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EXPLORE THE EARTH’S
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PLANETARY NEIGHBOURS
COMPLETE GUIDE
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TO THE MOON
COMETS, ASTEROIDS AND
METEOR SHOWERS
SPACE VOLCANOES
LU
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THE STRANGEST MOONS
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IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
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© NASA,
Welcome
ur Solar System is a truly
amazing place about
which we know so much,
yet at the same time still
have so much to learn. In
Understanding The Solar
System, we’ll explore the inner workings
of our fascinating cosmic neighbourhood,
from the wonders of our own planet to
the secrets of the Ice Giants and all of
our planetary neighbours. Marvel at the
incredible star that makes it all possible,
and delve beneath the surface of Earth’s
very own natural satellite and some of
the Solar System’s strangest moons. We’ll
also bring you a host of articles on other
fascinating space phenomena, such as
comets, asteroids, alien storms and more.
3
THE S
25 unbelievable How the planets

facts about the would look...
... if they were at the same
Solar System distance from Earth as the Moon
Why our neighbourhood
could be the strangest place
in the cosmos Jupiter
The largest planet has a lot to
THE SUN tell us, and Juno is on the case
AND PLANETS
Everything you
The Sun need to know
The Solar System would
be nothing if it weren’t for the about Saturn
power of our nearest star There’s more to this gas giant
than meets the eye
The swelling Sun

Scientists get a gruesome look Secrets of the
at how our Sun will eat planets
Ice Giants
Join us as we peek into
Mercury the unknown
This minute world is arguably
the least explored of the
four terrestrial planets
22 things you didn’t

know about Venus
Earth’s sister planet is an intriguing
and mysterious world
What are planets

like on the inside?
Even among the worlds
of our Solar System we see a
huge variety of planets
36 Earth
The rocky world that we
call home is full of wonders
Complete guide
to Mars
We’re learning more about the
Red Planet every day
4
OF THE
SYSTEM
Guide to the Moon

Everything you need to know
about our natural satellite
Strangest moons
Discover some of the fascinating
worlds in the Solar System
Does Earth have a

second moon?
Learn more about the asteroid
tracking our orbit around the Sun
Escape to Titan
When the Sun scorches Earth,
a tiny Saturnian moon could
be our next home
SYSTEM
PHENOMENA
Space volcanoes
From Venus to Mars, volcanoes
have helped shape the bodies
of our Solar System
Martian
megatsunami
How a megatsunami swept over
the Red Planet
Comets, asteroids
and meteor showers
Discover the space rocks that
Utter our Solar System
120 Where are the

I biggest craters?
Explore some of the largest
craters in the Solar System
122 Alien storms

Discover incredible
©NASA; Alam y;
weather on other worlds

and what causes it
UNDERSTANDING THE SOLAR SYSTEM
© Science Photo Library
I
The Solar System

I is really big
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in 1977. More than three
decades later, in 2012 it became the first human-made object to
enter interstellar space by crossing the heliopause - the edge of the
heliosphere. That's the boundary beyond which most of the Sun's
ejected particles and magnetic fields dissipate. “If we define our
Solar System as the Sun and everything that primarily orbits the
Sim, Voyager 1 will remain within the confines of the Solar System
© NASA
until it emerges from the Oort Cloud in another 14,000 to 28,000
years,” NASA says.
The Moon is both mind- The Sun’s

bogglingly distant and incredibly atmosphere
close depending on how you is hotter than
think about it” its surface
While the Sun’s visible surface, the
photosphere, is 5,500 degrees Celsius
Even just our
2 neighbourhood is really big
Depending on how carefully you do the calculations and how
(10,000 degrees Fahrenheit), its upper
atmosphere has temperatures in the
millions of degrees. It’s a large
temperature differential with little
explanation. NASA has several
you arrange them, all of the planets in the Solar System could fit Sun-gazing spacecraft on the case,
in between Earth and its Moon. The distance between Earth and however, and they have some ideas
the Moon varies as it orbits around us, as does the diameter of for how the heat is generated. One is
‘heat bombs’, which happen when
each of the planets - they’re wider at their equators, so Saturn magnetic fields cross and realign in
and Jupiter would have to be tilted sideways for this to work. But the corona. Another is when plasma
imagine lining them all up, pole to pole. They’d just barely squeeze waves move from the Sun’s surface
in between us and our closest companion in space, blocking out the into the corona. With new data from
the Parker Solar Probe - which
sky with their rings and gas giant bulk as they did so. recently became the first human-
The Moon is the farthest from Earth we’ve ever sent humans, and made object to ‘touch’ the Sun -
it’s both mind-bogglingly distant and incredibly close depending on coming in all the time, we’re closer
how you think about it. Eight enormous planets could fit between than ever to unlocking the mysteries
at the heart of our Solar System.
here and there, and the distance from Earth to the Sun is more
© Tobias Roetsch
than 390 times the distance from Earth to the Moon. Scientists use
an approximation of the Earth-Sun distance, also known as one
astronomical unit, or AU, to compare distances within the Solar
System. Jupiter is about 5.2 AU from the Sun, and Neptune is 30.07
AU from the Sun - around 30 times as far from the star as Earth.
© Tobias Roetsch
Venus is swept by powerful
F
r
5 winds that could harbour life

Venus is a hellish planet with a high- times faster than the planet’s rotation.
temperature, high-pressure environment The European Venus Express spacecraft,
on its surface. Bone-dry and hot enough which orbited the planet between 2006
to melt lead, it’s not exactly a welcoming and 2015, tracked the winds over long
environment, and has probably always periods and detected periodic variations. It
been inhospitable to life. When the heavily also found that the hurricane-force winds
shielded Venera spacecraft from the Soviet appeared to be getting stronger over time. A
Union landed there in the 1970s, each 2020 study that thrilled many astrobiologists
a
lasted a few minutes, or at most a few detected phosphine, a possible sign of

I
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.Q
Mercury is
2 hours, before melting or being crushed decaying biological matter, high in the
©
still shrinking beyond their ability to function. Venusian clouds. Could they be a sign of
But even above its surface, the planet life? Not without sufficient water, claim
Mercury is already the smallest
planet in the Solar System, and is the has a bizarre environment. Scientists follow-up studies that reject the possibility
second-densest after Earth. And it’s have found that its upper winds flow 50 of life in Venus’ dry and windy atmosphere.
only getting smaller and denser. For
many years, scientists believed that
Earth’s Van Allen belts are
Earth was the only tectonically
active planet in the Solar System. But
that changed after the Mercury
Surface, Space Environment,
Geochemistry and Ranging
6 more bizarre than expected
There are several bands of magnetically know that the belts expand and contract
(MESSENGER) spacecraft did the first
trapped, highly energetic charged particles according to solar activity. Sometimes the
orbital mission at Mercury, mapping surrounding our planet, known as the belts are very distinct from one another,
the entire planet in high definition Van Allen belts. While we’ve known and sometimes they swell into
and getting a look at the features on about the belts since the one massive unit. An extra
its cratered surface.
In 2016, data from MESSENGER dawn of the Space Age, radiation belt beyond
revealed cliff-like landforms known the Van Allen Probes, the known two was
as fault scarps. Because the fault launched in 2012, k spotted in 2013.
scarps are relatively small, scientists have provided our A Understanding these
can be sure that they weren’t
created that long ago and that the best ever view belts helps scientists
small planet is still contracting 4.5 of them. They’ve make better
billion years after the Solar System uncovered quite a predictions about
was formed.
few surprises along space weather or
the way. We now solar storms.
8
2 5 UNBELIEVABLE FACTS
ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Organic
7 molecules are
everywhere 8
A valley on Mars could swallow
the Grand Canyon
Organics are complex carbon-based At 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles), the immense system of
molecules found in living things, but can Martian canyons known as Valles Marineris is more than
be created by non-biological processes ten times as long as the Grand Canyon on Earth.
too. While organic molecules are Valles Marineris escaped the notice of earlier Mars
common on Earth, they can be found in spacecraft flying over other parts of the planet
many other places in the Solar System too. and was finally spotted by the global mapping
Scientists have found organics on the mission Mariner 9 in 1971. And what a sight it was
surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov- to miss - Valles Marineris could stretch from New
Gerasimenko, for example. The discovery York to Seattle. The lack of active plate
bolstered the case that organic molecules tectonics on Mars makes it tough to figure out
on Earth could have been brought to the how the canyon formed. Some scientists think
surface from space. Organics have also that a chain of volcanoes on the other side of
been found on the surface of Mercury, on the planet, known as Tharsis Ridge, which
Saturn’s moon Titan - giving Titan its includes Olympus Mons, somehow bent the crust
orange colour - and on Mars. from the opposite side of Mars. That cataclysmic
force activated cracks in the crust, vast amounts of
subsurface water that emerged to carve away rock
and glaciers that crunched new pathways into the
canyon system.
Mars’ biggest volcano

9 is bigger than Hawaii
While Mars seems quiet now, gigantic can grow to such immense sizes because
“While organic volcanoes once dominated the surface of
the planet. This includes Olympus Mons, the
gravity there is much weaker than it is on
Earth. In addition, while Earth’s crust
molecules are biggest volcano ever discovered in the
Solar System. At 602 kilometres (374 miles)
constantly moves, the Martian crust likely
doesn’t, although the debate among
common on Earth, across, the volcano is comparable to the researchers continues. The Hawaiian islands
size of Arizona. It’s 25 kilometres (16 miles) were formed as a hotspot in the mantle
they can be found high, or triple the height of Mount Everest, created a chain of volcanoes in the crust
the tallest mountain on Earth. By volume, cruising by above it, so if the surface of Mars
in many other Olympus Mons is 100 times larger than isn’t moving, a volcano could build up for
Earth’s largest volcano, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa. longer in one spot.
places too” Scientists speculate that volcanoes on Mars
The Great
W Red Spot is
shrinking
Along with being the Solar System’s largest
planet, Jupiter also hosts the Solar System’s
largest storm. Known as the Great Red Spot,
it’s been observed in telescopes since the
1600s and studied by modern instruments
like those on NASA’s Juno, which recently
provided evidence that the storm is
hundreds of miles tall and likely fed by
winds from thousands of miles below. The
storm has been a raging commdrum for
centuries, but in recent decades another
mystery emerged: the spot is getting
smaller. In 2014 the storm was only 16,500 Compared to Earth’s peaceful Moon, Jupiter’s moon Io may come as a surprise. The
Jovian moon has hundreds of volcanoes and is considered the most active moon in
kilometres (10,250 miles) across, about
the Solar System, sending plumes of sulphur up to 300 kilometres (190 miles) into its
half its historic size. The shrinkage is being atmosphere. As such, lo’s volcanoes emit around one tonne of gases and particles
monitored in professional telescopes, and into space near Jupiter each second, lo’s eruptive nature is caused by the immense
also by amateurs. Amateurs are often able forces the moon is exposed to nestled in Jupiter’s gravitational well, as well as its
magnetic field. The moon’s insides tense up and relax as it orbits closer to and
to make more consistent measurements farther from the planet, generating enough energy for volcanic activity. Scientists
of Jupiter because viewing time on larger, are still trying to figure out how heat spreads through lo’s interior, though, making it
professional telescopes is limited and often difficult to predict where the volcanoes exist using scientific models alone.
split between different objects.
'■v
The storm has been a raging

