Tag: Outer Solar System
-
A Tiny, Icy World Could Rewrite Our View of the Solar System’s Past
Unveiling a New Quiet Giant of the Outer Solar System In the far reaches beyond Neptune, a newly identified trans-Neptunian object (TNO) has researchers buzzing about what it might reveal about the early days of our solar system. While it may be small by planetary standards, its composition, orbit, and behavior hold the potential to…
-
This Small, Icy World Could Rewrite What We Know About Our Solar System’s Past
Introduction: A New Clue from the Outer Solar System In the distant, frozen reaches beyond Neptune, a newly observed trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is prompting scientists to rethink long-held ideas about how our solar system formed. This small, icy world, first detected by a wide-field survey, offers clues about the distribution of materials in the early…
-
Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS Closest Approach to Earth Dec. 19
What is 3I/ATLAS? Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is one of the few confirmed visitors from outside our solar system. Discovered on July 1 by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey, this icy visitor is journeying through our cosmic neighborhood on a hyperbolic trajectory that will take it away from the Sun after its fleeting…
-
Is There a Planet Nine Beyond Neptune? Mapping the Solar System’s Hidden Worlds
Beyond Neptune: The Quest for Planet Nine For generations, Neptune has stood as the outer boundary of the familiar planetary lineup. Yet modern astronomy has shifted that boundary outward, toward a potential ninth planet that may lurk far beyond the orbit of Neptune. The idea, born from patterns in the orbits of distant objects, suggests…
-
Is there a Planet Nine beyond Neptune? Mapping the solar system’s hidden worlds
The Search for Planet Nine For decades, astronomers have questioned whether a ninth planet hides far beyond Neptune, tugging softly on distant icy objects. The idea, born from patterns in the Kuiper Belt and the peculiarities of scattered disk objects, suggests a massive planet well beyond Pluto that could be influencing orbits with its gravity.…
-
Five Venus Missions That Could Launch in the Next Decade to Study Earth’s ‘Evil Twin’
Why Venus matters for planetary science The planet most often called Earth’s “evil twin” sits closer to the Sun and endures extreme heat, crushing atmospheric pressure, and a dense, sulfuric haze. Studying Venus helps scientists understand why a world so similar in size and composition evolved into a scorching, waterless environment. With Akatsuki now quiet,…
-
Deuterated Water Ice on Saturn’s Satellites: Unveiling D/H Ratios
New JWST Detections Reveal Deuterium-Enriched Ice on Saturnian Moons The deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratio in water ice is a key tracer of how and where planetary bodies acquired their water. A recent study using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reports robust spectroscopic detections of the 4.14 μm O-D stretch absorption on mid-sized Saturnian satellites. This…
-
Rocky Giants: Reimagining Uranus and Neptune Interiors
Introduction: Rethinking the Outer-Planet Class For decades, Uranus and Neptune have been branded the solar system’s ice giants. Based on early models, scientists believed these distant worlds were dominated by frozen ices—water, ammonia, and methane—surrounding a rocky core. But fresh research is challenging this long-held label, proposing a more nuanced interior structure that could even…
-
Could Saturn’s Moon Mimas Hide a Newborn Ocean? A Mission in the Making
Is Mimas Hosting a Newborn Ocean? Saturn’s moon Mimas, long famous for its ominous “Death Star” crater Herschel, may be hiding a newborn ocean beneath its icy shell. New analyses of Cassini data, combined with advances in modeling tidal heating, suggest that the moon’s ice shell could have melted recently enough to form a liquid…
-
Unveiling Trapped CO2 on Saturn’s Moons: JWST Sheds Light on Ice, Organics, and Solar System Chemistry
Introduction: A New Window into Outer Solar System Chemistry The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expanding our understanding of planetary surfaces far beyond Earth. A recent study focusing on the satellites of Saturn uses JWST spectra to identify solid-state CO2 trapped within diverse host materials across eight mid-sized moons. This work reveals that CO2…