Latest Planets News
Jupiter's moon count jumps to 92, most in solar system
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, putting the total count at a record-breaking 92. That's more than any other planet in our solar system. Saturn, the one-time leader, comes in a close second with 83 confirmed moons. ...
Green comet zooming our way, last visited 50,000 years ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A comet is streaking back our way after 50,000 years. The dirty snowball last visited during Neanderthal times, according to NASA. It will come within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth Wednesday before speeding away again, unlikely to...
Asteroid coming exceedingly close to Earth, but will miss
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An asteroid the size of a delivery truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest such encounters ever recorded. NASA insists it will be a near miss with no chance of the asteroid hitting Earth. NASA said Wednesday that...
In polar night, Norway-Russia kids event lights up Christmas
BARENTSBURG, Norway (AP) — A 15-year-old boy in a polar bear hoodie took turns reading the Gospel passage about Jesus’s birth in Russian with three girls in dresses and bows who proclaimed it in Norwegian, in a shared celebration of Orthodox Christmas deep in the Arctic undimmed by war and the...
NASA Mars lander InSight falls silent after 4 years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — It could be the end of the red dusty line for NASA’s InSight lander, which has fallen silent after four years on Mars. The lander’s power levels have been dwindling for months because of all the dust coating its solar panels. Ground controllers at...
Satellite launched to map the world's oceans, lakes, rivers
A U.S.-French satellite that will map almost all of the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers rocketed into orbit Friday. The predawn launch aboard a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California capped a highly successful year for NASA. Nicknamed SWOT —...
NASA Orion capsule safely blazes back from moon, aces test
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Orion capsule made a blisteringly fast return from the moon Sunday, parachuting into the Pacific off Mexico to conclude a test flight that should clear the way for astronauts on the next lunar flyby. The incoming capsule hit the atmosphere at...
Biden, Macron ready to talk Ukraine, trade in state visit
WASHINGTON (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Washington on Tuesday for the first state visit of Joe Biden's presidency — a revival of diplomatic pageantry that had been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden-Macron relationship had a choppy...
Company: Leak at Pennsylvania gas storage well plugged
The operator of a natural gas storage well in Western Pennsylvania says workers have successfully plugged a leak that had been spewing massive amounts of planet-warming methane into the atmosphere for two weeks. Equitrans Midstream said the well at its Rager Mountain storage...
Leak at Pennsylvania gas storage well spewing methane
A vent at an underground natural gas storage well in Western Pennsylvania has been spewing massive amounts of planet-warming methane into the atmosphere for more than 11 days and attempts to plug the leak have thus far failed. Owner Equitrans Midstream said the well at its Rager...