conundrum for centuries, but in
recent decades another mystery
emerged: It’s getting smaller”
10
There is water
everywhere
Water was once considered rare in space.
But water ice exists all over the Solar
System. It’s a common component of comets
and asteroids. Water can be found as ice in
permanently shadowed craters on Mercury
and the Moon, though we don’t know if
there’s enough to support prospective
human colonies in those places. Mars also
has ice at its poles, in frost and likely below
the surface dust. Even smaller bodies in
the Solar System have ice: Saturn’s moon
Enceladus and the dwarf planet Ceres,
among others.
Scientists suspect Jupiter’s moon Europa W) Saturn has
may be the most likely candidate for IO yin-yang moon
extraterrestrial life because against all
expectations there’s likely liquid water Iapetus has a very dark hemisphere that always faces away from the planet and a
very light hemisphere that always faces towards Saturn. Most asteroids, moons and
below its cracked and frozen surface.
planets are relatively uniform across their surfaces, but Iapetus sometimes shines
Europa, much smaller than Earth, may brightly enough to be spotted by telescopes and then dims down by several
host a deep ocean that researchers suggest magnitudes when oriented in the other direction. Current research suggests that
could contain twice as much water as all of Iapetus is made mostly of water ice. As the moon’s darker side faces the Sun, scientists
hypothesise, water ice sublimates away from that area, leaving darker rock behind.
Earth’s oceans combined. That may have created a positive feedback loop, as dark material heats up more
But we know that not all ice is the same. than bright, reflective ice - as the darker, warmer side of the moon loses its ice, it
A close-up examination of Comet 67P by the becomes easier to heat up each time it faces the Sun, hastening the loss of more ice.
European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft
revealed a different kind of water ice than Titan has a I Saturn has
the kind found on Earth.
M liquid cycle
Another weird moon in Saturn’s system is
Titan, which hosts a liquid ‘cycle’ that
lK9^ giant storm
Saturn’s northern hemisphere features a
raging six-sided storm nicknamed ‘the
moves material between the atmosphere hexagon’. It has been present on the
and the surface. That sounds a lot like ringed planet for decades, if not longer.
Earth’s water cycle, but Titan’s immense It was discovered in the 1980s, but was
lakes are filled with liquid methane and barely visible until the Cassini mission
ethane, possibly over a layer of water. flew by between 2004 and 2017. Images
Researchers hope to use data from the and data from Cassini reveal the storm
Cassini-Huygens mission to tease out some to be 300 kilometres (180 miles) tall,
of Titan’s secrets before designing a 32,000 kilometres (20,000 miles) wide
submarine that might one day plumb the and composed of air moving at about
depths of the mysterious moon. 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour.
R’n9s are more common

IQ than we thought
We’ve known about Saturn’s rings since telescopes were invented in the
1600s, but it took spacecraft and more powerful telescopes built in the last 50
years to reveal more. We now know that every planet in the outer Solar
System - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - has a ring system. But the
rings differ from planet to planet: Saturn’s spectacular halo, made in part of
sparkly, reflective water ice, is not repeated anywhere else. Instead the rings
of the other giants are likely made of rocky particles and dust. Rings aren’t
g
1
limited to planets, either. In 2014 astronomers discovered rings around the
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asteroid 10199 Chariklo.
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11
SYSTEM
Spacecraft IQ Worlds
U have visited
every planet
IO could be
contaminated
We’ve been exploring space for more
than 60 years, and have been lucky
by spacecraft
enough to get close-up pictures of So far, scientists have found no
dozens of celestial objects. Most evidence that life exists elsewhere
notably, we’ve sent spacecraft to all of in the Solar System. But as we learn
the planets in our Solar System - more about how ‘extreme’ microbes
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, live in underwater volcanic vents or
\\
\\\ Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - as well
\\\
\\\ as two dwarf planets, Pluto and Ceres. “Between them frozen environments, more possibilities
open up for where they could live on
The bulk of the flybys came from
NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, the Voyagers other planets.
Microbial life is now considered
which left Earth more than four
decades ago and are still transmitting clocked visits to likely enough on Mars that scientists
take special precautions to sterilise
data from interstellar space. Between
them the Voyagers clocked visits to
Jupiter, Saturn, spacecraft headed to the planet.
NASA chose to crash its Galileo
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
thanks to an opportune alignment of
Uranus and spacecraft into Jupiter rather than risk
it contaminating the potentially
the outer planets. Neptune” habitable oceans of Europa.
The Moon
54
Venus
24
The Sun
15
26P/G-S Itokawa 21P/G-Z

Halley's
comet
6
Mercury
2
6
Mars
25 Eros
STEREO Vesta
9P/Tempel 81P/Wild
2
/
Braille G7P/C-G
2
Borrelly Ceres
f////
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12
©
Y'Q. Most comets

are spotted
with a Sungrazing
telescope
Comets used to be the province of amateur
astronomers who spent night after night
scouring the skies with telescopes. While
some professional observatories also made
discoveries while viewing comets, that
began to change with the launch of the
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
in 1995. Since then, the spacecraft has
found more than 2,400 comets, which is a
pretty productive side mission for a
telescope meant to observe the Sun. These
comets are nicknamed ‘sungrazers’. Many
amateurs still participate in the search for
comets by picking them but from raw SOHO
images. One of SOHO’s most famous
observations came when it watched the
breakup of the bright Comet ISON in 2013.
a turn
Neptune
8
CO
.Q
n
Uranus
ri’
Hl What happened
Orbit position
I to Miranda?
Comet One of the most bizarre moons in the outer Solar System is Miranda, a shadowy
Asteroid moon of Uranus observed only once when Voyager 2 got a glimpse in 1986. Miranda
hosts sharp ridges, craters and other major disruptions on its surface that would
2
Dwarf planet usually be the result of volcanic action. Tectonic activity could cause that kind of z
©
surface, but Miranda is much too small to generate that kind of heat on its own.
— ESA JAXA Researchers think that gravitational pull from Uranus could have generated the
— ISRO NASA push-pull action needed to heat, churn and contort Miranda’s surface. To know for
sure, we’ll need to send another spacecraft to check out the moon’s unobserved
USSR NASA/ESA northern hemisphere.
CNSA NASA/DFVLR
Pluto also has
a bizarre atmosphere
Pluto’s observed atmosphere broke all the
predictions. As data from NASA’s New
Horizons flowed in, scientists analysed the
haze and discovered some surprises. They
found about 20 layers in Pluto’s
atmosphere that are both cooler and
more compact than expected. This
affects calculations for how quickly Pluto
n Neptune loses its nitrogen-rich atmosphere to
space. The New Horizons team found that
is too hot tonnes of nitrogen gas escapes the dwarf
planet by the hour, but somehow Pluto
Neptune is roughly 30 times as far from the
can constantly resupply that lost nitrogen.
Sun as Earth, and it gets correspondingly The dwarf planet is likely creating more of
VSVN3
less heat and light. But it radiates far more it through geological activity.
heat than it’s taking in and has far more
activity in its atmosphere than planetary There are
scientists would suspect, especially
compared to nearby Uranus. Uranus is
mountains on Pluto
closer to the Sun and yet radiates about A tiny world at the edge of the Solar System, scientists assumed the dwarf planet
the same amount of heat as Neptune, would have a fairly uniform, crater-pocked environment. That changed when New
Horizons flew by in 2015, sending back pictures that altered our view of Pluto forever.
and scientists aren’t sure why. Winds on
Among the astounding discoveries were icy mountains that are 3,300 metres (11,000
Neptune can blow up to 2,400 kilometres feet) high, indicating that Pluto must have been geologically active as little as 100
(1,500 miles) per hour. Is all that energy million years ago. Geological activity requires energy, and the source of that energy
coming from the Sun, from the planet’s inside Pluto is a mystery. The Sun is too far away from Pluto to generate enough heat
for geological activity and there are no large planets nearby that could have
core or from gravitational contraction?
caused such disruption with gravity.
Researchers are working to find out.
□
<
©
2 5 UNBELIEVABLE FACTS
ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM
There may
be a huge
planet at the Solar
System’s edge
In January 2015, California Institute of
Technology astronomers Konstantin Batygin
and Mike Brown announced - based on
mathematical calculations and simulations
- that there could be a giant planet lurking
far beyond Neptune. Several teams are now
on the search for the theoretical ‘Planet
Nine’, and research suggests it could be
located within the decade. This large
object, if it exists, could help explain the
movements of some objects in the Kuiper
Belt, an icy collection of objects beyond
Neptune’s orbit. Brown has already
discovered several large objects in that
area that in some cases rivalled or
exceeded the size of Pluto, but scientists are
pursuing another theory, too - that Planet
Nine could in fact be a grapefruit-sized
black hole, warping space similarly to the
way a gigantic planet would. Yet another
team suggests that the weird movements of
the far-flung Kuiper Belt occupants could be
the collective influence of several small
objects, not an undiscovered planet or
black hole at all.
‘Several teams are now on the search for

the theoretical ‘Planet Nine’
SYSTEM
The Sun
The Solar System would be nothing if
it weren’t for the power and influence
of our nearest star
he Milky Way is home radiation and then the convection zones. The
Tto billions of stars, and coldest layer of the Sun is the photosphere
the universe is home to - the visible surface. This is between
billions of galaxies. Our 6,125 and 4,125 degrees Celsius (11,000
star, the Sim, has created a and 7,460 degrees Fahrenheit). Next is the
residential spot we call the chromosphere and the mysterious corona,
Solar System. The Sun is the true centre of invisible without the aid of an eclipse. The
the Solar System: not only does everything corona’s temperature ranges from 1 to 10
else orbit around it, from asteroids to gas million degrees Celsius (1.7 to 17 million
giants, but it makes up 99.8 per cent of the degrees Fahrenheit), and is perplexing
Solar System’s mass and is 108 times the to astronomers because it gets hotter the
diameter of Earth. further away from the Sun you are.
This colossus was formed 4.6 billion years The activity of the Sun creates a magnetic
ago from a cloud of dust and gas. After this field that permeates the Solar System.
cloud began to rotate and collapse, it took Because the Sun is essentially a ball of
50 million years to form and become the plasma - matter consisting of ionised gas -
star it is today. This was the point where and not a solid, it rotates at different speeds
the core of the star reached pressures depending on its latitude. This unequal
and temperatures so intense that nuclear rotation causes kinks and twists in the
fusion was ignited. This ignition kick-started magnetic field, creating sunspots and solar
the formation of helium from hydrogen, flares, which are usually accompanied
releasing radiation that provides Earth with by the expulsion of energetic particles in
light, warmth, power and so much more. the form of solar wind and coronal mass
At the start of the Sun’s life, planets and ejections (CMEs). These particles provide
everything else in orbit were still forming Earth with its aurorae as they collide with
from the leftover debris that began to the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
fragment. The Sun has been in its mature
state for nearly 5 billion years, and it will
continue to be for another 5 billion years.
After this the hydrogen will run out and the
Sun will look to form heavier elements such
as carbon, oxygen and so on. When this
happens the radiation output will be greater
than its gravity and it will swell into a red
giant, swallowing Mercury and Venus and
evaporating all the water and life on Earth.
Afterwards the outer layers will be expelled
into the cosmos, and what will be left is a
white dwarf star.
The Sun has several zones within its
interior and atmosphere, starting with a
core that burns at over 15 million degrees
Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit). This Observing the Sun in
different wavelengths can
takes up roughly a quarter of the distance reveal more about its
to the surface, and outside the core are the surface and atmosphere
18
composition
Hydrogen
Helium
Other elements &
19
News from the Sun

