5 modern revolutions in planetary science

What is uncommon in our solar system, it now turns out, are worlds that wear their oceans on the outside like Earth — another idea never anticipated before this revolution.

Exploring the Evolution of Solar System Models

The modern era has seen great advancements in our understanding of the solar system. This section focuses on how these developments have reshaped our models, integrating new concepts and

Solar System

The Solar System currently moves through a cloud of interstellar medium called the Local Cloud. The closest star to the Solar System, Proxima Centauri, is 269,000 AU (4.25 ly) away. Both are within the

Solar System—Modern Ideas

Test your knowledge of all aspects of space, including a few things about life here on Earth, by taking these quizzes. This simple picture can explain the extensive differences observed between the inner

Solar System Exploration

Our solar system includes the Sun, eight planets, five officially named dwarf planets, hundreds of moons, and thousands of asteroids and comets. Our solar system is located in the Milky

Solar system

The current approach to the origin of the solar system treats it as part of the general process of star formation. As observational information has steadily increased, the field of plausible

The Planets in Our Solar System – A Timeline

Humankind has known about them for thousands of years. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible in the night sky with the unaided eye. As such, these planets have been

Solar system

Solar system coverage from Scientific American, featuring news and articles about advances in the field.

The New Solar System: What We Know So Far

Our solar system now includes fascinating dwarf planets like Pluto, discovered by space missions. Mars exploration aims to find water and signs of past or present life on the planet. The

2.6 The Birth of Modern Astronomy – Copernicus and Galileo

Using this concept, he was able to work out the correct general picture of the solar system. He placed the planets, starting nearest the Sun, in the correct order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and

Solar System

OverviewDiscovery and explorationDefinitionFormation and evolutionGeneral characteristicsSunInner Solar SystemOuter Solar System

Humanity''s knowledge of the Solar System has grown incrementally over the centuries. Up to the Late Middle Ages–Renaissance, astronomers from Europe to India believed Earth to be stationary at the center of the universe and categorically different from the divine or ethereal objects that moved through the sky. Although the Greek philosopher Aristarchus of Samos had speculated on a heliocentric reordering of the c