Topic
Solar System
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When baby planets melt
MIT scientists identify first magmas generated in solar system’s building blocks, unexpectedly answering questions about meteorites and formation of rocky planets.
May 7, 2020 -
3Q: On the significance of Ultima Thule
New Horizons Mission Team members Alissa Earle and Richard Binzel discuss the revelations the icy world provides about the formation of our solar system.
January 23, 2019 -
3 Questions: MIT goes interstellar with Voyager 2
MIT Kavli's John Richardson describes MIT's role in the historic passing of the Voyager 2 craft past the heliopause and into the interstellar medium.
December 10, 2018 -
An Infinite solar system
Professor Richard Binzel’s new Infinite Corridor installation models the solar system at scale.
November 16, 2018 -
EAPS welcomes Heising-Simons fellow Ian Wong
The 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellowship provides junior scientists the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy.
February 7, 2018 -
Rivers on three worlds tell different tales
Study finds history of Titan’s landscape resembles that of Mars, not Earth
May 18, 2017 -
Pluto’s icy, slushy heart
Data from New Horizons mission suggest a water-ice ocean lies beneath Pluto’s heart-shaped basin.
November 16, 2016 -
3 Questions: Richard Binzel on what we've learned so far from New Horizons
Professor Richard Binzel, NASA New Horizons scientist, describes a year of discovery since the spacecraft's historic 2015 Pluto encounter.
July 14, 2016 -
Researchers trace Mercury’s origins to rare meteorite
Experiments show planet cooled dramatically in half a billion years.
June 27, 2016 -
A twist on planetary origins
New study finds meteorites were byproducts of planetary formation, not building blocks.
January 14, 2015 -
3 Questions: Ben Weiss on the lunar dynamo
The moon’s molten, churning core likely once generated a dynamo.
December 4, 2014 -
‘Rogue’ asteroids may be the norm
A new map of the solar system’s asteroids shows more diversity than previously thought.
January 29, 2014 -
New technique measures mass of exoplanets
Method will help scientists determine the mass of exoplanets that are not measurable in any other way.
December 19, 2013 -
Asteroids' close encounters with Mars
Scientists find that Mars, not Earth, shakes up some near-Earth asteroids.
November 19, 2013 -
The moon’s face doesn’t tell its whole story
Researchers find that huge craters on the near side of the moon may overstate the intensity of asteroid impacts about 4.1 billion years ago.
November 7, 2013 -
Q&A: John Richardson and John Belcher on Voyager 1’s crossing and interstellar exploration
Beyond the solar system, a probe launched in 1977 is likely to find a cold, dense sea of cosmic rays.
September 16, 2013 -
New five-planet system contains two that are in the ‘habitable zone’
Potentially habitable planets are slightly larger than Earth.
April 19, 2013 -
Searching for solar systems like our own
Josh Winn’s hunt for exoplanets may someday reveal habitable, Earth-like worlds.
March 20, 2013 -
GRAIL reveals a battered lunar history
Twin spacecraft create a highly detailed gravity map of the moon, finding an interior pulverized by early impacts.
December 5, 2012 -
Scientists discover water ice on Mercury
Ice and organic material may have been carried to the planet by passing comets.
November 29, 2012