The rings are fairly shiny despite being bombarded by dust, indicating that they haven’t been around for very long.
moons
Posted inNews
Tiny Martian Moon May Be a Chip Off the Old Block
A close approach to Deimos reveals that its surface does not look like that of an asteroid, hinting at a Martian origin.
Posted inNews
Marauding Moons Spell Disaster for Some Planets
In solar systems beyond our own, some moons might eventually collide with their host planets, new simulations suggest.
Posted inNews
Quaoar’s Ring Defies Gravity
The dwarf planet’s ring makes astronomers question whether a long-held theory about ring and moon formation needs tweaking.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
What Surprises do the Icy Uranian Moons Hold?
With efforts ramping up to send a spacecraft back to the Uranian system, anticipation is increasing as to what geological surprises are hiding inside and on the surfaces of the icy Uranian moons.
Posted inFeatures
Marine Science Goes to Space
Space and ocean scientists take a splash course in multidisciplinary science to chart our solar system’s ocean worlds.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Callisto’s H Corona: Offspring of the Surface or the Atmosphere?
The mostly unknown Callisto’s H corona is created by a global tenuous H2 atmosphere and not by surface water as previously believed, providing the first evidence for H2 in Callisto’s atmosphere.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Europa’s Plate Tectonic Activity Is Unlike Earth’s
The moon of Jupiter has likely experienced intermittent, regional plate tectonic activity in the past, although the plates are currently dormant.
Posted inNews
Long-Gone Moon Could Explain Birth of Saturn’s Rings
Named Chrysalis, the moon could have disintegrated during a close encounter with the gas giant roughly 100 million years ago.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Zipping Up Data to Zap Them Back from an Icy Moon
NASA wants to send instruments to distant moons like Europa and Enceladus to search for life. But getting vital data back to Earth over limited bandwidth will take some impressive compression software.