Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 27, 2011

Dwarf Planet Eris is 'Almost Perfect' Pluto Twin

Though the dwarf planet Eris on the edge of the solar system is much denser than Pluto, the two frigid worlds are nearly exactly the same size, a new study finds. Astronomers accurately measured Eris' diameter for the first time using observations made late last year, when they caught the...

Nov 23, 2011

Mars Mission May Be Curtain Call for Plutonium-Powered Spacecraft

NASA's newest Mars rover, Curiosity, is one in a long line of spacecraft to be powered by the radioactive element, plutonium. Yet, with this chemical quickly becoming scarce, it may be the last, scientists worry. Curiosity is scheduled to launch Saturday (Nov. 26) on a groundbreaking mission to the Red...

Nov 29, 2011

Pluto's Moons Could Spell Danger for New Horizons Spacecraft

When NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reaches Pluto in July 2015, it may find the region more hazardous than anticipated. The discovery of several moons around Pluto — and the potential for more — increase the risks during the probe's flyby. The main problem is debris. The small moons are under...

Dec 21, 2011

Surface of Pluto May Contain Organic Molecules

The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted new evidence of complex organic molecules — the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it — on the frigid surface of Pluto, a new study finds. Hubble observations revealed that some substances on Pluto's surface are absorbing more ultraviolet light than expected....

Apr 6, 2012

Plutonium Production May Avert Spacecraft Fuel Shortage

New batches of plutonium-238 may become available to NASA starting in 2017, perhaps preventing feared shortages of this vital spacecraft fuel. The United States hasn't produced plutonium-238 — a radioactive isotope that's been powering NASA space probes for five decades — since the late 1980s, and planetary scientists say stockpiles...

Jul 11, 2012

Pluto Has a Fifth Moon, Hubble Telescope Reveals

A new moon has been discovered orbiting Pluto, scientists announced today (July 11). Researchers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope found the moon, bringing the number of known Pluto satellites to five. The discovery comes almost exactly one year after Hubble spotted Pluto's fourth moon, a tiny body currently called P4....

Jul 11, 2012

What Should Pluto's New Moon Be Named?

Planetary scientists have spotted a fifth moon orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto. The petite satellite — it measures just 6 to 15 miles across — showed up in new photos of the Pluto system taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. This newest member of the solar community currently goes by...

Jul 11, 2012

Pluto Remains Shrouded in Mystery

A fifth moon orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto has turned up in new Hubble Space Telescope images. Planetary scientists say the newfound moon serves as yet another reminder of how little we really know about this remote, chaotic world. Every time we look harder, we find new stuff, said Alan...

Jul 12, 2012

Pluto's New Moon: Five Fun Facts

Scientists announced the discovery of a new moon around Pluto today (July 11), bringing the dwarf planet's number of known satellites to five. The newfound Pluto moon was spotted by researchers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The instrument has also found three other Pluto satellites — P4 last year, and...

Jul 12, 2012

Should Pluto's 5th Moon Make It a Planet?

Scientists on Wednesday (July 11) announced the discovery of a fifth moon orbiting Pluto in a major solar system find. But while many people think of moons as accessories for planets, like the Earth's moon or Jupiter's many moons, Pluto doesn't quite make the cut in the International Astronomical Union's...

Jul 12, 2012

New Pluto Moon Hints at Perilous Journey for Spacecraft

The discovery of another moon around Pluto is exciting news for planetary science, but it's also likely causing some anxiety for the team in charge of New Horizons, a spacecraft set to be the first probe ever to visit the dwarf planet. On Wednesday (July 11), researchers using NASA's Hubble...

Sep 30, 2012

Best Photo of Pluto from Earth Snapped by Hawaii Telescope

A ground-based telescope has snapped the sharpest image yet of Pluto and its moon Charon taken in visible light from Earth. The Gemini North 8-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i captured the photo of the dwarf planet and its companion using a technique called reconstructive speckle imaging. The resulting image...

Oct 17, 2012

Pluto's Moons (and Maybe Rings) Pose Risk for NASA Spacecraft

The moons of Pluto, and a potential set of rings, may create dangerous debris zones for a NASA spacecraft currently speeding toward the distant world, researchers say. Scientists are now designing alternate courses for the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft that would steer it out of harm's way, while at the...

Nov 21, 2012

Dwarf Planet Beyond Pluto Lacks Atmosphere

Distant starlight has given astronomers the best look yet at a distant icy sibling of Pluto, a dwarf planet called Makemake that appears to be missing its atmosphere, researchers say. Although this icy world currently lacks an atmosphere, there is still a chance it could form one like a comet...

Nov 26, 2012

Pluto Atmosphere Larger Than Thought, Study Shows

A new simulation of Pluto's upper atmosphere shows that it extends so far from the planet that stray molecules may be deposited on its largest moon, Charon. The new model predicts that Pluto's atmosphere can extend as far as 6,456 miles (10,390 kilometers) into space, or about 4.5 times the...