Solar System

Meteorites often burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, but a fireball over Canada last year may shake up our understanding of the solar system. Scientists traced its origins back to a distant cloud of comets that wasn’t thought to host any rocky material.

Astronomers have detected an eerie glow of “ghost light” that could represent a previously unknown component of the solar system. Comparing data from two distinct viewpoints – Hubble and New Horizons – researchers discovered a dim, unexplained glow.

Dark matter remains elusive despite decades of searching. Now physicists have proposed a new experiment that would try to find signals by sending atomic clocks to where dark matter should be at its most dense – right near the Sun.

Tree rings can preserve a snapshot of the Earth throughout the tree's life. Now Australian scientists analyzing these records have found evidence of huge radiation storms that periodically bathe the planet – and their origin remains a mystery.

Saturn is home to several solar system mysteries. Using data from Cassini, astronomers now suggest a simple answer to a few questions – a lost moon once orbited the planet before being torn to shreds.

A six-year round trip to an asteroid has yielded unprecedented insights into the formation of the solar system. Scientists have analyzed samples returned from asteroid Ryugu, finding a detailed history starting with the oldest material ever found.

Astronomers have found more evidence of giant ice volcanoes on Pluto. New analysis of data and images gathered by the New Horizons mission have revealed unique surface structures that seem to have been produced by something known as cryovolcanism.

Astronomers have discovered the first known quadruple asteroid system. A team from Thailand and France spotted a third moon orbiting the main-belt asteroid Elektra, moving the object into the record books.

An absolutely gigantic comet is currently barreling towards the solar system – and new observations have pinned down its size. Astronomers have measured C/2014 UN271 to be 150 km wide, making it comfortably the largest comet ever discovered.

A huge comet making its journey towards the solar system has begun to show a tail. A newly released image shows the fuzzy coma, confirming that it is indeed a comet and may be one of the largest ever discovered.

Mercury’s disproportionately massive core may be the result of the Sun’s powerful magnetic influence rather than the consequence of a cataclysmic collision with another body in the ancient past, according to the results of a new study.

Editor’s note: New details about this fascinating object have emerged since we wrote this article – here's the latest update.