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

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 last updated

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 last updated

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 last updated

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.

An artist's depiction of Chariklo, the largest known Centaur, accompanied by its rings and satellites.

What if the same spacecraft studied mysterious icy bodies and the cosmos as well?

By Meghan Bartels published

Staring out into space is a time-tested technique for making long journeys pass more quickly, but not one often applied at the scale of the solar system.

Taken during Juno's 39th close flyby of Jupiter on Jan. 12, 2022, this stunning view captures two of the planet's moons: Io (left) and Europa (right).

NASA spacecraft snaps gorgeous new photo of Jupiter's moons Io and Europa

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's Juno spacecraft beamed back stunning new photos of Jupiter's moons, Io and Europa.

A false-color image highlights different materials on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres.

Strange dwarf planet Ceres may have formed at the icy edges of the solar system

By Paul Sutter last updated

Ceres is the most dominant member of the asteroid belt but it doesn't look like the other asteroids.

Artist's illustration of Planet Nine, a world about 10 times more massive than Earth that may lie undiscovered in the far outer solar system.

Another search for Planet 9 comes up empty

By Elizabeth Howell last updated

A theorized huge, Planet 9 beyond the orbit of Neptune once again wasn't found in a new survey.

This Virtual Telescope Project graphic shows the orbit of the near-Earth asteroid 2022 ES3, which flies close by Earth on March 13, 2022.

An asteroid the size of a bus flies by Earth today and you can watch it live online

By Elizabeth Howell last updated

You can watch a big asteroid make a safe flyby of Earth today (March 13) from any spot with good internet access.

Jupiter is a gas giant, but it has rocky moons, including Ganymede (shown here), the largest moon in the solar system.

Are there any moons that are made of gas?

By Ashley Hamer published

What would happen if Earth's moon were made of gas?

This artist’s illustration shows what Mars would look like with liquid water.

Could Mars ever have supported life? This NASA challenge wants your help to find out

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new competition with HeroX asks for innovative ways to analyze data gathered on the Red Planet.

Venus and Mars will shine near each other in the predawn sky on March 12, 2022. Here's where to look.

See Venus and Mars pair up in the early morning sky Saturday

By Samantha Mathewson published

Venus will meet up with Mars in the very early morning sky on Saturday (March 12). Here’s how you can catch the planetary duo.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, like the solar system's other small bodies, is shaped by geological processes rather than by gravity.

Why are asteroids and comets such weird shapes?

By JoAnna Wendel published

While planets and some moons are almost perfectly spherical, the smaller bits of the solar system, such as asteroids and comets, come in all different shapes. But why is that?

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.

Scientists hail 'the decade of Venus' with 3 new missions on the way

By Meghan Bartels published

As planetary scientists resumed meeting in person, Venus experts had something special to celebrate.

March is a month of transition, as we change seasons from winter to spring. Here's some strange things to see in the night sky.

March night sky wonders: Strange sights to see every year

By Joe Rao published

Reference A look into the March night sky for some sky objects with unusual solar system planets, stars and constellations.

China's Zhurong Mars rover captured this panorama of the Red Planet. Visible in the foreground are the rover's solar panels and communications equipment.

China's Zhurong rover reveals how weather and ancient water altered rocks on Mars

By Andrew Jones published

China’s first Mars rover Zhurong reveals how weather and ancient water changed the surface of the largest impact basin on Mars.

The four gas giants of our solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are collectively known as Jovian planets, meaning “Jupiter-like”.

Gas giants: Jovian planets of our solar system and beyond

By Elizabeth Howell last updated

Reference The solar system gas giants – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – also known as Jovian planets are helping us learn more about gaseous exoplanets.

The Hiawatha impact crater in Greenland, as depicted by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.

Huge asteroid slammed into Greenland just a few million years after the dinosaurs died out

By Stefanie Waldek last updated

It's much, much older than originally anticipated.

These bits of rock and dust were gathered from the C-type asteroid Ryugu by the spacecraft Hayabusa2.

Pristine asteroid Ryugu contains amino acids that are building blocks of life

By Tereza Pultarova published

Samples from asteroid Ryugu are the most pristine pieces of our solar system ever studied and contain amino acids that could have given rise to life on Earth.