Touchdown! Perseverance lands successfully on Mars

NASA's Perseverance mission conducted a picture-perfect landing on Mars today and has already sent back several images.

Dark streaks on Mars may be caused by salts and melting ice

Researchers at the SETI Institute say that mysterious dark streaks on sun-facing slopes on Mars, debated about for years, may be small landslides caused by a combination of salts and melting ice just below the surface.

Farfarout is farthest object in our solar system yet known

Astronomers have confirmed that an object with the nickname of Farfarout is, to date, the farthest object we’ve seen in the solar system.

Galaxies have magnetic fields, too! Images here

Until recently, magnetic fields in the outskirts of galaxies were too faint to be detected. Although it's still not clear what causes them or how they're maintained, astronomers have started to create images of their observations of galaxies' magnetic fields producing beautiful aurora-like effects. See them here.

A new planet next door?

Astronomers have spotted “something” near Alpha Centauri A, in the star system nearest our Earth and sun. If it turns out to be a planet, it'll be the first time a planet has been directly imaged within the habitable zone of a star.

Celebrate the 91st anniversary of Pluto’s discovery

The I Heart Pluto Festival 2021 is a free event running from February 13 - 18 hosted by Lowell Observatory. Join in with nightly virtual events!

Both Hope and Tianwen-1 now orbiting Mars

The Chinese Tianwen-1 mission to Mars successfully entered Mars orbit on February 10, 2021, only one day after the United Arab Emirates mission Hope arrived at the red planet on February 9. They'll be followed soon by NASA's Perseverance mission which is set to arrive and land on February 18.

Mars atmosphere shedding charged particles onto Phobos?

New research suggests that particles escaping from Mars' atmosphere have been accumulating on the surface of the planet's largest moon Phobos for billions of years. They could provide important new details about the history of both worlds.

Extraterrestrial: the First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth

Avi Loeb's Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth gives a case for 'Oumuamua being a product of an alien civilization.

NASA’s moon program – Artemis – boosted at White House press briefing

During a White House press briefing on February 4, 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the Biden administration's support fo NASA's Artemis program, whose long-term goal is to send the next man and first woman to the moon by 2024.