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

NASA sky map of five bright visible planets before dawn in June 2022.

A 'planetary breakup' of 5 planets in the June's big stargazing sight, NASA says

By Samantha Mathewson published

The rare alignment of five naked-eye planets will begin to "break up" as they appear to grow increasingly distant from one another in the morning sky.

Asteroid collisions in the early solar system exposed their iron cores to space, allowing them to cool rapidly.

Iron meteorites point to millions of years of chaos in early solar system

By Keith Cooper published

An asteroid demolition derby took place between 7.8 million and 11.7 million years after the birth of the solar system.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this sequence of the 2012 transit of Venus from space.

Venus crossed the sun's face 10 years ago. Most people alive will never see the sight again.

By Tom Kerss last updated

On the 10th anniversary of the last transit of Venus, find out what makes these events so special and what else to look out for during the long wait for the next one.

Sand blown by wind into ripples within Victoria Crater at Meridiani Planum on Mars, as photographed by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on October 3, 2006.

What's it like to be on Venus or Pluto? We studied their sand dunes and found some clues.

By Andrew Gunn published

What is it like to be on the surface of Mars or Venus? Or even further afield, such as on Pluto, or Saturn's moon Titan?

Scientists expect the Voyager spacecraft to outlive Earth by at least a trillion years.

What the Voyager space probes can teach humanity about immortality as they sail for trillions of years

By James Edward Huchingson published

Both Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, carry little pieces of humanity in the form of their Golden Records.

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

Shades of Uranus: Scientists know why the planet and Neptune are different hues of blue

By Elizabeth Howell last updated

The way each planet's atmosphere responds to methane might be responsible for the different hues of Uranus and Neptune.

A time-lapse image of asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) passing by Earth on May 27, 2022.

Mile-wide asteroid 7335 (1989 JA), the largest yet of 2022, flies safely by Earth

By Elizabeth Howell published

There were no worries whatsoever about the space rock, which passed by at a very safe distance.

Asteroid flybys are common, and we usually can see them coming.

You can watch a huge, mile-wide asteroid fly safely by Earth today

By Elizabeth Howell last updated

A huge asteroid more than a mile wide will zoom safely by Earth today and you can watch it live today in a free online webcast.

An image of dwarf planet Ceres captured by NASA's Dawn mission.

Jupiter's massive gravity kicked strange Ceres into the asteroid belt

By Tereza Pultarova published

A new computer simulation suggests that dwarf planet Ceres may have been flung by the gravity of gas giant Jupiter into the asteroid belt during the volatile era of planet formation.

An illustration of a small spacecraft

Voyager 1 glitch? Strange signals from venerable probe has NASA baffled

By Meghan Bartels last updated

Spending 45 years traversing the solar system really does a number on a spacecraft.

Asteroid flybys are common, and we usually can see them coming.

A giant asteroid the size of a building just safely zoomed past Earth overnight

By Elizabeth Howell published

A building-sized asteroid whizzed by our planet overnight at a very safe distance, just like all the other giant space rocks we know of.

Carbon dioxide frost appears light blue in these images captured by NASA's Mars Odyssey rover.

Mars sports 'invisible' frost and dust avalanches, and scientists may finally know why

By Stefanie Waldek published

Martian frost may be camouflaged by dust, which could cause dust avalanches.

An image of Venus compiled from data gathered by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and the Magellan mission, both of which ended in the early 1990s.

Venus-like worlds are surprisingly common in 'habitable' zones

By Paul Sutter published

The current definition of habitable zone only examines the amount of sunlight reaching a planet. It may be time to question that definition.

When we say asteroid 'flyby,' none of those space rocks will come anywhere near this close.

2 big asteroids whiz past Earth in the next week. No, they definitely won't hit us.

By Elizabeth Howell published

There are two asteroids making very safe flybys of Earth in the coming days.

"Horizons: The Global Origins of Modern Science" by James Poskett.

In 'Horizons,' a discarded global view of science shines

By Meghan Bartels published

What if everything we're taught about the history of astronomy and physics is wrong?

From his balcony in Rome, Gianluca Masi captured this night-sky image of Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn (plus the moon) lined up.

4 planets line up like ducks in a row in gorgeous night-sky image

By Stephanie Pappas published

The moon is leading a parade of four planets across the predawn sky this week.

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.