Explore some of the features of our Solar System’s star
Studying the solar wind

Scientific papers have been released based on the
data collected by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP). One
of the new announcements shows the complexity of
solar wind. On Earth it is seen as a constant flow of
plasma, but the PSP has shown a more complex and
active system. The PSP’s FIELDS instrument has found
sudden reversals in the magnetic field and incredibly
fast jets of material occurring much closer to the Sun.
Understanding this is key to understanding how the
solar wind is moving away from the Sun and
permeates the Solar System. “The complexity was
mind-blowing when we first started looking at the
data,” says Stuart Bale of the University of California,
Berkeley, lead for the PSP’s FIELDS instrument suite.
What’s happening to
the dust?
Dust is everywhere in space. However, there is a dust-free
zone close to the Sun, and it’s thought the temperatures up
close obliterate it - but this has never been proven. Now the
PSP has shown evidence that this is the case. Its Wide-field
Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) has observed dust thinning
at a distance of just over 11 million kilometres (7 million
miles) from the Sun. The thinning effect continued to be
observed as close as 6.4 million kilometres (4 million miles).
“This dust-free zone was predicted decades ago, but has
never been seen before,” says Russ Howard, principal
investigator for the WISPR suite at the Naval Research
Laboratory in Washington, DC. “We are now seeing what’s
happening to the dust near the Sun.”
Detecting solar flares in

real time
Scientists at the Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)
National Centers for Environmental Information have
developed a machine-learning technique to highlight
significant changes in space weather. “Being able to
process solar data in real time is important because
flares erupting on the Sun impact Earth over the course
of minutes. These techniques provide a rapid,
continuously updated overview of solar features and
can point us to areas requiring more scrutiny,” says
Rob Steenburgh, a forecaster at the NOAA Space
Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.
20
Sun facts—i
At the equator of the
The Sun contains traces
Sun, it takes 25 days
of heavier elements
to complete one full
such as oxygen,
rotation, but regions
carbon, neon and iron million Earths could sit
towards the poles take
within the Sun, or around
1,000 Jupiters closer to 36 days
The shape of the Sun

relies upon hydrostatic Sunspots are darker, cooler An astronomical unit (AU)
equilibrium, which spots that appear on the is the distance between
means the pressure Sun’s photosphere that arise the Sun and Earth and is
of gravity is equal to from complications within used to describe distances
Honourable radiation output the star’s magnetic field in the Solar System
mentions for
solar explorers
Mission: Helios
Operator: NASA/German
Aerospace Center (DLR)
Active years: 1974 to 1986
Mission: Ulysses
Operator: NASA/ESA
Mission: Solar
and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO)
Operator: NASA/ESA
Active years: 1995 to present
Mission: Genesis
Operator: NASA
Mission: Deep Space

Climate Observatory The past, present and future
(DSCOVR) of solar exploration
Operator: NASA/NOAA
There have been many satellites will travel within the Sun’s atmosphere at
Active years: 2015 to present launched to investigate the Sun’s activity, a distance of 3.8 million miles. This
the first dating back to 1960 with NASA’s mission carries with it four specially
Mission: Parker Solar Probe Pioneer 5 spacecraft. Since then, designed instrumental suites that look to
Operator: NASA instruments, engineering and our answer questions about the corona and
understanding of the solar environment solar wind while experiencing
Active years: 2018 to present have drastically improved. A few missions temperatures of roughly 1,377 degrees
that have shaped understanding include Celsius (2,500 degrees Fahrenheit).
Mission: Solar Orbiter NASA and the European Space Agency’s In 2020, the ESA launched its Solar
(ESA) Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Orbiter to get close to the Sun (but not as
Operator: ESA
(SOHO), NASA’s Solar Dynamics close as the PSP) at a distance of 41.8
Active years: 2020 to present Observatory (SDO) and the Japan million kilometres (26 million miles). The
© T o b ia s R o e tsch ; JH U /APL; ESA; N ASA
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) main difference is that the Solar Orbiter
mission - with collaboration from NASA will utilise the gravity of Venus to swing it
The coldest layer and the United Kingdom - called Hinode. into a greater inclination, potentially as
of the Sun is the On 12 August 2018, NASA launched its
Parker Solar Probe (PSP), breaking
high as 33 degrees. This will allow it to
probe the poles of the Sun, a feat that
photosphere - the boundaries when it comes to scrutinising
the Sun. At its closest approach the PSP
has never before been accomplished by
any other spacecraft.
visible surface
21
Scientists get a
gruesome look
at how our Sun will
eat planets
Peering into our Solar System’s future
ne day our Sun will and increasing its brightness by several model the physical processes occurring at
expand into a red orders of magnitude for several thousands each scale,” said Ricardo Yarza, a graduate
giant and engulf of years. astronomy student at the University of
its closest planets, The study was conducted using a California, Santa Cruz, and lead scientist
and a new study method called hydrodynamical simulations of the study. “Instead, we simulate a small
now explores how and provides a glimpse into the possible section of the star centred on the planet to
these devoured planets can influence the future scenarios of our own Solar System’s understand the flow around the planet and
processes inside the dying star. When stars evolution. Because of the size of red giant measure the drag forces acting on it.”
the size of our Sun run out of hydrogen stars, the researchers had to model only Not only could the results provide a
in their cores, they balloon into red giants a small section of the boundary where glimpse into what will happen 5 billion
that can be more than ten times larger the stars meet the planets to gain in-depth years from now when our Sun turns into
than the original star. As these red giants insights into the interactions. “Evolved a red giant, but they could also explain
engulf the planets that orbit them, many stars can be hundreds or even thousands recent findings of planets orbiting white
things can happen. Engulfing large planets, of times larger than their planets, and dwarfs, the burned-out stellar corpses into
ten or more times the size of Jupiter, can this disparity of scales makes it difficult which stars turn after the red giant phase.
trigger the star into shedding its envelope to perform simulations that accurately These studies, exploring the end stages of
this planetary engulfment, suggest that
some planets may survive being burnt by
the red giants.
In our Solar System, the closest planets
to the Sun - Mercury and Venus - are
expected to get swallowed by the growing
Sun entirely. Earth, while it may survive,
will be so scorched that it will become
completely uninhabitable. Some of the
more distant and currently freezing cold
bodies, such as Jupiter, Saturn and their
moons, may develop more life-friendly
conditions in the vicinity of the blown-up
Sun. While only a few planets that have
likely survived a red giant engulfment
have been observed so far, researchers
© G e tty ; N A S A
believe that further studies of exoplanets

will lead to more such discoveries.
Mercury
1 If Mercury’s orbit
remains stable until
Increased solar
heating will cause
the Sun’s red giant Jupiter’s atmosphere
phase, the innermost to balloon in size. Its
planet is sure to be giant moons will enjoy
swallowed up by the a habitable phase
expanding star. lasting around 30
million years.
Saturn
Saturn’s
increasing brightness
will blast away Venus’ atmosphere will also
expand, and its rings
present-day thick
atmosphere before will likely be long
gone. Its moons,
swallowing up the
planet itself.
including the giant
Titan, may benefit
from 8 million years
Earth at habitable
The Sun’s loss of temperatures.'
mass will send Earth’s
* orbit spiralling Uranus
outwards, but then The inner of the
tidal effects will draw it Solar System’s two ice
back, ensuring that our giants, Uranus will
planet, too, is burnt to experience habitable
a cinder in the Sun’s temperatures, warm
outer layers. enough to melt ice on
the surface of
Its moons, for just
Mars
4 Our outer
neighbour will probably
2 million years.
Neptune
survive the Sun’s
expansion and could The outermost of
even have habitable the major planets,
conditions for 100 Neptune orbits so far
million years or so. from the Sun that it will
• never make• it out of
deep-freeze,, even *
when the Sun is at its .
biggest and brightest.
In our Solar
System, Mercury
and Venus are
expected to get
swallowed by the
growing Sun
23
I
Mercury
This minute world is arguably the least
explored of the four terrestrial planets
ercury is the smallest when an asteroid about 100 kilometres

of all the planets in (60 miles) across hit Mercury’s surface
M the Solar System and

the closest planet to
the Sun, but there’s
so much more to it.
4 billion years ago, impacting the planet
with energy equivalent to a trillion one-
megatonne bombs.
If you scratch beneath the surface,
Mercury is so tiny compared to the other the true weirdness of Mercury starts to
planets that you can actually fit around become apparent. Under the ultra-thin
23,500 Mercurys into Jupiter, though cratered crust is an extremely dense
it’s roughly 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) planet, with somewhere between 70
larger in diameter than the Moon. and 85 per cent of the planet being an
The small planet orbits the Sun with enormous iron core. Astronomers have
less than half the distance between the spent years constraining whether it’s
Sun and Earth, resulting in it being solid, molten or both, and they seem to
‘tidally locked’. Tidal locking occurs when agree it has a solid iron core with an
an object is so close to its host that the outer molten core. Astronomers believe
gravity is overwhelmingly powerful; that a molten core explains Mercury’s
because of this influence, instead of very weak magnetic field. After data was
continuously spinning on its axis like brought back from NASA’s Mariner 10
Earth does, the object has one side facing and MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space
towards its host object at all times. In this Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging)
case Mercury is tidally locked to the Sun. space probes and analysed, astronomers
For every two revolutions around the Sun, posited that Mercury is the exposed core
Mercury rotates on its axis three times. of a much larger planet, with its outer
Each orbit takes 88 Earth days, making a layers lost to a powerful collision billions
year on Mercury roughly a quarter of an of years ago.
Earth year.
As Mercury is so close to the Sun, the
surface temperatures can be scorching,
reaching highs of 450 degrees Celsius
(840 degrees Fahrenheit). Enduring this
bombardment of solar radiation, the
planet also struggles to keep hold of its
atmosphere, meaning that no heat is
trapped. This means the nightside of the
planet - the one facing away from the Sun
- can have temperatures as low as -180
degrees Celsius (-290 degrees Fahrenheit).
While Mercury is a similar size to the
Moon, it’s also similar in appearance. It’s
a heavily cratered, rocky body with some
of the largest craters in the Solar System.
One such crater studied by previous
exploration missions is a great example. During its 88-day orbit,
Mercury will sometimes
The Caloris Basin, which is roughly
pass in front of. the Sun
1,550 kilometres (960 miles) wide, is as viewed from Earth in
about the size of Texas and was formed a planetary transit
24
MERCURY
The. surface of Mercury

is pockmarked
. with craters of
various sizes
'A
Atmospheric
composition
427< :ygqn
Hydrogen
Helium
Potassium
+ Traces of argon, carbon dioxide,
©NASA
water, nitrogen, xenon, krypton, neon,

calcium and magnesium ’
25
News from Mercury

Discover some of the fascinating features of the Solar System’s smallest planet
Magnetic irregularities
A magnetic field is the result of the motion of a molten
core. Earth’s magnetic poles have been known to shift,
but astronomers have suggested that Mercury’s have
been doing the same. Mercury’s ancient magnetic
poles, known as palaeopoles, appear to have shifted
over time, and could present clues in the investigation
of Mercury’s interior. By understanding the magnetic
field, we could pinpoint the nature of the planet’s
molten core. Results came from MESSENGER data on
ancient craters that had irregular magnetic signatures.
Not only would a further analysis help us understand
the nature of Mercury’s interior, it could have
implications for understanding how the planet
evolved, and even how Earth’s magnetic field evolved.
Insulating iron sulphide

