Topic: Solar Systems
Closer Look: Rubin Observatory

Closer Look: Rubin Observatory

In the early 2000s, the massive scientific return from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey made it clear that there are questions we can only answer by investing in systems that survey the sky and inventory everything visible. From learning about the distribution of galaxies by type to exploring the distribution of stars by age, that survey gave us a glimpse of just how much we don’t yet know. Apache Point hosts the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's telescope. Credit: SDSS The SDSS survey used a 2.5-m telescope to initially explore an 8,000 square degree area of the sky, and has since added new areas and...

read more
Small star hosts (smaller) huge planet

Small star hosts (smaller) huge planet

Artistic rendering of the possible view from LHS 3154b towards its low mass host star. Given its large mass, LHS 3154b probably has a Neptune-like composition. Credit: Penn State Solar systems keep finding new ways to surprise us and to convince us that we don’t...

Six planets in coordinated orbits

Six planets in coordinated orbits

https://youtu.be/KfZCGBhwpes In my personal opinion, one of the mathematically coolest things in our solar system is the orbits of Jupiter's three inner Galilean moons. It just happens, that these worlds orbit to a beat, with innermost Io circling four times for every...

You can visit a piece of Bennu

You can visit a piece of Bennu

Credit: NMNH We would be remiss if we didn’t update you all on the Bennu sample return mission. As of writing, no word has been released on if the science team has managed to get the TAGSAM capsule open, yet. Remember how that boop became a shove and the capsule had...

Lucy finds a moonmoon

Lucy finds a moonmoon

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL Last episode, we brought you some early science results from the Lucy mission, which is out exploring asteroids in the main belt on the way to hanging out amongst Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. The biggest piece of news was the...

Lucy Sends Science Home

Lucy Sends Science Home

Credit: NASA Back in October 2021, a mission called Lucy lifted off on a multi-year journey to visit Jupiter’s two collections of Trojan Asteroids. Today, it is making its way through the asteroid belt before circling back to use the Earth to get a gravitational...