planetary-science
3 stories related to this topic, newest first.
app.buzzsumo.comAsteroid Apophis to Pass Within 20,000 Miles of Earth in 2029, NASA Says
An asteroid named Apophis will pass closer to Earth than many satellites on April 13, 2029, with no risk of impact, according to NASA. The object, classified as potentially hazardous, was discovered in 2004 and has been monitored since. Space agencies plan to study it during the…
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope from Greenbelt, MD, USA / Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)Astronomers Detect Thin Atmosphere on Tiny Icy World Beyond Pluto
Japanese astronomers have identified a thin atmosphere around the distant object (612533) 2002 XV93, challenging views on atmospheric presence in small solar system bodies. The finding, based on 2024 observations, was published in Nature Astronomy. Experts call for verification t…
NRAO/AUI/NSF / Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0)Study Suggests Rocky Planets Formed from Two Rings Around Young Sun
A new study proposes that the solar system's inner rocky planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—formed from two distinct rings of material around the young sun, rather than a single protoplanetary disk. The model accounts for the planets' masses, orbits, and compositions. Resear…