Rubble-Pile Asteroid Bennu Has Layers
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/rubble-pile-asteroid-bennu-has-layers/

The asteroid Bennu is a so-called rubble pile, but new results from NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission indicate this heap of rubble has layers. The post Rubble-Pile Asteroid Bennu Has Layers appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #101955_Bennu #bennu #osirisrex

Solar Cycle May Trigger Clouds on Neptune
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/solar-cycle-may-trigger-clouds-on-neptune/

Nearly 30 years of observations indicate that Neptune’s clouds and brightness vary with the Sun’s activity. The post Solar Cycle May Trigger Clouds on Neptune appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Neptune

India's Chandrayaan 3 Lands on the Moon
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-blogs/astronomy-space-david-dickinson/indias-chandrayaan-3-lands-on-the-moon/

In a first, India’s Chandrayaan 3 soft-lands in the lunar south pole region of the Moon. The post India's Chandrayaan 3 Lands on the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Astronomy_and_Society #Astronomy_Blogs #Astronomy_in_Space_with_David_Dickinson #Solar_System #Spacecraft_and_Space_Missions #ISRO_Moo

What Mud Cracks Mean for Life on Mars
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/what-mud-cracks-mean-for-life-on-mars/

Mud cracks are evidence for sustained wet-dry cycles on ancient Mars, which might have provided conditions amenable to life (with caveats). The post What Mud Cracks Mean for Life on Mars appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Mars

Comet 46P/Wirtanen: All Dust, No Ice
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/comet-46p-wirtanen-all-dust-no-ice/

Where is all of the water around hyperactive comets coming from? A recent article asked if it could be “Ice, Ice, Maybe?” and concluded that it likely isn’t. The post Comet 46P/Wirtanen: All Dust, No Ice appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Comets_&_Asteroids

Perseverance Finds Complex Organics (Not Life) on Mars
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/perseverance-finds-complex-organics-not-life-on-mars/

NASA's Perseverance has sniffed 10 rock samples and found signatures of organic molecules, a sign of a complex geochemical past. The post Perseverance Finds Complex Organics (Not Life) on Mars appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Spacecraft_and_Space_Missions #Mars #Perseverance

Astronomy in Pictures: Saturn and the Milky Way
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/astronomy-in-pictures-saturn-and-the-milky-way/

The James Webb Space Telescope offers a new view of Saturn, while the IceCube Observatory creates a neutrino-painted picture of the Milky Way. The post Astronomy in Pictures: Saturn and the Milky Way appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Milky_Way #Solar_System #Milky_Way_Galaxy #neutrinos #Saturn's_Rings

Phosphates Swim in the Ocean of Saturn's Moon Enceladus
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/phosphates-the-ocean-saturns-moon-enceladus/

Scientists detected phosphorous in an extraterrestrial ocean for the first time when they analyzed data from Saturn's moon Enceladus. The post Phosphates Swim in the Ocean of Saturn's Moon Enceladus appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Enceladus

Parker Solar Probe Detects Source of Solar Wind
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/parker-solar-probe-detects-source-of-solar-wind/

The Sun flings charged particles and accompanying magnetic fields into the solar system, but how? NASA's Parker Solar Probe dives in to find out. The post Parker Solar Probe Detects Source of Solar Wind appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Parker_Solar_Probe #Sun

The Sun Gets Its Close-up: Images from New Solar Telescope
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/the-sun-gets-its-close-up-images-from-new-solar-telescope/

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope shows some stunning detail on the Sun, including sunspots, fibrils, granules, and other solar textures. The post The Sun Gets Its Close-up: Images from New Solar Telescope appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Sun #sunspots

Second Ring Around Quaoar Puzzles Astronomers
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/second-ring-around-quaoar-puzzles-astronomers/

There's a second ring around the far-out dwarf planet Quaoar, adding to the mystery of how this world hosts rings at such wide orbits. The post Second Ring Around Quaoar Puzzles Astronomers appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #dwarf_planet

Four of Uranus's Moons Might Contain Briny Oceans
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/four-of-uranuss-moons-might-contain-briny-oceans/

Four of Uranus's five icy moons likely contain a thin layer of briny (or otherwise enriched) water, astronomers have concluded from Voyager 2 data. The post Four of Uranus's Moons Might Contain Briny Oceans appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Uranus

Magnets Are Bad News for Meteorites
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/bad-news-magnets-and-meteorites/

Common handheld magnets can erase crucial data in ancient meteorites. The post Magnets Are Bad News for Meteorites appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Astronomy_Blogs #Astronomy_in_Space_with_David_Dickinson #Solar_System #meteorites

85,000 Volcanoes Mapped on Venus
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/85000-volcanoes-mapped-on-venus/

A new catalog pinpoints volcanic cones in the best available surface images of Venus – those gathered 30 years ago by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft. The post 85,000 Volcanoes Mapped on Venus appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Venus

ESA's JUICE Mission Launches for Jupiter
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-blogs/astronomy-space-david-dickinson/esas-juice-mission-launches-for-jupiter/

ESA’s first dedicated mission to Jupiter launches from Guyana Space Center. The post ESA's JUICE Mission Launches for Jupiter appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Astronomy_in_Space_with_David_Dickinson #Solar_System #Spacecraft_and_Space_Missions #juice #Jupiter_science

An interesting paper from Turyshev (et al.) about the economics of smallsats and solar sails to explore the solar system and beyond.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14917
"Fast, cost-effective, and maneuverable sailcraft that may travel outside the ecliptic plane open new opportunities for affordable solar system exploration, with great promise for heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics. Such missions could be modularized to reach different destinations with different sets of instruments. Benefiting from this progress, we present the "Sundiver" concept, offering novel possibilities for the science community."
#solar_sail #sundiver #small_satellite #solar_system #interstellar_travel

Does Earth Have a New Quasi-Moon?
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/does-earth-have-new-quasi-moon/

Astronomers have discovered an asteroid that orbits the Sun with Earth, earning it the moniker "quasi-moon." The post Does Earth Have a New Quasi-Moon? appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System

James Webb Space Telescope Captures Another Ringed Planet
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/james-webb-space-telescope-captures-another-ringed-planet/

Webb has returned an image of ringed Uranus, currently experiencing the dog days of northern hemisphere summer. The post James Webb Space Telescope Captures Another Ringed Planet appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #Uranus

Pleasures of Lunar Pareidolia
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/pleasures-of-lunar-pareidolia/

Do you still see animal shapes in clouds? If so, you'll enjoy doing the same with the Moon, home to the Moon Maiden, a giant pair of scissors, and other fantastic specters of light and shadow. The post Pleasures of Lunar Pareidolia appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Astronomy_Blogs #Celestial_News_&_Events #Explore_the_Night_with_Bob_King #Moon #Solar_System #lu

Explaining the Odd Behavior of Interstellar Object 'Oumuamua
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/explaining-the-odd-behavior-of-interstellar-object-oumuamua/

It wasn't aliens after all — an astrochemist and an astronomer have teamed up to explain why the interstellar object 1I/'Oumuamua behaved the way it did. The post Explaining the Odd Behavior of Interstellar Object 'Oumuamua appeared first on Sky & Telescope .
#Astronomy_&_Observing_News #Solar_System #'Oumuamua