Latest Planets News
Not quite the 'Girl from Ipanema', a fur seal's rare appearance on Rio's famous beach turns heads
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Short, and dark, and young, and tired, the seal on Ipanema was basking ... The fur seal on Rio de Janeiro’s iconic beach was turning heads of locals and tourists alike Wednesday morning — though not for the same reasons as the famous "Girl from Ipanema." ...
The winter solstice is almost here, the Northern Hemisphere's darkest day
The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere — ideal conditions for holiday lights and warm blankets. For those who would rather have more sunlight, you can try to make your way to the Southern Hemisphere, where...
Joy and wonder: Between the bumps of the world, exuberance shone through in 2024
She jumps, her eyes closed, and she grins — this little girl surrounded by gang violence in her own neighborhood in Haiti. The jump rope game she is playing brings out an exuberance in her that the conditions around her cannot squelch. Around the planet, so many human beings — in...
How old are Saturn's rings? Study suggests they could be 4.5 billion years old just like the planet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — New research suggests that Saturn’s rings may be older than they look — possibly as old as the planet. Instead of being a youthful 400 million years old as commonly thought, the icy, shimmering rings could be around 4.5 billion years old just like...
How to catch the Geminids, one of the strongest meteor showers of the year
The Geminids — among the few major meteor showers to come from asteroids — will be visible until Dec. 21, although peak viewing was on Dec. 13. Here’s what to know about the Geminids and other meteor showers. It's one of the year's last chances to see fireballs in the sky. The...
PHOTOS OF THE YEAR: Through photographers' lenses, an epic catalog of humanity in 2024 emerges
In nearly 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states, visual journalists with The Associated Press are eyewitnesses to the world’s news, and have won 36 of AP's 59 Pulitzer Prizes since the award was established in 1917. AP photographers assembled a visual catalog of our civilization as...
Earth bids farewell to its temporary 'mini moon' that is possibly a chunk of our actual moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Planet Earth is parting company with an asteroid that’s been tagging along as a “mini moon” for the past two months. The harmless space rock will peel away on Monday, overcome by the stronger tug of the sun’s gravity. But it will zip closer for a...
The dark energy pushing our universe apart may not be what it seems, scientists say
NEW YORK (AP) — Distant, ancient galaxies are giving scientists more hints that a mysterious force called dark energy may not be what they thought. Astronomers know that the universe is being pushed apart at an accelerating rate and they have puzzled for decades over what could...
When to catch the last supermoon of the year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Better catch this week's supermoon. It will be a while until the next one. This will be the year’s fourth and final supermoon, looking bigger and brighter than usual as it comes within about 225,000 miles (361,867 kilometers) of Earth on Thursday. It...
Moonlight may hamper views of the Orionid meteor shower, debris of Halley's comet
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Orionids — one of two annual meteor showers from Halley's comet — peak early Monday. A bright waning moon may make them difficult to spot. The Orionid meteor shower can be unpredictable. It shines like a fireworks display in some years, but is fairly slow...
