Solar System

Well over 100 new minor planets have been discovered in our solar system, in the darkness out beyond the orbit of Neptune. The discoveries were made by sifting through several years’ worth of data gathered by the Dark Energy Survey (DES).

Researchers have discovered the oldest material on Earth – and it’s not from Earth. Tiny grains from a meteorite that fell in Australia were found to be between 5 and 7 billion years old, meaning they predate our planet, the Sun and the solar system.

2I/Borisov is the first interstellar comet seen, and Hubble has been watching its journey through our neighborhood. The telescope has snapped new images of the comet, which has now swung past the Sun and is on its way back out of the solar system.

NASA has released the first significant findings from the Parker Solar Probe's first two close encounters with the Sun that began in November 2018. Four new studies outline how the spacecraft has both confirmed theories and sprung a few surprises.

An instrument aboard NASA's New Horizons is sending back data that could help scientists predict when the unmanned deep-space probe will reach interstellar space. Using the SWAP instrument, scientists are learning more about the solar winds.

In 2006, Pluto was downgraded from planet to dwarf planet – and now, based on the same definition an object in the asteroid belt may need to be upgraded from asteroid to dwarf planet. New observations of asteroid Hygiea suggest it fits the criteria.

The discovery of 20 new moons around Saturn brings its total to 82 – three more than Jupiter, which was previously thought to hold the record.

A strange object recently discovered in our solar system has been confirmed to be interstellar in origin, and it now has an official name: 2I/Borisov.

Data from the Juno probe found that Jupiter's core is less dense and more spread out than expected. Now, astronomers believe they have an answer – a huge ancient planet, with 10 times the mass of Earth, crashed into the gas giant in the early days of the solar system.

When scientists need to learn about something, recreating it in the lab is often one of the best ways – and now that even applies to the Sun itself. Physicists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have built a mini-Sun in the lab, and used it to probe the secrets of the real thing.

The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 has successfully pulled off a second touchdown on the surface of the distant asteroid Ryugu. The risky dive saw the probe collect material that had been exposed during the creation of an artificial crater on April 5.

Saturn sports an impressive ring system, but Uranus also has some, although they’re usually too faint to see without a powerful telescope. Striking new images shows these rings in very clear detail thanks to thermal imaging, allowing astronomers to measure their temperature for the first time.