Once again Mercury’s magnetic field is the centre of
research. Instead of trying to understand its nature,
astronomers are trying to understand how it’s kept in
place. Astronomers have seen with Mars how a
planet smaller than Earth can solidify its molten core,
consequently losing its magnetic field, but Mercury
still appears to have one. Recent research suggests
that a layer of iron sulphide could be insulating the
core, maintaining its molten state. Experiments
predict that Mercury has a solid inner core with a
molten outer core of iron, sulphur and silicon. These
elements can’t mix, so the iron and sulphur
compounds were expelled towards the outer regions
of the planet, creating an insulating layer.
Searching for water ice

Mercury may be hiding water at its poles, with
MESSENGER revealing the signatures of thick
deposits of water ice hidden in craters at the planet’s
poles. Sunlight doesn’t reach the craters’ depths, so
they’re sheltered from the radiation that causes
water ice to dissipate. Astronomers believe these
craters could hold answers about where water is
dispersed in the Solar System. Astronomers have also
been comparing Mercury and the Moon to try and
understand what the water ice in these craters may
look like. This involved looking at around 14,000
craters on the two bodies. The conclusion was that
on Mercury, craters that harbour ice have shallower
sides than those that don’t.
26
M E R
BepiColombo’s
59
One day on Mercury lasts
Mercury’s atmosphere
is more comparable to a
‘thin exosphere’ as it’s
comprised mostly of atoms
ejected from the surface
NASA’s MESSENGER 59 Earth days, while a year
seven-year mission stayed in orbit on Mercury lasts just 88 due to the solar wind and
meteoroid impacts
around Mercury from Earth days
journey March 2011 to April 2015
before crashing into the
to Mercury surface of the planet
Date: 20 October 2018 On Mercury’s nightside There was likely

Activity: Launch from Earth. at the right time of year, volcanism on Mercury
there’s a faint orange Mercury is one of two - there are areas that
glow from the sodium planets in the Solar System appear to have been
Date: 10 April 2020
scattered by sunlight with no moons flooded with lava
Activity: Earth flyby.
Date: 15 October 2020

Activity: First Venus flyby.
Date: 10 August 2021

Activity: Second Venus flyby.
Date: 1 October 2021

Activity: First Mercury flyby.
Date: 9 January 2025

Activity: Sixth and final Mercury
flyby.
Date: 5 December 2025

Activity: Orbital insertion
around Mercury.
Exploring the past and future

of the swift planet
Visiting Mercury is a dangerous compounds with low boiling points -
and difficult task. Navigating a which has important implications for the
spacecraft here requires propulsion that planet’s formation. It also found ice
will get it to Mercury but also counteract deposits at the poles, the weird magnetic
the gravity of the Sun so the craft doesn’t field offset and irregular depressions
go falling into its surface and burn up. called ‘hollows’.
This is why only two spacecraft have ever BepiColombo, a joint endeavour by
visited the small planet. NASA has been the European Space Agency (ESA) and
the operator of both of these, the first the Japan Aerospace Exploration
being Mariner 10 in 1974, which Agency (JAXA) will arrive at Mercury in
conducted a series of flybys and 2025, where it will separate into two
gathered close-up images. orbiters and use its impressive
The mission that brought the most instrumental suite to investigate the planet
fascinating results is MESSENGER - the from all angles. This unique mission will
first and only spacecraft to orbit the have its two orbiters working
planet. MESSENGER’S most important simultaneously as scientists get up-close
© NASA; ESA
results included how volatile-rich the observations of the surface and more
planet was - volatiles being chemical distant observations of the magnetic field.
27
UNDERSTAND NG THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Earth’s sister planet is an intriguing and mysterious

world, with much more to it than meets the eye
VENUS
Venus has a rich history

1 Studies of Venus can be traced back to
the ancient Babylonians in 1600 BCE. They
Atmosphere
96.5 per cent is
Crust
Venus’ crust is
tracked the movement of several planets carbon dioxide, with made of silicate
and stars. The oldest astronomical nitrogen, sulphur rocks and is
document on record is a Babylonian diary dioxide, argon, estimated to be 50
of Venus appearances over a 21-year carbon monoxide, kilometres (31
period. Venus played a serious part in the helium and more. miles) thick.
mythology of ancient civilisations, including
the Maya and Greeks. Its name comes from Metallic core Molten
the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Venus’ iron core mantle
consists of a solid The heat from the
inner and liquid core creates a
The pressure’s on
2 Walking around on Venus would be an
unbearable experience for astronauts for
outer core 3,200
kilometres (2,000
molten mantle that is
3,000 kilometres
miles) in radius. (1,200 miles) thick.
several reasons, but one of them is the
extreme pressures on the surface. The
atmosphere creates air pressure that’s over
90 times the air pressure on Earth, which is
similar to the pressure around a kilometre
(0.6 miles) deep in the ocean.
hot
Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar
System, even hotter than the dayside of
Mercury, which has temperatures of 427
degrees Celsius (801 degrees Fahrenheit).
Because of Venus’ thick, carbon dioxide-rich
atmosphere, the heat is efficiently retained,
creating surface temperatures higher than
470 degrees Celsius (880 degrees Fahrenheit).
Venusian volcanicity
L To add to the hellish image of Venus, it
It’s similar to Earth also has the most volcanoes present on the
When looking purely at the surface of all the planets in the Solar System.
physical parameters of Venus, it’s On Earth there are 1,500 known active
remarkably similar to Earth. They’re volcanoes, and Mars is best known for the
almost the same in size and largest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus
density, their compositions are Mons. However, Venus has over 1,600 major
similar and they both appear to volcanoes, and that’s not including the
have relatively young surfaces smaller ones or any that haven’t been
that are surrounded by an detected yet.
atmosphere with clouds. It’s worth
stating that Venus’ clouds are It doesn’t have a moon
primarily sulphuric acid though,
which isn’t something that you’d
8 Venus and Mercury are the only planets in our Solar System that don’t have their own
moon. It’s a bit more understandable why Mercury doesn’t have a moon, because its close
want raining down on you. proximity to the Sun has a negative effect on any contenders. The planet is also smaller than
some Solar System moons, such as Saturn’s Titan. However, researchers have argued that the
reason Venus doesn’t have a moon isn’t as simplistic. There are two theories: the first is that
I t’s just a phase
any moon that Venus had was stolen by the Sun’s gravity. The second is known as the
Venus experiences different
‘double-impact theory’, which states that a large celestial body hit Venus billions of years
phases, just like the Moon. As
ago, creating a moon in a similar way to how Earth got its lunar companion. But several
Venus travels around the Sun
million years later, an even bigger object hit Venus, causing its retrograde rotation,
within the orbit of Earth, it
weakening the tidal forces and sending the moon to sink into Venus, never to be seen again.
changes between a ‘morning
star’ and ‘evening star’ roughly
every nine-and-a-half months.
During this period it shifts
between different percentages
9 Earth vs Venus
of illumination, a trait that is The Sun
normally associated with On Venus, the Sun would appear no more
than a dimly glowing patch through the
the Moon. 1
thick clouds.
Transits are very rare Clouds
a Venus is one of two planets

that orbit the Sun within the orbital
Venus is enveloped in clouds, not allowing
any nosey astronomers to investigate the
surface. While Earth is also hidden by
path of Earth. Along with Mercury, clouds, much more of our planet’s surface
these two planets can find is visible from space.
themselves between Earth and

Surface rocks
the Sun, sometimes creating a
Based on past exploration missions, the
silhouette that moves across the surface of Venus contains rocks of different
Sun over a period of hours. These shades of grey, carving out valleys and
giving birth to mountains, similar to Earth.
journeys are known as ‘transits’,
and Venus is known to transit in Volcanoes
pairs - though with over a century Both planets feature at least 1,500 active
separating the pairs, it’s a very volcanoes on the surface, and many more
dormant ones.
rare event.
30
10 A perfect
world for futuristic
spacecraft
Faster Improved Head in the Easier to The power Removing

exploration capabilities clouds explore from of the Sun obstacles
Super-rotation in the With lightweight There’s discussion up high Solar panels would be Being in constant
upper atmosphere, technologies and about whether it There are more extremely useful, as flight eliminates the
which completes a controlled aerial would be possible to favourable conditions Venus gets 190 per need to navigate
rotation 60 times mobility, aircraft on create a colony in the in the clouds, with cent more sunlight around harmful terrain
quicker than the Venus is now a better clouds of Venus, much much more bearable than Earth. and the planet’s
surface below, would proposal than it was in like Cloud City on temperatures volcanoes.
allow for rapid the 1960s. Bespin in the Star Wars and pressures.
exploration of Venus. universe.
“Conditions on Venus that

would be favourable for life
could exist in the clouds
A day feels like a year
On Venus that’s very much the case. One Venusian
Life in the clouds
day, which is one complete rotation on its axis, takes 243 Earth
Researchers have proposed that life
days, making it the longest day of any planet in the Solar
could be found on Venus, just not on the
System. Even a year on Venus is shorter, as it takes 224.7 Earth
surface. A study by Sanjay Limaye of the
days to complete one revolution around the Sun.
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Space
Science and Engineering Center suggested
that microbial life could be present in the
‘Backwards1 rotation
cloud tops. Microbial life on Earth has been Another trait that makes Venus different to most of the
found at altitudes of 41 kilometres (25 miles), planets in the Solar System is its rotation. The usual routine for
and researchers have said that conditions on planets is to spin anticlockwise on their axis, but Venus is an
Venus that would be favourable for life could
oddball and flaunts a clockwise rotation. The leading theory
exist in the clouds at altitudes of 48 to 51 as to why Venus and Uranus have what is known as a
kilometres (30 to 32 miles). Here, temperatures
‘retrograde rotation’ is that they were smacked by large
would be roughly 60 degrees Celsius (140 objects early in their history. This collision left the planet seeing
© NASA/JPL
degrees Fahrenheit) and pressures would be

stars and spinning the wrong way.
similar to Earth at sea level.
15
What the Rewinding
M ? •
future holds
• •
Researchers want to understand every planet in the Solar

