Illustration of a poorly lit planet. Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, and R. Hurt I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again - our understanding of the solar system advances at the pace of technology. As our processing power grows, we are able to do more and more complex calculations, and the spherical cows we had to assume to make the math easier are now getting replaced with real physics. In general, we don’t actually worry about cows unless atmospheric science — like the study of tornadoes and the air dynamics of cows — are being contemplated. Planetary scientists are fortunate, as...

Modern-day Mars experiences cyclical changes in climate and, consequently, ice distribution. Unlike Earth, the obliquity (or tilt) of Mars changes substantially on timescales of hundreds of thousands to millions of years. At present day obliquity of about 25-degree...

Jezero Crater as Seen by ESA's Mars Express Orbiter: This image shows the remains of an ancient delta in Mars' Jezero Crater, which NASA's Perseverance Mars rover will explore for signs of fossilized microbial life. Credit: NASA The remnants of ancient dunes aren’t...

This false-color image shows Titan’s second-largest body of liquid, Ligeia Mare, in the moon’s northern hemisphere. Scientists think that rivers flowing into large bodies of liquids like this one should form deltas. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Cornell New research...

Apollo 15 lunar module with Mons Hadley in the background. Credit: NASA / JSC / ASU / Andy Saunders I don’t know about you, but there have been a lot of random times when I or someone near me has said, “Someday archaeologists are going to have a field day with…” as we...