Jupiter

A first-of-a-kind NASA launch took place over the weekend, setting the agency's Lucy spacecraft on a pioneering path toward Jupiter to study an unprecedented number of asteroids as part of a single mission.

NASA's Juno deep-space probe has sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, to be captured in two decades. The stunning images were taken by the JunoCam and Stellar Reference Unit during Juno's flyby of the moon on June 7.

Scientists have recreated in the lab some of the wild weather that might be found on Jupiter and Saturn. Using extremely high pressures and laser shock waves, the researchers produced helium rain which has been hypothesized to fall on these planets.

Jupiter’s Icy moon Europa – which is considered one of the most promising places to find life beyond Earth – may have enough internal heat to trigger volcanic activity on the seafloor of its global ocean, according to the results of a new study.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot may be stealing energy from the smaller storms that careen into it on a regular basis. These dramatic interactions had previously seemed to be damaging the iconic atmospheric feature, but may instead be helping it survive.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft will take a Cassini-like approach to exploring the Jovian system when it begins its latest mission extension in August this year at which point it will make passes of Jupiter’s rings and moons, and explore key surface features.

Space exploration in 2021 will see some major milestones to look forward to. From maiden flights to fiery endings, long-awaited launches to history-making first steps, here are some of the biggest upcoming events in space exploration this year.

Giving a new meaning to the word "moonshine," NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, have concluded that Jupiter's moon Europa glows in the dark due to being constantly bombarded with high-energy radiation.

Atmospheric phenomena known as "sprites" and "elves" may be illuminating the cloud layers of Jupiter, according to a newly published study. These short-lived light displays have been spotted on Earth manifesting above intense lightening storms.

Venus may owe its extreme atmosphere to an ancient run-in with the gas giant Jupiter, which could have fundamentally altered the planet’s orbit, and led to the loss of massive amounts of its water reserves.

It’s human nature to be transfixed by clouds, and Jupiter offers some of the best cloud-watching in the solar system. Now, new Hubble images remind us why, revealing fresh storms brewing along with some intriguing changes to old ones.

NASA has discovered a strange star system where a gas giant planet is tightly orbiting a tiny white dwarf. This the first sighting of such an arrangement, raising questions about how the planet survived the star’s expansive death in the first place.