Splat or subsurface ocean? The mysteriou...

Ninety years ago this Halloween, a group of Caltech graduate students hauled a small rocket motor into the Arroyo Seco near Pasadena and tried to fire it up. It didn’t go as planned, but that moment became the unofficial birthday of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Now, fo ... Show More

On the night of Oct. 5, 1923, Edwin Hubble spotted a variable star in Andromeda from Mt. Wilson Observatory above Pasadena, California, proving that our galaxy is just one of countless others in the Universe. Now, California Rep. Judy Chu, co-chair of the Planetary Science Caucus ... Show More

NASA’s Perseverance rover has driven farther than any other vehicle on another world. On Oct. 11, 2026, its odometer reached 45.22 kilometers (28.10 miles), passing the record Opportunity spent about 15 years setting. Perseverance did it in about five and a half years. To celebra ... Show More

<p>Will Neil take back what he said about Pluto? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore planets, dwarf planets, and the Kuiper belt with planetary scientist and principal investigator for the New Horizons Mission, Alan Stern. </p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen ... Show More

Pluto may not be a planet, but it definitely exists. Not every case is so clear. The history of near-Earth astronomy contains many cases of bodies that may or may not have ever existed in the solar system we call home. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and J ... Show More

Pluto may not be a planet, but it definitely exists. Not every case is so clear. The history of near-Earth astronomy contains many cases of bodies that may or may not have ever existed in the solar system we call home. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and J ... Show More

Although the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet in 2006, some scientists think it deserves to be reinstated. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/pluto-is-it-planet-after-all. ... Show More

Pluto was unseated as our solar system’s ninth planet in 2006. Since then astronomers have found signs that a real ninth planet could be hiding at the edges of our solar system. Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics, explains how the forthcoming Vera Rubin Observat ... Show More

In the book “Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto,” authors Dr. Alan Stern and Dr. David Grinspoon recount the riveting history of the quest to send a spacecraft to the planet Pluto. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Grinspoon chats about the boo ... Show More

Something strange is going on at the outer reaches of the solar system. One astronomer thinks it might be a Neptune-sized ninth planet, and he’s on a quest to find it. That search is happening at an enormous telescope on the summit of Maunakea, a dormant Hawaiian volcano with a l ... Show More

<p>Did you know that not only is Pluto still a planet, but its energy and movement is about to set the tone for <em>the Great Shift</em> that begins this March, 2023?</p> <p>Today, Brenda Rose—student of Astrology and teacher of all things Other Side, walks you through this astro ... Show More