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

Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft will launch in 2014 on a mission to rendezvous with the asteroid 1999 JU3 in 2018 and return samples of the space rock to Earth in 2020.

Japan's asteroid samples faced surprise challenges on Earth: A pandemic, traffic jams and airport security

By Meghan Bartels published

Collecting rocks from an asteroid is rocket science; getting them to the lab is another story.

Venus as seen by Japan's Akatsuki orbiter in December 2015.

Why is a day on Venus longer than a year? The atmosphere may be to blame.

By Scott Dutfield published

Venus' dense and stormy atmosphere is the cause why a day on the scorching planet is longer than a year, a new study suggests.

An artist's impression of comets hurtling towards Beta Pictoris.

Largest treasure trove of exocomets to date found in alien solar system

By Keith Cooper published

Thirty alien comets have been spotted transiting the young star Beta Pictoris, their long tails lighting up the skies of the fledgling planets forming there.

A view of Io captured by the Galileo spacecraft.

Mysterious dunes on Jupiter's volcanic moon Io may be formed by lava

By Samantha Mathewson published

Jupiter's super-volcanic moon, Io, boasts grand, meandering dunes created by lava flows beneath the moon's surface, a new study shows.

Curiosity will be taking shots like this on Mars for another three years.

These 8 NASA missions just got more time to explore Mars, asteroids and the solar system

By Elizabeth Howell published

Mars, the moon and asteroids will get a deeper look from these spacecraft with eight NASA mission extensions.

Diagram of 2022 HB1's orbit ahead of a close approach April 26, 2022.

Watch a bus-sized asteroid safely zoom past Earth within the moon's orbit

By Elizabeth Howell published

You can watch a big asteroid make a safe flyby of Earth today (April 26) if you have strong Internet access.

Pluto, as seen by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft in 2015.

How Pluto walks a tightrope between a stable and chaotic orbit

By Keith Cooper published

Pluto is lucky to exist in the orbit that it does, according to new computer simulations that show how the dwarf planet skirts near a chaotic orbit that could potentially destroy the beloved world.

Conjunctions are happily, common in the night sky. Here is a past one: Jupiter (left) and Saturn (right) are seen after sunset above Jordan Lake during the "great conjunction" on Dec. 21, 2020, near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

See 4 planets line up with the moon in the predawn sky

By Elizabeth Howell published

The quarter-phase moon points to a stunning set of planets low in the sky: Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter.

This image of the planet Uranus was taken by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in 1986.

Uranus by 2049: Here's why scientists want NASA to send a flagship mission to the strange planet

By Jamie Carter published

A key committee of scientists has recommended that a flagship mission to Uranus should be NASA's highest-priority large planetary science mission for the next decade.

This image taken by Lucy's L'LORRI camera captures 17th magnitude stars that are about 50,000 times fainter than the unaided human eye can see. The brightness of the image was adjusted to enhance visibility of faint stars.

Here's the view from a NASA spacecraft bound for Jupiter asteroids

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's Lucy spacecraft captured a series of stunning stellar images on its trip toward Jupiter.

No spacecraft has visited Uranus since the Voyager 2 mission's 1986 flyby.

Here's where planetary science is going in the next decade

By Meghan Bartels published

The solar system is overflowing with fascinating destinations, but NASA can only operate so many missions.

Pluto, the largest of the dwarf planets. This image was taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft.

Curious kids: What is a dwarf planet?

By Vahe Peroomian published

In 2006, and after much debate, the International Astronomical Union came up with a new definition for a planet. And for the first time, the term "dwarf planet" was used.

An image of Neptune taken by the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (on the right) and one captured by the Hubble Space Telescope (on the left).

Neptune is cooling down and scientists don't know why

By Tereza Pultarova published

Two decades worth of observations revealed unexpected cooling of the solar system's most distant planet Neptune amid astronomical summer.

Scientists have created a detailed topological map of asteroid Bennu.

Asteroid Bennu's mysterious missing craters suggest 'impact armoring' protecting the surface

By Tereza Pultarova published

The surface of asteroid Bennu acts like an impact-absorbing crumple zone that protects the space rock from forming craters, a new study based on OSIRIS-REx observations reveals.

Returning comets fade even when they don't approach the sun, a new study found.

Comets fade even as deep in space as Saturn's orbit, scientists find

By Elizabeth Howell published

When comets first appear near Earth, their bright tails of ionized gas stun observers, but on every subsequent return, they become dimmer.

This NASA sky map shows the location of Venus, Mars and Saturn in the night sky April 4, 2022.

See Venus, Saturn and Mars shine close before sunrise this week

By Elizabeth Howell published

Venus, Saturn and Mars will be visible and very close together this week in the predawn sky. Here's how to see it.

The orbits of thousands of asteroids (in blue) cross paths with the orbits of planets (in white), including Earth’s.

NASA downgrades a large asteroid's risk of impact in 2880

By Elizabeth Howell published

A fresh assessment of a distantly risky asteroid brings good news: it's even less of a threat than astronomers had feared.

An image of Pluto taken by the New Horizons probe in 2015 with evidence for potential cryovolcanism marked in blue.

Ice volcanoes on Pluto may still be erupting

By Rebecca Sohn published

An area of Pluto that researchers think was formed from the eruption of ice volcanoes is unique on the dwarf planet and in the solar system, a new study suggests.

This NASA diagram shows the location of Venus, Mars, Saturn and the crescent moon in the predawn sky on March 27 and March 28, 2022.

Venus, Mars and Saturn form a celestial triangle before dawn: How to see it

By Elizabeth Howell published

You can spot them Sunday and Monday, before sunrise.

A "selfie" of Zhurong and its lander captured by a deployed remote camera.

China may have its sights set on a mission to Venus

By Andrew Jones published

China is considering adding a mission to Venus to its plans for planetary exploration, according to a senior Chinese space official.