Solar System

Our solar system is filled with planets, asteroids, comets, the sun and more, making it a wealth of discoveries waiting to be found. See the latest discoveries from across our solar system here. 

Explore the planets in our solar system: Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Related topics: asteroids, Pluto, the moon, comets

Latest Updates

drawing of spacecraft hovering above rocky surface

Near-Earth asteroid Ryugu was born in the outer solar system 4 billion years ago

By Robert Lea published

In 2019, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected samples from the asteroid Ryugu. Now, an analysis of these fragments has revealed Ryugu's history.

two grey lumps against black background. Didymos is on the left and dimorphos on the right.

Didymos binary asteroid system: NASA's target for DART

By Vicky Stein published

Reference Didymos is a binary asteroid system that NASA's DART mission visited during the agency's first planetary defense mission.

artist's depiction of rock with starry background

Help find weird comet-like asteroids that could reveal solar system secrets

By Paul Sutter published

Astronomers know of only a few dozen examples of these active asteroids, but they suspect more are out there — and you can join the hunt.

stripey planet with large red spot near center

Jupiter is at its closest to Earth in 59 years, NASA says

By Robert Lea published

The solar system's most massive planet, Jupiter, will make its closest approach to Earth for 59 years on Sept. 26 even as the gas giant will be directly opposite the sun as viewed from Earth.

irregular rock approaching larger moon-like body

Dwarf planet collision may have sent strange ultra-hard diamonds to Earth

By Robert Lea published

Strange hexagonal diamonds may have been jettisoned into space when a dwarf planet collided with a large asteroid around 4.5 billion years ago.

spacecraft against black background

After 45 years, the 5-billion-year legacy of the Voyager 2 interstellar probe is just beginning

By Alice Gorman published

The iconic Voyager spacecraft seen through the eyes of an archaeologist.

An illustration of diamond rain inside an ice giant planet.

Diamond rains could fall through the interior of ice giant planets

By Robert Lea published

The interiors of the solar system's ice giants, Neptune and Uranus, could experience an exotic form of precipitation, and these 'diamond rains' could be more common than previously thought.

photo of rocket lifting off

NASA's iconic Voyager 1 marks 45 years in space

By Meghan Bartels published

NASA's venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft has reached a key milestone.

A collage of Earth and the Milky Way.

Could Earth ever leave our solar system?

By Joe Phelan published

Here's how the Earth could theoretically leave the solar system.

artwork of voyager 1 spacecraft in black space background

NASA solves Voyager 1 data glitch mystery, but finds another

By Tariq Malik published

Voyager 1 is once again beaming back clear telemetry data on its status beyond our solar system, solving one mystery and leading to another.

artist's depiction

Voyager 1 marks 10 years in interstellar space

By Jamie Carter published

The spacecraft has since revealed a bizarre heliopause and a complex interstellar medium that's influenced by our sun.

An illustration of red giant stars.

Scientists get gruesome look at how stars like our sun eat their own planets

By Tereza Pultarova published

A new study explores what happens when blown-up dying red giant stars engulf planets in their vicinity.

Artist's illustration of Voyager 1 probe looking back at the solar system from a great distance.

Voyager 1: Facts about Earth's farthest spacecraft

By Elizabeth Howell published

Reference Voyager 1 is the first spacecraft to travel beyond the solar system and enter interstellar space. The probe is still exploring the cosmos to this day.

The laws of physics define the orbits of planets.

What makes Newton's laws work? Here's the simple trick.

By Paul Sutter published

Lagrange found that the difference between an object's kinetic energy and potential energy unlocked something deeply profound about the universe.

A composite image of Jupiter taken by Webb's NIRCam, showing the planet's rings and two of its moons, Amalthea and Adrastea. The blue glow around Jupiter's poles is the aurora.

Jupiter's auroras look radiant in new James Webb Space Telescope images

By Stefanie Waldek published

Impressive infrared images of Jupiter's auroras were processed by citizen scientist Judy Schmidt.

jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune and earth

Voyager turns 45: What the iconic mission taught us and what's next

By Jamie Carter published

The twin probes, launched in 1977, made groundbreaking discoveries about the solar system and inspired future space missions.

An artist's depiction of one of the twin Voyager spacecraft exploring interstellar space.

Celebrate NASA's Voyager missions at 45 with this free webcast tonight

By Tariq Malik published

The Voyager missions are icons of cosmic exploration, and you can celebrate their 45th anniversary with a free webcast tonight (Aug. 18).

A close-up of a portion of Saturn's ring system showing distinct bands of blue, orange, yellow, and white.

Voyager: 15 incredible images of our solar system captured by the twin probes (gallery)

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference NASA's twin probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have been exploring the cosmos for 45 years. Here, we take a look at some of their best images.

Voyager spacecraft against a backdrop of stars as it travels through space.

Voyager 2: An iconic spacecraft that's still exploring 45 years on

By Elizabeth Howell published

Reference Voyager 2 was the first of twin probes sent to explore our solar system. After reaching interstellar space in 2014 the probe continues to explore the cosmos.

The asteroid Ryugu, as seen by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft on June 30, 2018.

Asteroid Ryugu contains dust older than the solar system

By Tereza Pultarova published

Ancient grains of dust that are older than the solar system itself have been found in samples from asteroid Ryugu brought to Earth by the Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft nearly two years ago.