"Feb. 6, 2008 -- Astrophysicists in Germany say they can add evidence to bolster theories that water, one of the precious ingredients for life, exists on the Saturnian moon Enceladus.

A tiny satellite measuring just 504 kilometers (315 miles) across, Enceladus has become one of the most fiercely debated objects in the solar system, thanks to close-up pi ... Read More »

"On the night of Feb. 20, the full moon will pass into Earth's shadow in an event that will be visible across all of the United States and Canada.

The total lunar eclipse will be made even more striking by the presence of the nearby planet Saturn and the bright bluish star, Regulus.

Eclipses in the distant past often terrified ... Read More »

"A whole new side of Mercury has been revealed in pictures taken by NASA's MESSENGER probe, which flew by the tiny planet two weeks ago in the first mission to Mercury in more than three decades.

MESSENGER skimmed only 124 miles (200 kilometers) over Mercury's surface on Jan. 14, in the first of three passes it will make before settling into orbit March ... Read More »

The risk that an asteroid will hit Mars on 30 January has dropped to 1 in 10,000, essentially ruling out an impact, NASA researchers say. Read More »

The Moon is dominated by gigantic circular structures where unusual luminous discharges have been observed. Are they indicative of past electrical events?

Human beings have long looked up at and wondered about the Moon. Our forebears probably pondered its origin and its influence, perhaps seeking a purpose for the pale, shining orb that now dominates the night s ... Read More »

The solar physics community is abuzz this week. No, there haven't been any great eruptions or solar storms. The source of the excitement is a modest knot of magnetism that popped over the sun's eastern limb on Dec. 11th, pictured below in a pair of images from the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

It may not look like much, but "this p ... Read More »

The moon formed after a nasty planetary collision with young Earth, yet it looks odd next to its watery orbital neighbor. Turns out it really is odd: Only about one in every 10 to 20 solar systems may harbor a similar moon.

New observations made by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of stellar dust clouds suggest that moons like Earth's are—at most&mda ... Read More »