System. Efforts in the late-20th century showed that Venus is a
difficult planet to observe remotely from the surface, but with
new technologies and a better understanding comes
• • •
the clock
Much like Mars, Venus could have once supported life. 700
million years ago, Venus suffered dramatic changes in its
climate that saw it bulk up its atmosphere in a process known
innovative exploration ideas. A lot of these new ideas have a as a ‘runaway greenhouse effect’. Before the runaway
•• • •• 9 e •
common theme, which i$ exploring Venus from within the greenhouse effect took over, it’s believed that Venus had a
clouds. As Venus has more favourable conditions in the reasonable atmosphere and could have harboured liquid
clouds, with wind speeds that allow an object to travel around water for about 2 or 3 billion years. Before carbon
the planet much faster than it rotates,
• • are looking to **
scientists dioxide dominated the atmosphere and made it too
introduce aircraft or airships. By utilising solar and wind power,
hot and dense, it’s possible that Venus had an
and with the added help of buoyancy, robotic missions could
environment that could have supported
become a feature of Venus in the foreseeable future.
life for billions of years.
Seen from above Stationary Indirect surface Never-ending The mystery of

I These irregular,
patchy, fildmenhlike
2 waves
Stationary or gravity
3
•
observations
• •
These waves come

. • •
4 heat
The extremely slow
5 the nightside .
Qn the nightside the
structures were waves in the .. from steep, rotation and tilt of upper clouds form in
observed by the . nightside’s atmosphere mountainous areas just 3.39 degrees different shapes and
• * * 9 •
• • • Z •
European Space do not move in the on Venus that send ensure that the morphologies,
** •• •
Agency’s Venus same way as hie
• •
waves through the
• • • •
planet stays causing d more
Express spacecraft. pfanet’s super-rotation. atmosphere. continuously hot. irregular system.
32
JL Too slow to be magnetic
I 1st Although it’s often referred to as
Earth’s twin, something that differentiates
the two planets deep down to their cores is
that Venus creates a negligible magnetic
field. Planetary scientists believe that Venus
has an iron core that’s a similar size to
Earth’s. However, the sluggish rotation of
Venus, which consequently reduces the
motion of the planet’s core, weakens the
planet’s magnetic field, or magnetosphere.
l t’s had many 1 ft The COSe °fthe

U spacecraft visitors
Before attention turned to the exploration of
J O missing lightning
There are electrical pulses bursting through
M
Brightest in
the sky
Because Venus is in such
Mars, Venus was where space agencies the heavy atmosphere, but missions to
close proximity to Earth, it’s
wanted to send their robotic missions to. This Venus to find them have made things even
the third-brightest celestial
genesis of interplanetary exploration began more confusing. Ground-based telescopes
object in the night sky
with a lot of spacecraft and launch failures, and space probes alike, including the ESA’s
behind the Sun and Moon.
starting with the Soviet Union’s Tyazhely Venus Express and the Japan Aerospace
The Latin nickname for
Sputnik in February 1961, which experienced Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Akatsuki, have
Venus, now largely unused,
a launch failure. There have since been 45 had nothing more than some subtle hints
is ‘Lucifer’, which translates
other missions launched with the intention about the presence of Venusian lightning.
to ‘light bringer’. Lucifer is
of exploring the planet. Of these missions, Researchers believe it could still be present,
also a name for the devil,
more than 20 have been successful. The just much more localised and rare, which is
which is quite a
very first to conduct a successful planetary why there has been no definitive evidence
coincidence considering
encounter was NASA’s Mariner 2 space yet. Or it could be the case that there isn’t
the hellish conditions on the
probe on 14 December 1962. lightning at all.
surface of Venus.
A source
1Q Soviet success at Venus of shadows
Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the country was prominent in Venus As the third-brightest object
exploration missions in the 1970s and 1980s. One historic mission that the Soviets conducted in the night sky, it’s bright
was Venera 7 in December 1970, which became the first mission to land on a different enough to cast shadows on
planet. Then, in March 1982, the Venera 13 lander managed to survive Venus’ extreme Earth. Only two other celestial
temperatures and pressures for an astonishing two hours. objects are capable of this:
the Sun and Moon. Very
good eyesight is needed to
see these Venusian shadows.
Weird winds
The clouds move
across the atmosphere once
every four Earth days, known
A d ria n M a n n
as super-rotation. This
generates speeds of 360
ESA; N ASA\JPL;
kilometres (224 miles) per

hour, surpassing those of the
most dangerous hurricanes
© T o b ia s R o e tsch ; S h u tte rs to c k ;
on Earth. Speeds decrease

with cloud height, creating
winds that are just a few miles
per hour on the surface.
33
What are planets

like on the inside?
Even among the worlds of our Solar System we
see a huge variety of planets
T he terrestrial planets -
Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars - are separated into
crust. Like Venus, there must not be
convection in the core, as Mars has no
magnetic field.
V
Expert:
Robin Hague
similar layers: a hot dense Jupiter is the first of the gaseous planets.
Robin is a science writer, focusing on
core, a warm pliable When it comes to gas giants, there’s no space and physics. He is head of launch
mantle and a cooled sharp dividing line between the planet and at Skyrora, coordinating launch
rocky crust. Mercury is around 70 per cent its atmosphere. It’s thought that Jupiter has opportunities for Skyrora’s vehicles.
metallic and 30 per cent rocky Its core is a dense core, possibly rocky, surrounded
thought to comprise as much as 85 per by ‘metallic’ hydrogen. This is a strange
cent of the planet, a liquid heart of iron condition predicted to occur under huge
4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles) in diameter. pressures, where hydrogen behaves like
This is covered by 600 kilometres (373 a dense electrically conductive substance.
miles) of silicon-rich mantle and between This layer is thought to cover 78 per
MERCURY
100 and 200 kilometres (62 and 124 miles) cent of the thickness of the planet. It’s
of rocky crust. Venus was expected to have thought that above this, normal liquid
a similar structure to Earth, but Venus has hydrogen smoothly fades into the gaseous
little magnetic field. Earth’s field is created hydrogen atmosphere. Saturn is thought
by rotation and convection in our molten to be similar to Jupiter, with a rocky or
core; Venus does seem to have a molten icy core surrounded by the same types of
core, but it doesn’t circulate in the same hydrogen layers.
way. One possibility is that Venus’ crust Uranus and Neptune are called the ice
doesn’t get recycled like Earth’s, so the giants, due to the layer of mixed methane,
whole core may be of uniform temperature water and ammonia that surrounds their
as heat is not escaping to the surface. rocky cores - equivalent to the mantle
Fortunately for us, Earth has a significant in terrestrial planets. These are known
magnetic field that protects us from solar as ices, though they form a hot, dense
radiation, but our core isn’t just liquid. The liquid near the core and fade out into the
pressure at the centre of Earth is sufficient atmosphere without a defined surface.
JUPITER
enough that the iron collected there
becomes solid, despite the temperature
being around 6,000 degrees Celsius
UNDER THE SURFACE
(10,832 degrees Fahrenheit). This has been ROCK
determined by studying the way seismic ■ MOLTEN ROCK
waves travel through Earth. The solid
inner core is around 1,220 kilometres (760 ■ ICE
miles) in diameter. This is surrounded by a MOLTEN IRON
liquid layer that is 2,200 kilometres (1,367
IRON
miles) deep, which is then topped by 2,900
kilometres (1,802 miles) of mantle and an ■ LIQUID METALLIC HYDROGEN
average crust of 35 kilometres (22 miles).
■ HYDROGEN GAS
Mars is also differentiated into layers,
‘JUPITER’S CORE REMAINS A MYSTERY TO SCIENTISTS, BUT IT’S HOPED
with a liquid core, a mantle and a rocky ■ ATMOSPHERE THAT THE JUNO MISSION WILL SHED LIGHT ON ITS SIZE AND COMPOSITION
34
An artist’s impression of
water under the Martian
surface. If underground
aquifers like this exist, the
many Mars missions have a
good chance of finding them
VENUS EARTH MARS
CRUST CRUST
MANTLE MANTLE MANTLE
OUTER CORE
CORE INNER CORE

CORE
CRUST
URANUS NEPTUNE
SATURN
(c u ta w a y illu stra tio n )
ESA 2001
© M e d ia la b ,
“THICKNESS UNKNOWN
35
SYSTEM
Earth
The rocky world that we call home
is full of wonders
rather pretty blue- Earth is currently 20,000 years into an

and-white planet interglacial period, part of a cycle of ice
orbiting an otherwise ages that sees glaciers coat large parts of
obscure G-type main the planet over periods of up to 500,000
sequence star, Earth years. The current interglacial should end
is notable largely for in around 25,000 years, though warming
being the only place in the universe to caused by increased atmospheric carbon
have evolved organic life. Other than this dioxide levels could delay this by trapping
quirk of chemistry, the third planet from heat within the atmosphere.
the Sun also has active plate tectonics, In a billion years’ time, the energy
and it’s one of the few planets whose received by Earth from its star will have
moon fits perfectly over its Sun during an increased by ten per cent, enough for the
eclipse. It is the densest planet in its Solar oceans to be lost thanks to a combination
System, and the largest of the four rocky of subduction into the planet’s mantle and
planets closest to its star. An atmosphere photodissociation of the water molecules
100 kilometres (62 miles) thick coats by increased levels of ultraviolet light.
the planet, offering it protection from Without surface water, plate tectonics will
ultraviolet fight given out by its nearest come to a halt. Earth will become similar
star thanks to its layer of ozone. Heating to its near-twin Venus, with a runaway
of the upper atmosphere means it’s slowly greenhouse effect eventually raising the
losing its hydrogen and helium into space, surface temperature to 1,330 degrees
but at a very slow rate. Celsius (2,426 degrees Fahrenheit).
With its thick atmosphere and yellow In another 5 billion years, the Sun will
sunlight, much of Earth’s vegetation is run out of hydrogen to burn in its core
green. Its position at around 150 million and will begin the process of swelling
kilometres (93 million miles) from its star into a red giant. As it expands, Earth, ■ < '•
means liquid water is commonplace on its along with Venus and Mercury, will be
surface - both salty and non-salty forms, engulfed by its chromosphere. Tidal forces
freezing at the poles - though a recent will break up the Moon, briefly turning
increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide it into a ring system before the surface
levels is causing this ice to melt. Unlike its and mantle are stripped from the Earth,
neighbour Mars, biological life flourishes leaving only its core. The final legacy of
both in Earth’s oceans and on the third of Earth will be an increase in the Sun’s
the planet not covered with water. metal content of 0.01 per cent.
An axial tilt of 23.5 degrees leads to
seasons on Earth, which combine with
both atmospheric and oceanic circulations
to produce a variety of weather types,
some of them extreme. A single natural
satellite is tidally locked to the planet,
and its gravitational pull affects the
water level beneath it, causing tides.
Along with many artificial satellites,
Earth also has a small number of quasi
satellites, mostly captured asteroids Earth is surrounded
by a magnetic
circulating around Lagrange points L4 bubble called its
and L5 in horseshoe orbits. magnetosphere
36
Atmospheric
composition
Magnesium
Calcium
Aluminium
Traces of other
37
News from Earth

