the Sun and not vice versa, or that there ...
Waking Up on Pluto's Doorstep
Dec 03, 2014 (SPX)
It's hard for me to believe, but after almost nine years of flight, we are literally on Pluto's doorstep, on schedule, in good health, and on course. In fact, a...
Pluto's Exotic Chemistry
Nov 19, 2014 (SPX)
My connection to Pluto and Charon is quite different from that of other scientists who write for the New Horizons website. Certainly I'm excited about the chanc...
Clues Revealed About Hidden Interior of Uranus
Nov 17, 2014 (SPX)
Long believed to be one of the blandest regions of any of the giant gas planets, the southern hemisphere of Uranus indicates a flurry of previously unknown atmo...
New Horizons Set to Wake Up for Pluto Encounter
Nov 17, 2014 (SPX)
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft comes out of hibernation for the last time on Dec. 6. Between now and then, while the Pluto-bound probe enjoys three more weeks o...
Hubble Telescope Finds Potential Kuiper Belt Targets for New Horizons Pluto Mission
Oct 16, 2014 (SPX)
Peering out to the dim, outer reaches of our solar system, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered three Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) the agency's New Horizon...
It's Just a Phase: Changes on Pluto's Surface
Oct 11, 2014 (SPX)
Cool some water below 32F and it freezes into solid ice; heat it above 212F and it boils, becoming gaseous steam. Pluto's surface materials have phase changes t...
Dawn reaches its seventh anniversary
Sep 30, 2014 (JPL)
On the seventh anniversary of embarking upon its extraordinary extraterrestrial expedition, the Dawn spacecraft is far from the planet where its journey began. ...
One Last Slumber
Sep 25, 2014 (SPX)
On Aug. 29 we put New Horizons into hibernation for the final time. This last hibernation lasts 99 days and ends on Dec. 6. It's a little hard for some of us on...
Democracy has spoken, Pluto should be a planet
Sep 23, 2014 (UPI)
When the International Astronomical Union got together in 2006 and updated the criteria for classification as a planet, thereby downgrading Pluto from "planet" ...
Miranda: An Icy Moon Deformed by Tidal Heating
Sep 22, 2014 (SPX)
Miranda, a small, icy moon of Uranus, is one of the most visually striking and enigmatic bodies in the solar system. Despite its relatively small size, Miranda ...
Awaiting New Results on Pluto's Atmosphere
Sep 15, 2014 (SPX)
What is Pluto's atmosphere like? It seems like I've been wondering about that for decades! We've known so little for so long about Pluto's atmosphere - other th...
New Horizons Crosses Neptune Orbit On Route To First Pluto Flyby
Aug 26, 2014 (SPX)
NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft has traversed the orbit of Neptune. This is its last major crossing en route to becoming the first probe to make a cl...
From Pinpoint of Light to a Geologic World
Aug 15, 2014 (SPX)
I'm an astronomer and I've been studying Pluto as a pinpoint of light for over 25 years. It will be so exciting to see this little white dot turn into a geologi...
New Horizons Spies Charon Orbiting Pluto
Aug 13, 2014 (SPX)
Like explorers of old peering through a shipboard telescope for a faint glimpse of their destination, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is taking a distant look at...
ALMA telescope sizes up Pluto's orbit
Aug 05, 2014 (AFP)
Scientists using a high-powered telescope in Chile have been able to measure Pluto's orbit precisely, to help with navigation as a US probe nears the planet in ...
Putting It All Together
Jul 29, 2014 (SPX)
The New Horizons mission will provide the first in situ investigation of objects in the Kuiper belt, making it a unique voyage of discovery. And it's unlikely w...
Annual Checkout Makes for Great Pluto Preparation
Jul 14, 2014 (SPX)
You walk up to the Restaurant at the End of the Solar System, ready to try that slice of "Pluto on ice" that you heard amazing things about. The chef behind the...
What If Voyager Had Explored Pluto?
Jun 25, 2014 (SPX)
As I mentioned in my previous PI Perspective, New Horizons crosses the orbit of Neptune, the outermost planet explored by the Voyager mission, late this August....
The PI's Perspective - Childhood's End
Jun 19, 2014 (JPL)
New Horizons is now just a few days from emerging from its next-to-last hibernation. The spacecraft has been hibernating about 80 percent of each year since we ...
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