Cassini will fly close to Saturn's largest moon one last time. Here's a look back at what the spacecraft has revealed and ahead to scientists' final close glimpses of the moon.
Space & Planets
Posted inNews
Hydrogen Molecules Hint at Habitability of Enceladus's Ocean
Scientists suggest that the hydrogen could be evidence of hydrothermal activity on the ocean floor of Saturn's sixth largest moon.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Why It’s Time for a New Mission to Venus
A packed session entitled "Unveiling Venus" at the recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference shows renewed interest in our sister planet.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
For Magnetic Reconnection Energy, O—not X—Might Mark the Spot
A new analysis of satellite data could upend conventional wisdom about how solar storms produce their dangerous radiation—not from X-shaped mergers of magnetic field lines but from swirling vortices.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Explaining Unexpected Twists in the Sun's Magnetic Field
New research shows how the Sun's magnetic field can shift when it approaches Earth, which can throw off space weather forecasts.
Posted inNews
Iapetus's Ridge: The Result of Many Small Impacts?
A ridge around Saturn's third-largest moon has scientists scratching their heads.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Filling Earth’s Space Environment from the Sun or the Earth?
The editor of a new book describes how a unique combination of the monograph and video show that a four-decade old paradigm in solar-terrestrial physics is changing.
Posted inNews
Lunar Lava Tubes Could Offer Future Moon Explorers a Safe Haven
Scientists find evidence that a 50-meter-deep pit on the Moon's surface could be a skylight opening to an intact lava tube tens of kilometers long.
Posted inNews
Earth Science Budget Woes Cast a Shadow on Planetary Scientists
NASA's record-high proposed planetary science budget didn't quell the fears scientists have about cuts to Earth sciences.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Scientists Probe the Calm After Solar Storms
In forecasting the effects of solar storms, understanding how they subside—and not just how they arrive—will be crucial.