What’s happening on our home planet?
Extinction event
A study published in the journal Biological change, and places such as the Caribbean
Conservation suggests that 84 per cent of islands and Sri Lanka could lose most of their
animals and plants in mountain regions risk endemic plants by 2050. Up to 92 per cent of
being wiped out if the temperature rises by species on land and 95 per cent of those in
more than an average of three degrees the sea could face negative consequences.
Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with this The researchers - from Brazil, Norway and
rising to 100 per cent on islands. South Africa, among others - concluded that
Geographically unique species such as if the world can keep global average
Madagascar’s lemurs and the snow temperature rises within the terms of the Paris
leopards of the Himalayas are 2.7 times Climate Agreement, then the risk to
more likely to go extinct than more vulnerable species drops by a factor of ten.
widespread species. More than 60 per cent With a 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees
of unique tropical species are likely to go Fahrenheit) rise, only two per cent of land
extinct thanks to the action of climate and marine species face extinction.
© G etty
Artificial island
Not content with all the islands already known as Hulhumale, began in 1997,
available to it, the dominant mammal and it has grown to over four square
species on Earth has been busy kilometres (1.5 square miles) in area.
making more. A new artificial island It sits two metres (6.5 feet) above
near Male, the capital of the Republic of sea level, constructed from sand
Maldives, an archipelago in the Indian pumped on top of submerged coral,
Ocean, will act as a refuge for people and is now the fourth-largest island in
stranded by rising sea levels. With more the archipelago.
than 80 per cent of its 1,190 islands just With sea levels predicted to rise by up
one metre (3.2 feet) above the water, to half a metre by 2100 even if the Paris
the Maldives has the lowest terrain of Climate Agreement targets are hit, land
any country in the world, which makes reclamation projects like this may
it particularly susceptible to sea-level become more common as populations
rise. Construction of the new island, are driven from low-lying areas.
© NASA
Moon telescope
An early stage proposal has received funding Sun. It would also be able to observe the
from NASA to build a radio telescope in a universe at frequencies that are blocked by
crater on the far side of the Moon. Similar in Earth’s atmosphere, such as those below
concept to the Arecibo Observatory, the 30MHz. Observations in these wavebands
Lunar Crater Radio Telescope would take have never been made by humans.
advantage of the Moon’s many meteor The proposal is to deploy two wall
craters to support its structure. climbing robots in a crater three to five
Because of the way Earth and the Moon kilometres (1.8 to 3.1 miles) in diameter. The
are tidally locked, one side of the Moon robots would then weave a dish one
always faces away from us. The advantage kilometre (0.62 miles) across using a wire
of building such a device on the Moon, mesh. A receiver would then be suspended
particularly on its far side, is the shielding above this dish on two crossed cables, each
© A drian M ann
effect it gives against Earth-generated noise end held by a movable robot, adjusting the
and even the radio waves emitted by the position of the receiver for the best results.
38
••J FASTEST
CRUST -‘.'' ROUTE FOR
seismic
MANTLE waves
LIQUID
OUTER CORE
SOLID
INNER CORE
Earth facts
The Evolution of
43km
The difference in the
° n® .
natural
14°C Average surface
Planet earth Earth’s diameter at the temperature
Date: 54 billion years ago

Activity: Earth formed from a
equator than if measured
pole-to-pole satellite
protoplanetary disc around
a young star.
Date: 4.5 billion years ago

Activity: Dense elements sank to the
1AU 5,430
Average distance Temperature at Average
centre, forming Earth’s core, while the to Sun inner core surface gravity
outside layer cooled and solidified.

Activity: A massive impact with
another body sent a portion of Earth’s
crust into orbit, forming
the Moon.

Activity: Volcanism released water
vapour into Earth’s atmosphere,
raining down to begin the formation
of oceans.

Activity: Earth’s magnetic field was
established, with a magnetosphere
about half the modern radius.
Date: 750 million years ago

Activity: The earliest known Surface Water and Ocean
supercontinent, Rodinia, began to
break apart.
Topography mission
Launched in December 2022, SWOT - a floodwater, track flood levels and
joint development between NASA and improve our ability to predict floods.
Date: 180 million years ago
France’s ONES agency, with help from The largest effect SWOT may have on
Activity: The most recent Canada and the UK - is set to accurately Earth’s population is the data it will
supercontinent, Pangaea, measure the height of Earth’s surface provide about freshwater management.
broke apart. water. The mission aims to measure how This will help urban planners to manage
bodies of water change over time. It will the distribution of water for agricultural,
use a radar altimeter to measure the industrial and urban needs by providing
Date: 65 million years ago height of oceans, rivers and lakes across information about reservoirs and rivers.
Activity: Formation of the Himalayas 90 per cent of the globe at least twice The knowledge we will gain of Earth’s
began as the Indian subcontinent every 21 days at an average precision water cycle and ocean circulations will
better than 1.5 centimetres (0.6 inches). help us to better understand everything
drifted into Asia. This data will lead to better weather from surface water to the deep oceans,
and climate forecasting, providing more and this should improve our reactions to
Date: 6 million years ago accurate information about sea and river natural disasters, waterborne diseases,
levels that can be plugged into the sharing water sources among different
Activity: A small African ape
supercomputer prediction models used populations, as well as managing
began a family tree that led to a
© NASA; ESA
by meteorological agencies. It will also electricity production from renewable

dominant species. be able to measure the 3D shape of means and safeguarding biodiversity.
39
We’re learning more about
the fourth rock from the Sun
every day
40
M ars is the fourth
planet from the
Sun. Befitting the
by eruptions of lava that flowed for long
distances before solidifying. Mars also has
many other kinds of volcanic landforms,
Mars statistics
Diameter: 6,791 kilometres (4,220 miles)
Red Planet’s bloody from small, steep-sided cones to enormous
colour, the Romans plains coated in hardened lava. Some Gravity: 38 per cent of Earth’s
Atmospheric composition:
named it after their minor eruptions might still occur on the
95.32% carbon dioxide; 2.7% nitrogen; 1.6%
god of war. The bright rust colour Mars planet today. argon; 0.13% oxygen; 0.08% carbon
is known for is due to iron-rich minerals Channels, valleys and gullies are found monoxide; traces of water, nitrogen oxide,
neon, heavy water, krypton and xenon
in its regolith - the loose dust and rock all over Mars, suggesting that liquid water
Chemical composition:
covering its surface. The soil of Earth is a might have once flowed across the planet’s
Core: Iron, nickel and sulphur
kind of regolith, too, albeit one loaded with surface. Some channels are 100 kilometres
Mantle: Peridotite (silicon, oxygen, iron
organic content. The iron minerals on Mars (60 miles) wide and 2,000 kilometres (1,200 and magnesium)
oxidise, or rust, causing its soil to look red. miles) long. Water may still lie in cracks Crust: Volcanic rock basalt
The planet’s thin atmosphere means and pores in underground rock. A 2018 Moons: Phobos and Deimos
liquid water likely cannot exist on the study suggested that salty water below the
Martian surface for any appreciable length Martian surface could hold a considerable
of time. Features called recurring slope amount of oxygen, which could support
lineae may have spurts of briny water microbial life. But the amount of oxygen
flowing onto the surface, but this evidence depends on temperature and pressure;
is disputed; some scientists argue the temperature changes on Mars from time to
hydrogen spotted from orbit in this region time as the tilt of its rotation axis shifts.
may instead indicate briny salts. This Many regions of Mars are flat, low-lying
means that although this desert planet is plains. The low northern plains are among
just half the diameter of Earth, it has the the flattest, smoothest places in the Solar
same amount of dry land. System, potentially created by water that
The Red Planet is home to both the once flowed across the Martian surface.
highest mountain and the deepest, longest The northern hemisphere mostly lies
valley in the Solar System. Olympus Mons at a lower elevation than the southern
is roughly 25 kilometres (16 miles) high, hemisphere, suggesting the crust may be
about three times as tall as Mount Everest, thinner in the north than in the south. This
while the Valles Marineris system of difference between the north and south
valleys - named after the Mariner 9 probe might be due to a very large impact shortly
that discovered it - reaches as deep as ten after the birth of Mars.
kilometres (six miles) and runs east to west The number of craters on Mars varies The ice cap which covers Mars’ southern pole,
for roughly 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles), from place to place, depending on how composed of water and carbon dioxide
about one-fifth the distance around Mars
and close to the width of Australia.
Scientists think that Valles Marineris
formed mostly by rifting of the crust as it Mars’ orbital
got stretched. Individual canyons within
the system are up to 100 kilometres (60
statistics
• •
miles) wide. The canyons merge in the 227,936,640 kilometres
central part of Valles Marineris in a region (141,633,260 miles)
600 kilometres (370 miles) wide. Large Average distance from the sun
channels emerging from the ends of some
canyons and layered sediments within Aphelion------------
suggest that the canyons might once have 249,200,000 kilometres
been filled with liquid water. Mars also (154,900,000 miles)
has the largest volcanoes in the Solar Farthest distance from the sun
System - Olympus Mons being one of
them. The massive volcano, which is about
600 kilometres (370 miles) in diameter, Perihelion ——----
is wide enough to cover the state of New 206,600,000 kilometres
Mexico. Olympus Mons is a shield volcano, (128,400,000 miles)
with slopes that rise gradually like those Closest solar approach
of Hawaiian volcanoes, and was created
41
old the surface is. Much of the surface of which have been found to host microbes.
the southern hemisphere is extremely old, Mars Express also spied a huge, icy zone
and so has many craters - including the in Korolev crater. Vast deposits of what
planet’s largest, 2,300-kilometre (1,400- appear to be finely layered stacks of
mile) Hellas Planitia - while the northern water ice and dust extend from the
hemisphere is younger and so has poles to latitudes of about 80 degrees in
fewer craters. Some volcanoes also have both Martian hemispheres. These were
just a few craters, which suggests they probably deposited by the atmosphere
A 3D image of Olympus Mons, the largest erupted recently, with the resulting lava over long spans of time. On top of much
known mountain in the Solar System covering up any old craters. Some craters of these layered deposits in both
have unusual deposits of debris around hemispheres are caps of water ice that
them resembling solidified mudflows, remain frozen year-round.
indicating that the impactor may have hit Additional seasonal caps of frost appear
underground water or ice. in the wintertime. These are made of solid
In 2018, the European Space Agency’s carbon dioxide, also known as ‘dry ice’,
(ESA) Mars Express spacecraft detected which has condensed from carbon dioxide
what could be a slurry of water and grains gas in the atmosphere - Mars’ thin air
underneath the icy Planum Australe. is about 95 per cent carbon dioxide by
This body of water is said to be about volume. In the deepest part of the winter,
20 kilometres (12.4 miles) across. Its this frost can extend from the poles to
underground location is reminiscent of latitudes as low as 45 degrees, or halfway
4
similar underground lakes in Antarctica, to the equator. The dry ice layer appears
Key Mars missions

Robots have been unlocking Mars’
secrets for decades
InSight lander
Seismic Launch date:
. activity 5 May 2018

Arrival:
• 26 November
• 2018
Mars Odyssey Mars Express Mars Mars Trace Gas

Relay Launch date: Launch date: Reconnaissance Atmospheric Orbiter (TGO)
Orbiter (MRO) and Volatile
network ••
7 April 2001 2 June 2003
Launch date: EvolutioN
Launch date:
14 March 2016
Arrival: Arrival:
12 August 2005 (MAVEN)
24 October 2001 25 December 2003 • • Arrival:
Arrival: Launch date: 19 October 2016
10 March 2006 18 November 2013
Arrival:
22 September 2014
Spirit Opportunity Curiosity Perseverance

