Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 27, 2020

Old gas blob from Uranus found in vintage Voyager 2 data

Buried inside data that NASA's iconic Voyager 2 spacecraft gathered at Uranus more than 30 years ago is the signature of a massive bubble that may have stolen a blob of the planet's gassy atmosphere. That's according to scientists who analyzed archived Voyager 2 observations of the magnetic field around...

Apr 7, 2020

What smacked Uranus on its side? Something icy and as massive as Earth, scientists say.

The impactor that knocked Uranus on its side long ago isn't quite so mysterious anymore. Uranus is tipped over more than 90 degrees relative to the plane of the solar system, and so are the gaseous planet's ring system and the orbits of its 27 known moons. Astronomers think this...

Dec 20, 2012

Dwarfed by Saturn

Saturn's moon Mimas appears near Saturn, dwarfed by its parent planet in this image.Mimas (246 miles, or 396 kilometers across) appears tiny compared to the storms clearly visible in far northern and southern hemispheres of Saturn.This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 18 degrees below...

Dec 29, 2012

Incredible NASA Photos Show Saturn's Rings and Clouds

NASA has unveiled amazing new views of the planet Saturn showcasing the ringed wonder's moons, rings and turbulent atmosphere as seen by the Cassini spacecraft. The first photo, which NASA released on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), clearly shows Saturn's south pole and distinctive rings. But the image also holds a...

Jan 6, 2013

See Saturn, Moon and Star Form Cosmic Triangle Early Sunday

Skywatchers who are out and about after 3 a.m. local time Sunday (Jan. 6) will have an interesting celestial array to admire. Three heavenly bodies will come together to form a stretched-out and inverted triangle low in the east-southeast sky. The planet Saturn will shine sedately with a yellowish-white glow...

Mar 20, 2013

Cyclones May Swirl on Icy Saturn Moon Titan

Titan, an ocean-covered moon around Saturn that's usually so cold methane falls as rain, actually warms up enough in the summertime for high-speed cyclones to whip across its seas, according to new research. Sea evaporation could create enough energy to produce winds as high as 44 miles per hour (70...

Mar 29, 2013

Saturn's Rings and Moons are Solar System Antiques

The dazzling rings of Saturn and its moons are likely more than 4 billion years old — the cosmic remnants of the solar system's birth, scientists say. The finding comes after a new study of observations from NASA's Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn, which suggests that the planet's rings and moons...

Apr 10, 2013

Saturn's Dazzling Rings Make It 'Rain'

It's raining on Saturn, and the giant planet's amazing rings are apparently the cause, scientists say. A new study unveiled today has found that erosion from particles making up the icy rings of Saturn are forming rain water that falls on certain parts of the planet. Scientists using the Keck...

Apr 12, 2013

It's Fall on Titan: Icy Cloud Marks Saturn Moon's Season

Images and data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft show that an icy cloud is growing over the south pole of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, hinting that a seven-year fall has taken hold on the celestial body's southern hemisphere. Researchers don't know what the budding cloud is made of, but the same...

Apr 22, 2013

Search for Northern Lights on Saturn Takes Off

Astronomers using an observatory in Hawaii kicked off a month-long campaign to study the northern lights on Saturn study Sunday (April 21) in a live webcast from Hawaii's iconic Keck Observatory. During a three-hour webcast, scientists discussed everything from the ringed planet's atmosphere to new discoveries made about the gas...

Apr 30, 2013

Wow! Monster Hurricane on Saturn Spied by NASA Spacecraft

Spectacular new images from a NASA spacecraft orbiting Saturn have captured the most detailed views ever of an enormous hurricane churning around the ringed planet's north pole. The stunning new images and video of the Saturn hurricane, which were taken by NASA's Cassini probe, show that the storm's eye is...

Jul 23, 2013

Epic NASA Photos of Earth from Saturn & Mercury Give Us Perspective

It's not often that some event comes along to really show humanity its true place in the universe, but two NASA spacecraft have just managed just that. I'm talking, of course, about the spectacular NASA photos of Earth as it appeared from Saturn —nearly 900 million miles away (1.4 billion...

Jul 31, 2013

Geysers on Icy Saturn Moon Enceladus Tied to Orbit

Steady geysers of water ice on one of Saturn's icy moons appear to erupt more strongly when the moon is farthest from its ringed parent planet, scientists say. The warm vents at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus emit vast plumes of water vapor and ice out into space....

Aug 22, 2013

Earth Waves at Saturn in Colossal NASA Collage (Photo)

When a NASA spacecraft snapped photos of Earth as it appeared from Saturn in July, the space agency hoped all of humanity would wave back. Now, thanks to an amazing collage, you can see photos taken that day by the space fans around the world that actually waved at the...

Sep 5, 2013

Monster Saturn Storm Dredged Up Icy Water from the Deeps

A colossal storm that raged on Saturn in 2010 and 2011 churned water ice up from deep within the ringed planet's thick atmosphere, a new study reports. NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected the ice crystals from its perch orbiting Saturn. It's the first time water has ever been spotted on the...