Do Saturn’s rings cast shadows?
This dramatic image of the ring shadows on Saturn was taken by Cassini July 16, 2005, when the rings were ...
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What will happen to the solar system when the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy merge?
Back to Article List From the February 2025 issue Predictions are uncertain, but the solar system may be pushed farther ...
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Why do the solar system’s planets have different compositions?
Back to Article List From the February 2025 issue While the composition of gas and dust in a molecular cloud ...
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After our Sun becomes a white dwarf and cools completely, what will be left?
Back to Article List From the January 2025 issue Our white dwarf Sun will cool for billions upon billions of ...
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Does a comet’s period change because it loses mass every time it nears the Sun?
Several bright jets spew from the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as ices on the nucleus turn to gas. This image ...
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Where is the solar system heading?
Back to Article List The Sun, the planets, and all the other flotsam and jetsam that constitute the solar system ...
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How do spacecraft avoid collisions in the asteroid belt?
Back to Article List From the December 2024 issue The main belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter ...
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What happened to the jettisoned Apollo lunar modules?
Back to Article List From the December 2024 issue All but one of the Apollo program’s used lunar modules either ...
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Does dark matter affect our solar system?
Back to Article List From the December 2024 issue Dark matter does pervade the solar system like an invisible fog. ...
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How long would it take for an observer using binoculars to notice the Moon’s terminator moving?
Back to Article List From the January 2016 issue At the Moon’s average distance, it would take about four hours ...
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