Mars Launch date: Launch'date: Launch date: Launch date:
10 June 2003 7 July 2003 26 November 2011 30 July 2020
rovers
1 • Arrival: Arrival: Arrival: Arrival:
4 January 2004 25 January 2004 6 August 2012 18 February 2021
42
to have a fluffy texture, like freshly fallen Planet also causes water-ice snow to fall However, the seasons that Mars
snow. Mars is much colder than Earth, from the clouds. experiences are more extreme than
in large part due to its greater distance The dust storms on Mars are the largest Earth’s because the Red Planet’s elliptical,
from the Sun. The average temperature in the Solar System, capable of blanketing oval-shaped orbit is more elongated than
is about -60 degrees Celsius (-80 degrees the entire planet and lasting for months. that of any of the other major planets.
Fahrenheit), although it can vary from -125 One theory as to why dust storms can grow When Mars is closest to the Sun, its
degrees Celsius (-195 degrees Fahrenheit) so big on Mars is because the airborne southern hemisphere is tilted towards
near the poles during the winter to as dust particles absorb sunlight, warming our star, giving the planet a short, warm
much as 20 degrees Celsius (70 degrees the Martian atmosphere in their vicinity. summer, while the northern hemisphere
Fahrenheit) at midday near the equator. Warm pockets of air then flow towards experiences a short, cold winter. When
The carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere of colder regions, generating winds. Strong Mars is farthest from the Sun, the northern
Mars is about 100 times less dense than winds lift more dust off the ground, which hemisphere is tilted towards it, giving the
Earth’s on average, but it is nevertheless in turn heats the atmosphere, raising more planet a long, mild summer, while the
thick enough to support weather, clouds wind and kicking up more dust. These southern hemisphere experiences a long,
and winds. The density of the atmosphere storms can pose serious risks to robots on cold winter.
varies seasonally, as winter forces carbon the Martian surface. NASA’s Opportunity The tilt of the Red Planet’s axis
dioxide to freeze out of the Martian air. In rover ‘died’ after being engulfed in a giant swings wildly over time because it’s
the ancient past, the atmosphere was likely 2018 storm, which blocked sunlight from not stabilised by a large moon. This has
significantly thicker and able to support reaching the robot’s solar panels for weeks led to different climates on the Martian
water flowing on the planet’s surface. Over at a time. surface throughout its history. A 2017
time, lighter molecules in the Martian Mars lies farther from the Sun than study suggests that the changing tilt also
atmosphere escaped under pressure Earth does, so the Red Planet has a longer influenced the release of methane into
from the solar wind, which affected the year - 687 days compared to 365 for our
atmosphere because Mars doesn’t have a home world. But the two planets have
global magnetic field. This process is being similar day lengths; it takes about 24 hours
studied today by NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and 40 minutes for Mars to complete one
and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. rotation around its axis. The axis of Mars,
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found like Earth’s, is tilted in relation to the Sun.
the first definitive detections of carbon This means that like Earth, the amount of
dioxide snow clouds, making Mars the only sunlight fading on certain parts of the Red
body in the Solar System known to host Planet can vary during the year, giving
such unusual winter weather. The Red Mars seasons.
Perseverance records the

Ingenuity helicopter’s
flights over the Martian
surface for Earth viewing
43
Mars’ atmosphere, causing temporary

warming periods that allowed water
to flow.
Measuring the Mars is 6,791 kilometres (4,220 miles) in
diameter - far smaller than Earth, which
vitals of Mars is 12,756 kilometres (7,926 miles) wide.
Nothing beats the versatility of the The Red Planet is about ten per cent as
InSight Mars lander. The mission is massive as our home, with a gravitational
equipped with an array of sensors
pull 38 per cent as strong. A 45-kilogram
that have been described as ‘taking
the vitals’ of Mars. They resulted in person here on Earth would weigh just
immediate success, with the 28 kilograms on Mars, but their mass
detection of seismic activity - in the would be the same on both planets. The
form of marsquakes - passing
atmosphere of Mars is 95.32 per cent
through the Red Planet.
carbon dioxide, 2.7 per cent nitrogen, 1.6
Astronauts working safely per cent argon, 0.13 per cent oxygen and
on the surface of Mars
with a pressurised vehicle 0.08 per cent carbon monoxide, with minor
in the background amounts of water, nitrogen oxide, neon,
heavy water, krypton and xenon.
Mars lost its global magnetic field
Mars is thought to have a
about 4 billion years ago, leading to the
solid core like Earth
stripping of much of its atmosphere by
the solar wind. But there are regions of
the planet’s crust today that can be at least
ten times more strongly magnetised than
anything measured on Earth, suggesting
those regions are remnants of an ancient
global magnetic field. Mars likely has a
solid core composed of iron, nickel and
sulphur. The mantle is probably similar
to Earth’s in that it’s composed mostly of
& r peridotite, made up of silicon, oxygen, iron
and magnesium. The crust is probably
made of the volcanic rock basalt, which
is also common in the crusts of Earth and
the Moon, although some crustal rocks,
especially in the northern hemisphere,
may be a form of andesite, a volcanic rock
that contains more silica than basalt does.
NASA’s InSight lander has been probing
Atmosphere the Martian interior since touching down
near the planet’s equator in November
2018. InSight measures and characterises
/•o’ marsquakes, and mission team members
are tracking wobbles in Mars’ tilt over
time by precisely tracking the lander’s
position on the planet’s surface. Data has
V. revealed key insights about Mars’ internal
p
■
2.
<s>
o
structure. InSight team members recently
Core 2
o
z
estimated that the planet’s core is 1,780
©
Surface to 2,080 kilometres (1,110 to 1,300 miles)

wide. InSight’s observations also suggest
that Mars’ crust is 24 to 72 kilometres
f£**id* (14 to 45 miles) thick on average, with
©NASA/JPL-Caltech
the mantle making up the rest of the

planet’s non-atmospheric volume. For
iiirfi.-
comparison, Earth’s core is about 7,100
44
kilometres (4,400 miles) wide - bigger than The Perseverance rover captures a picture as it selects a boulder to drill
Mars itself - and its mantle is roughly

2,900 kilometres (1,800 miles) thick. Earth
has two kinds of crust, continental and
oceanic. Average thicknesses are about 40
kilometres (25 miles) and eight kilometres
(five miles) respectively.
The two moons of Mars, Phobos and
Deimos, were discovered by American
astronomer Asaph Hall over the course
of a week in 1877. Hall had almost given
up his search for a moon of Mars, but his
wife urged him on. He discovered Deimos
the next night, and Phobos six days after
that. He named the moons after the sons
of the Greek war god Ares - Phobos means
‘fear’, while Deimos means ‘dread’. Both
are likely made of carbon-rich rock mixed
with ice and are covered in dust and loose
rocks. They are tiny next to Earth’s Moon
and are irregularly shaped since they lack
enough gravity to pull themselves into a
more circular form. The widest Phobos
gets is about 27 kilometres (17 miles),
and the widest Deimos gets is roughly 15
kilometres (nine miles).
Both moons are pockmarked with
craters from meteor impacts. The surface
©NASA/JPL-Caltech
of Phobos also possesses an intricate
pattern of grooves, which may be cracks
that formed after an impact created the
moon’s largest crater - a hole about ten famously Percival Lowell - believed Robotic spacecraft began observing
kilometres (six miles) wide, nearly half they saw a network of long, straight Mars in the 1960s, with the US launching
the width of Phobos. The two satellites canals on Mars that hinted at a possible Mariner 4 in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7
always show the same face to their parent civilisation. However, these sightings in 1969. Those early missions revealed
planet, just as our Moon does to Earth. proved to be mistaken interpretations of Mars to be a barren world, without any
It remains uncertain how Phobos and geological features. signs of life or the civilisations people such
Deimos formed. They may be former A number of Martian rocks have as Lowell had imagined there. In 1971,
asteroids that were captured by Mars’ fallen to Earth over the aeons, providing Mariner 9 orbited Mars, mapping about
gravitational pull, or they may have scientists with a rare opportunity to study 80 per cent of the planet and discovering
formed in orbit around Mars at roughly pieces of Mars without having to leave its volcanoes and canyons. The Soviet
the same time the planet came into our planet. One of the most controversial Union also launched numerous Red Planet
existence. Ultraviolet fight reflected from finds was Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001) spacecraft in the 1960s and early 1970s,
Phobos provides strong evidence that the - a Martian meteorite that may contain but most of those missions failed. Mars 2
moon is a captured asteroid. Phobos is tiny fossils and other evidence of Mars and Mars 3 operated successfully, but were
gradually spiralling towards Mars, drawing life. Other researchers have cast doubt unable to map the surface due to dust
about 1.8 metres (six feet) closer to the on this hypothesis, but the team behind storms. NASA’s Viking 1 lander touched
Red Planet each century. Within 50 million the famous 1996 study have held firm down on the surface of Mars in 1976,
years, Phobos will either smash into Mars to their interpretation, and the debate pulling off the first successful landing on
or break up and form a ring of debris about ALH84001 continues today. In 2018, the Red Planet. Its twin, Viking 2, landed
around the planet. a separate meteorite study found that six weeks later in a different Mars region.
The first person to observe Mars with organic molecules - the carbon-containing The Viking landers took the first close
a telescope was Galileo Galilei in 1610. building blocks of life, although not up pictures of the Martian surface, but
In the following century, astronomers necessarily evidence of life itself - could found no strong evidence for life. Again,
discovered the planet’s polar ice caps. In have formed on Mars through battery-like however, there has been debate: Gilbert
the 19th and 20th centuries, some - most chemical reactions. Levin, principal investigator of the Vikings’
45
Labeled Release life-detection experiment, two golf-cart-sized rovers, named Curiosity has also discovered complex
forever maintained that the landers spied Spirit and Opportunity, which explored organic molecules and documented
evidence of microbial metabolism in the different regions of the Martian surface seasonal fluctuations in methane
Martian dirt. after touching down in January 2004. concentrations in the atmosphere.
The next two craft to successfully reach Both rovers found many signs that water But NASA isn’t the only interested party.
the Red Planet were Mars Pathfinder, a once flowed on the surface. Spirit and The ESA has two spacecraft orbiting the
lander, and Mars Global Surveyor, an Opportunity were originally tasked with planet: Mars Express and the Trace Gas
orbiter, both NASA craft that launched in three-month surface missions, but both Orbiter. Also, in September 2014, India’s
1996. A small robot on board Pathfinder, kept roving for far longer than that. NASA Mars Orbiter Mission reached the Red
called Sojourner, became the first wheeled didn’t declare Spirit dead until 2011, and Planet, making it the fourth nation to
rover ever to explore the surface of Opportunity was still going strong until successfully enter orbit around Mars.
another planet, venturing over the that dust storm hit in mid-2018. In November 2018, NASA landed a
planet’s surface and analysing rocks for Next, in 2008, NASA sent a lander called stationary craft called InSight on the
95 Earth days. Phoenix to the far-northern plains of surface. InSight is investigating Mars’
In 2001, NASA launched the Mars Mars. The robot confirmed the presence of internal structure and composition,
Odyssey orbiter, which discovered vast water ice in the near subsurface, among primarily by measuring and characterising
amounts of water ice beneath the Martian other finds. In 2011, NASA’s Mars Science marsquakes. NASA also launched the life
surface, mostly in the upper metre (three Laboratory mission sent the Curiosity hunting Perseverance rover in July 2020.
feet). It remains uncertain whether more rover to investigate Mars’ past potential to Perseverance landed on the floor of Mars’
water lies underneath, since the probe host life. Not long after landing inside the Jezero crater in February 2021 along with
cannot see water any deeper. Red Planet’s Gale crater in August 2012, the a tiny test helicopter known as Ingenuity.
In 2003, Mars passed closer to Earth car-sized robot determined that the area 2020 also saw the launch of the United
than it had at any time in the past 60,000 hosted a long-lived, potentially habitable Arab Emirates’ first Mars mission, Hope,
years. That same year, NASA launched lake-and-stream system in the ancient past. and China’s first fully homegrown
The Viking landers took the first close-up

