The Latest Breaking News from Solar System

The director of the Carl Sagan Center on the possibility of life elsewhere in our solar system, what Venus can teach us about global heating, and what she thinks of Elon Musk

This is the day we will sink our own home – it is old, they say, and can’t live forever. I’m among the ones who must lock the dome behind us and throw the keys in the river of stardust in which we’ve swum for so long. Happy new year!…

Astronomers have found that Ariel, a moon of Uranus, has some of the most carbon dioxide-rich deposits in the solar system, hinting at a buried water ocean.

On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others.

Using data from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, scientists have determined that the solar system's tiniest planet, Mercury, hides a not-so-tiny secret: a 10-mile-thick mantle of diamond.

When considering human settlements on the Moon, Mars and further afield, much attention is given to the travel times, food and radiation risk. We’ll undoubtedly face a harsh environment in deep space and some thinkers have been pointing to genome editing as a way to ensure that humans can tolerate…

Signs of life could survive on the icy surfaces of Saturn's and Jupiter's moons, Enceladus and Europa, despite harsh radiation bombardment from the sun and supernovas.

Astronomers are proposing a new, more quantitative definition of what makes a planet. The new definition looks more directly at the object's mass — but it would still leave Pluto out of the running.

Indulge yourself in a special birthday cake hunt onsite competition to celebrate our 25th anniversary.