Records from drill holes in the eastern equatorial Pacific indicate that Earth's orbital eccentricity played an important role in controlling climate as the planet warmed.
orbits & rotations
Posted inNews
Juno Makes Closest Ever Orbit of Jupiter
NASA plans to release more pictures soon, including views of the planet's atmosphere and its north and south poles, all in unprecedented detail.
Posted inNews
Juno Spacecraft Nails Its Orbit Around Jupiter
The mission will spend 20 months collecting data on the planet's core, its magnetic field, and the composition of its atmosphere.
Posted inNews
NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Set to Orbit Jupiter Starting 4 July
The spacecraft's titanium vault and a polar orbiting flight plan that avoids intense radiation regions around Jupiter's equator will help reduce damage to Juno's instruments.
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Atmospheres Can Collapse on the Dark Sides of Planets
Planets that orbit close to their stars might lose their atmospheres along with any chance of life, but new models show a way in which these planets may retain their atmospheres and habitability.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Earth's Climate Cycles Might Have an Eccentric Explanation
Mid-ocean ridge eruptions follow the cycles of tides and Earth's orbital eccentricity, indicating a possible role in long-term climate shifts.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Atmospheric Wave May Shape Venus's Clouds
A novel model suggests that a new wave may be responsible for Venus's iconic Y pattern.
Posted inFeatures
Kepler: A Giant Leap for Exoplanet Studies
NASA's low-cost space telescope opened up a universe of possibilities for scientists who scour space in search of planets—and possibly life.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Predicting Space Weather on a Satellite Superhighway
Scientists combined 82 satellite years of data to create a more comprehensive model of how plasma behaves in a region of Earth's magnetosphere with heavy spacecraft traffic.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Did the Moon Get Its Shape?
Scientists find a solution to a 200-year-old problem: syncing the prominent bulges on the Moon with our natural satellite's origins.