Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

What are planets made of?

A look at the compositions of terrestrial planets, gas giants, and ice giants in our Solar System.

The hottest and coldest places in the Solar System

The worlds of our Solar System run the gamut of temperatures. Here are some of the hottest and coldest places we know of.

The best places to search for life in our Solar System

From Earth's neighboring planets to distant moons, these are the best places to look for alien life.

The coolest moons of Jupiter and Saturn you’ve never heard of

Meet the lesser-known moons of our Solar System's gas giants.

What to look forward to in space in 2024

A total solar eclipse and the launch of Europa Clipper are on our list of cosmic events to get excited about this year.

Why the true colors of the planets aren't what you think

Cameras on our space probes act as proxies for our own eyes, but what they see isn't necessarily what our eyes would see.

What are Jupiter’s Galilean moons?

An introduction to Jupiter's moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

China's plans for outer Solar System exploration

A Callisto impactor, a Uranus flyby, and a dedicated ice giant orbiter could be on China’s planetary exploration horizon.

The scientific truth is out there

The real science of aliens, the policy implications of ET, and new views of worlds beyond our own.

Moon-spying missions and a planetary evil twin

Whether they’re dedicated to it or not, planetary missions can get beautiful and informative glimpses at distant moons. And who’s the evil twin: Venus or Earth?

Juice launches on mission to explore Jupiter's icy moons

The spacecraft will explore Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, all three of which may harbor subsurface oceans.

Juice launch and mission preview: What to expect

Juice is ready to launch on a mission to uncover the secrets of Jupiter's icy moons.

What the search for aliens can learn from life on Earth

When searching for extraterrestrial life, we have to base our hunt on what we know about life on our own planet. This may seem limiting, but there's a lot we can learn from the astonishingly diverse lifeforms we have here on Earth.

Volcanic Venus, myriad moons, and space sonification

Learn all about the possible volcanic activity found on Venus, the facts about a hyped-up near-Earth asteroid, Jupiter’s newest moons, and what space images sound like.