planetary science
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See the ‘Brain Terrain’ of Mars in New Satellite Images
Recent images captured by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter reveal large craters in Utopia, the largest known impact basin in the Solar System.
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Latest Search for the Elusive Planet Nine Falls Short
Astronomers have reason to believe that a massive object is waiting to be discovered in the outer reaches of the solar system — the so-called Planet Nine. A recent search for this proposed planet produced a null result, but the case is far from closed.
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Satellite Spots Massive Asteroid Impact Crater in China
In 2019, researchers first described a 2 km-wide crater in a mountain range in northeast China; late last year, a NASA satellite imaged the crater from space, giving a broad new view the impact’s aftermath.
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Astronomers Confirm a Second Trojan Asteroid Loitering in Earth’s Orbit
In December 2020, astronomers stumbled upon an object that seemed to be travelling a bit ahead of us in our orbit around the Sun, but they weren’t entirely sure. New observations now confirm this suspicion, revealing the asteroid to be just the second known Earth Trojan.