What was the first spacecraft to arrive at a planet?

We recount the day when the first manmade spacecraft made contact with another world

How big can sunspots get?

We take a look at how big these cooler regions of our star can get

NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter has gained its first look at the moon, pursuing a deeper understanding by examining it in infrared wavelengths

A miniature solar observatory will be flight tested on a six-hour high-altitude balloon mission scheduled for the end of August

Seasonal dark streaks that have become one of the hottest topics in planetary science don’t hold much water

Data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show that ravines on the Red Planet could be being made by carbon dioxide

New data points to more prevalent water ice on the dwarf planet’s surface

An impressive outburst from the solar surface was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory this month

A close-up image of a region close to Pluto’s equator has revealed a range of youthful peaks

Mystifying blemishes along the dwarf planet’s equator have been found

We asked NASA’s Patrick Troutman, a specialist in the future of spaceflight, for his thoughts

What have we sent to the hottest planet in the Solar System?

Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is set for a close encounter with the Red Planet in late 2014.

How long will NASA’s Mars rover last for?