Saturn’s rings and tilt could be the product of an ancient, missing moon
A “grazing encounter” may have smashed the moon to bits to form Saturn’s rings, a new study suggests.
Study: Astronomers risk misinterpreting planetary signals in JWST data
Refining current opacity models will be key to unearthing details of exoplanet properties — and signs of life — in data from the powerful new telescope.
MIT’s MOXIE experiment reliably produces oxygen on Mars
Day and night, and across seasons, the instrument generates breathable oxygen from the Red Planet’s thin atmosphere.
Porosity of the moon’s crust reveals bombardment history
The moon sustained twice as many impacts as can be seen on its surface, scientists find.
Astronomers discover a multiplanet system nearby
Just 33 light-years from Earth, the system appears to host two rocky, Earth-sized planets.
New maps of asteroid Psyche reveal an ancient world of metal and rock
The varied surface suggests a dynamic history, which could include metallic eruptions, asteroid-shaking impacts, and a lost rocky mantle.
Magma beneath tectonic collision zones is wetter than previously thought
New findings may help explain how Earth’s crust forms, the location of ore deposits, and why some volcanoes are more explosive than others.
Look! Up in the sky! Is it a planet? Nope, just a star
Among thousands of known exoplanets, MIT astronomers flag three that are actually stars.
Microbes and minerals may have set off Earth’s oxygenation
Scientists propose a new mechanism by which oxygen may have first built up in the atmosphere
Richard Binzel: Eyes on the skies and a passion for planetary science
Over more than three decades at MIT, Binzel developed key insights into the solar system and played a role in multiple NASA missions.
A “hot Jupiter’s” dark side is revealed in detail for first time
The planet’s night side likely hosts iron clouds, titanium rain, and winds that dwarf Earth’s jetstream.
MIT engineers test an idea for a new hovering rover
A levitating vehicle might someday explore the moon, asteroids, and other airless planetary surfaces.
Could acid-neutralizing life-forms make habitable pockets in Venus’ clouds?
A new study shows it’s theoretically possible. The hypothesis could be tested soon with proposed Venus-bound missions.
“Newer, nimbler, faster:” Venus probe will search for signs of life in clouds of sulfuric acid
Report led by MIT scientists details a suite of privately-funded missions to hunt for life on Earth's sibling planet.
TESS discovers a planet the size of Mars but with the makeup of Mercury
The boiling new world, which zips around its star at ultraclose range, is among the lightest exoplanets found to date.