Planetary / Archive

UK scientists have used NASA’s InfraRed Telescope Facility to zoom in on Saturn's Aurorae [credit: Dr Tom Stallard (main) and NASA (inset)]

Spotlight on Saturn's Aurorae
from Planetary

A UK team of researchers have discovered a secondary aurora sparkling on Saturn and also started to unravel the mechanisms that drive the process. Their results show that Saturn’s secondary aurora is much more like Jupiter’s in origin than it is the Earth’s.

Article Posted: 02-07-2008


A UV image of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The main auroal oval, diffuse emissions inside the polar cap and the magnetic footprints of three of Jupiter's moons can clearly be seen. (NASA, ESA & Univ of Michigan)

Extra-terrestrial aurora
from Planetary

The Earth isn’t the only planet in our solar system to possess a magnetic shield or play host to auroral lights. UK scientists are at the forefront of efforts to understand the similarities between aurorae at Earth and some of our planetary neighbours.

Article Posted: 14-08-2007


This artist's concept depicts NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander a moment before its 2008 touchdown on the arctic plains of Mars. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona)

The Phoenix Rises
from Planetary

NASA’s Mars Phoenix mission blasted off safely from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday 4th August, aiming for a landing in the red planet’s northern polar region in late May 2008. On board the spacecraft are experiments to search for life in Martian ice that rely on UK techno...

Article Posted: 06-08-2007


Artist's view of Venus, a planet with no magnetic shelter (Credits: ESA)

Mars and Venus: Earth's 'failed' sibling worlds
from Planetary

UK scientists are also working with ESA's Mars Express and Venus Express missions. In this case they are studying unmagnetised objects. We are exploring other planets to see what causes the similarities and differences between them and the Earth. For example, Venus and Mars have ...

Article Posted: 15-02-2007


ESA's Huygens probe is attached to NASA's Cassini Orbiter prior to launch at at Cape Canaveral, Florida (credit: NASA).

Building Cassini
from Planetary

It’s not just a question of downloading data. Almost every aspect of the mission has benefited from British involvement. For example, a British company provided titanium hoses that feed Cassini's engines with fuel. While this may not be the biggest or most glamorous contribution,...

Article Posted: 15-02-2007


Mimas drifts along in its orbit against the blue backdrop of Saturn's northern latitudes in this true colour view taken by the NASA/ESA Cassini spacecraft (credit: ESA/NASA)

Cassini's scientific harvest
from Planetary

The US space agency NASA is admired for its ambitious deep space projects, but British scientists and hardware designers are also involved, even in the most spectacular missions, such as the Cassini probe to Saturn.

Article Posted: 15-02-2007


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