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Space

Could we tweak the solar system to make Pluto a planet again?

Pluto officially lost its planethood in 2006, and this episode of Dead Planets Society is all about bringing it back by making it bigger, faster and better than ever

News

Flowers in a prairie field with mountains in the background

Environment

Can massive solar power expansion regenerate the US’s iconic prairies?

Features

Juice launch 14/04/2023 ESA?s latest interplanetary mission, Juice, lifted off on an?Ariane 5 rocket?from?Europe?s Spaceport?in French 09:14 local time/14:14CEST on 14 April 2023 to begin its eight-year journey to Jupiter, where it will study in detail the gas giant planet?s three large ocean-bearing moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Juice ? Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer ??is humankind?s next bold mission to the outer Solar System. This ambitious mission will?characterise Ganymede, Callisto and Europa with a powerful suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments to discover more about these compelling destinations as potential habitats for past or present life. Juice will monitor Jupiter?s complex magnetic, radiation and plasma environment in depth and its interplay with the moons, studying the Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giant systems across the Universe. Following launch, Juice will embark on an eight-year journey to Jupiter, arriving in July 2031 with the aid of momentum and direction gained from four gravity-assist fly-bys of the Earth-Moon system, Venus and, twice, Earth. Flight VA260 is the final Ariane 5 flight to carry an ESA mission to space.

Space

How the JUICE mission will look for habitability on Jupiter's moons

Features

A close-up of the sun showing solar wind emerging

Space

Solar wind that blasts from sun may be driven by tiny plasma flares

News

Space

Mysterious dark spot on Neptune seen from Earth for the first time

News

Space

All of Neptune’s clouds have vanished – it may be because of the sun

News

Environment

The renewable energy revolution is happening faster than you think

News

Technology

Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Is cheap, clean energy finally here?

News

Our solar system might be 1.1 million years older than we thought

Space

Our solar system might be 1.1 million years older than we thought

News

This artist concept portrays the star PDS 70 and its inner protoplanetary disc

Space

Water seen in young planet system shows Earth may have always been wet

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted water vapour in an area where planets may be forming, which could present an answer to the debate over how Earth got its water

News

Space

Could we put out the sun with a sun-sized orb of water?

News

Technology

Solar panels could be about to get much better at capturing sunlight

News

Space

Our solar system could be hiding an extra planet the size of Uranus

News

Comment

Under Alien Skies review: A terrific guide to our spectacular universe

Culture