The discovery of near-perfectly preserved billion-year-old Martian dunes is helping scientists to unravel the geologic and climatic history of the red planet.

For the first time, astronomers have obtained an image of the very young gas giant exoplanet Beta Pictoris c, 63 light-years away. Its sibling, Beta Pictoris b, was discovered and photographed in 2008.

All these years, NASA scientists have laboriously sifted through spacecraft images to identify and classify markings on Mars. Now they're using a new "classifier," powered by artificial intelligence. What takes a human 40 minutes takes the AI tool an average of just 5 seconds.

In a fun cosmic coincidence, researchers used old Kepler spacecraft data to discover an Earth-sized exoplanet with an orbital period of 3.14 days, a number that matches the mathematical constant pi.

Where are the other most promising locations for extraterrestrial life in our solar system?

Solar storms pose risks for society, but more accurate space weather forecasts appear to be coming soon. A team of researchers in Japan has developed a physics-based method for predicting large solar flares, including powerful and potentially dangerous X-flares.

Scientists develop a new way to search for potentially habitable exoplanets by measuring the amount of phosphorus in their stars. Such planets should also have abundant phosphorus - necessary for life on Earth - increasing the chances for life.

While extragalactic "rogue" planets - not orbiting any star - have been reported before, the new exoplanet is the first to be detected orbiting stars in another galaxy. And not just any galaxy ... but M51, the beautiful Whirlpool, 23 million light-years away.

Water-vapor geysers erupt from cracks at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Scientists using Cassini data now have evidence for fresh ice at the moon's north pole, too. Could it be more geysers for this fascinating ice moon?

Here's how we can find out if it's a sign of life.