pictures of the Martian surface, but found
no strong evidence for life
I
Mars effort, Tianwen-1. Hope arrived

in February 2021 and is studying the
atmosphere, weather and climate.
Tianwen-1, which consists of an orbiter
and a lander-rover duo, also reached Mars
orbit in February 2021.
Robots aren’t the only ones getting
a ticket to Mars. A workshop group of
scientists from government agencies,
academia and industry have determined
that a NASA-led manned mission to Mars
should be possible by the 2030s. Robotic
missions have seen much success in
the past few decades, but it remains a
considerable challenge to get people to 8
Mars. With current technology, it would

heat shield that could protect
take at least six months for people to
human visitors to Mars
travel to Mars. Red Planet explorers
Charles Q.Choi
would therefore be exposed for long China and Russia, have also announced Space science writer
stretches to deep-space radiation and their goals for sending humans to the Red Charles is a contributing writer
to microgravity, which has devastating Planet. And Elon Musk, the founder and for space.com and Live Science.
effects on the human body. Performing CEO of SpaceX, has long stressed that he He covers all things human
origins and astronomy as well
activities in the moderate gravity of Mars established the company back in 2002 as physics.
could prove extremely difficult after many primarily to help humanity settle the Red
months in microgravity. Research into the Planet. SpaceX is currently developing Robert Lea
effects of microgravity continues on the and testing a fully reusable deep-space Space science writer
International Space Station in preparation. transportation system called Starship, Rob is a writer with a degree
in physics and astronomy. He
NASA isn’t the only entity with crewed which Musk believes is the breakthrough specialises in physics, astronomy,
Mars aspirations. Other nations, including needed to get people to Mars at long last. astrophysics and quantum physics.
SYSTEM
*
■ - • . ■ ...
How the planets

would look... • • a • . • • *
...if they were at the same distance from Earth

»
as the Moon, and how it would affect our planet
Mercury Mars Jupiter Saturn

1 Mercury is
approximately 4.5
. With a radius of
1,737.4 kilometres very dense, toxic
4 If Mars were as
close as our Moon,
5 It’s unlikely that
we’d survive if Jupiter
6 Saturn’s amazing
rings would stretch
times more massive • (1,079.6 miles), our atmosphere, with a travelling there would became bur Moon. It ... nearly from horizon to
than the Moon. This' Moon takes up about surface that can’t be be simpler. We could would blast us with its horizon, and its
would no doubt as much sky as the easily viewed. If it were see many of its deadly radiation field banded atmosphere
affect the tides on Sun, which is how closer, Earth’s magnetic features with the and subject Earth to ' is calm in comparison
Earth. It also has a • they can appear to • pull might affect that naked eye, and a incredibly strong to some of the
• magnetic field that •
be the same size .
• atmosphere, and Martian colony might tidal stresses.. other planets.
could affect Earth’s. and distance away. . vice versa.. ♦ be possible.
Expert:
Robin Hague
Robin is a science writer,
focusing on space and physics. He is
head of launch at Skyrora,
coordinating launch opportunities for
Skyrora’s vehicles.
HOW THE PLANETS
WOULD LOOK...
, •
W
. hat if the other Solar
System planets were
the same distance
radius of 2,439.7 kilometres (1,516 miles).
It has similar surface features to the Moon
from a distance, although if it were close,
. Mars is about twice the size of the Moon,
with a radius of 3,389.5 kilometres (2,106 . -
miles), so it would look larger than the
from Earth as the up we’d be able to see that the craters, rays Sun does to us. Having Mars or any other
• . • • • • «
Moon? At best, a and other features are quite different. . planet larger than our Moon for a satellite
night sky• with one
•• Venus has a radius of 6,051.8 kilometres would have an effect on the tides, causing ’
: or more planets at the Moon’s, distance ’ (3,760.4 miles) and would look as large huge waves and even tsunamis. Beach
would look very different. At worst, either to us a’s. planet Earth looked to the Apollo • going would probably be a thing of the
• * • . • •
,• . the. other planet or Earth - or both - would astronauts when they were walking on . past, but we’d have more light at night,
be radically changed by its proximity to the the Moon. It• ’ reflects
.• • six* times
• • *e the amount
•• and it would have a creepy red tint to it;
* • • 0 • • •
•
other. In some cases, we wouldn’t survive.
• .• • •
of sunlight that the Moon does and would • • Jupiter would completely dominate our •
There
* • • • • factors involved, but:
are• numerous take up about 12. times the space in the * sky Astronomers measure the distances
.speculation is part of the fun of astronomy. sky from our perspective, so ‘night‘, when between objects in the sky using degrees’
• •• •• • •• ' • •• " %
Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, Venus is on the opposite side of the sky - our Moon takes up about half a degree, . . .
• is also a similar
• • to our
size • Moon,• with a from the Sun, would be much brighter. but Jupiter would take up 20 degrees. We
wouldn’t be able to see Jupiter’s poles,.
NeptUne
but we would be treated to a view Of its
Uranus . Pluto • • • •
7 One of Uranus’
unique features as a
Neptune has a
very active
9 Pluto’s a dwarf
planet with a diameter
distinctive caramel-and-white bands arid
• ’ • ••
• the ongoing storms on the planet: Saturn

•• • • •
Moon would be the atmosphere with lots of 2,368 kilometres has a radius that’s njore than nine times
fact that it rotates on its . of storms and other (1,471 miles) - around
‘side’ - more like a ball meteorological two-thirds the size
that of Earth’s, and in truth Earth would,:
rolling around instead activity, which would of our Moon with really become a satellite o’f Saturn instead.
of a top spinning. provide us with less than half our . Although not as huge as Jupiter or ■
compelling sights Moon’s gravity.
from Earth.
Saturn, Neptune is still 14 times larger
than the Moon. This big, blue planet would
still dominate the sky at all times. There’s
a reason why Neptune and Uranus are
sometimes called sister planets: both are
icy worlds and.have a radius about four
times that of Earth’s, although Uranus has
a much calmer atmosphere than the other
turbulent giant.planets. . , ■'
£
o
.z -
• E
o .
•
© .
.V
»j
SYSTEM
Jupiter
The largest planet has a lot to tell us,
and Juno is on the case
F ifth in the eight-planet

lineup of our Solar System,
Jupiter also happens to be
through its orbit - over 2,000 have
been discovered - and its great mass
means that the centre of gravity for it
the largest, and by quite and the Sun lies above the Sun’s surface,
some distance. The mass of meaning they act almost like a binary
this gigantic ball of gas is system. The giant planet’s gravity well
two-and-a-half times that of all the other also means it can intercept comets and
planets put together, and you could fit asteroids heading into the inner Solar
11.2 Earths within its radius. While there’s System and may partially shield the inner
likely a rocky core somewhere under the planets from bombardment. Another
enormous gaseous atmosphere, scientists theory is that it draws small bodies in
can’t be sure whether it’s solid or not, but from the Kuiper Belt. Whichever is true,
gravitational measurements suggest it Jupiter experiences 200 times more
could make up as much as 15 per cent of impacts than Earth.
Jupiter’s mass. Galileo discovered Jupiter’s four
What is known is that Jupiter is largest moons, known as the Galilean
contracting, and this generates more moons, in 1610 - the first time moons
heat than the planet receives from the had been observed around another
Sun, warming the huge number of moons planet. Humanity has since explored
that orbit around it. It also has a faint the planet with observatories and space
ring system - too thin to be seen from probes, beginning in 1973 with a flyby
Earth with any but the largest telescopes by Pioneer 10. Many missions to the
and first spotted by the Voyager 1 probe outer Solar System have used Jupiter’s
in 1979. gravity as a slingshot to correct their
Jupiter plays a major role in many course or gain speed, but the first craft
theories of the formation of our Solar to orbit the planet was the aptly named
System. In the grand tack hypothesis, Galileo in 1995.
Jupiter formed at 3.5 astronomical units
(AU) - 1 AU is the Earth-Sun distance -
before plunging inward towards the Sun
until it reached 1.5 AU, then reversing
course and moving out again, stopping at
its current distance of 5.2 AU. It crossed
the asteroid belt twice, scattering rocks in
all directions and contributing to the low
mass of the belt today. It may also have
caused rocky planets orbiting closer to
the Sun to crash into the star’s surface.
This answers questions such as why Mars
is so small - Jupiter’s presence limited
the material available for its formation
- and why there are no large planets
orbiting close to the Sun, as we see in The hazy northern
other solar systems. hemisphere of Jupiter
Jupiter has also had a long-lasting effect processed by citizen
scientist Gerald
on the rest of the Solar System. It has a Eichstadt from Juno
fleet of asteroids and comets that follow it camera data in 2020
50
- .© N A S A '
A cyclonic storm in
.
Jupiter’s northern
■
hemisphere, taken by
.
Juno in 2019
’ •.
Atmospheric
composition
• • • • *
■
Upper atmosphere
Hydrogen
Helium
Lower atmosphere
Hydrogen
' ,
Helium
.• .
other
.
elements
©NASA
51
News from Jupiter

Delve into the Gas Giant’s fascinating secrets
Wind speeds measured

Scientists have directly measured the winds in the
middle of Jupiter’s atmosphere. Using the Atacama
Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team
was able to track the movement of molecules of
hydrogen cyanide in the planet’s turbulent
atmosphere, measuring narrow bands of wind at up to
1,448 kilometres (900 miles) per hour. Hydrogen
cyanide is not native to Jupiter, but was added when
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with the planet in
1994. Since then it has been circling the atmosphere.
Using 42 of ALMA’s 66 high-precision antennae, a team
measured the Doppler shift, tiny changes in the
radiation emitted by the molecules, from which they
were able to deduce wind speed.
© NASA
Auroral activity
Jupiter’s version of the northern lights has puzzled
scientists because it doesn’t behave like aurorae on
Earth. Here the lights appear in a ring between 60
and 70 degrees north or south of the equator. Within
that ring - an area known as the ‘polar cap’ - they
don’t appear. On Jupiter there is no ‘polar cap’, so
aurorae continue all the way to the poles. This is due
to a quirk of Jupiter’s magnetic field. On Earth, the
aurorae appear on closed field lines, which extend
outwards from the planet before bending back
again. Inside the ‘polar cap’ the field lines are open
and there are no aurorae. But Jupiter has a mixture of
open and closed field lines as you approach its
© NASA;ESA
poles, meaning the aurorae are still able to appear.
Another Jupiter
Little is known about how planets as large as Jupiter
form, but a planet circling another star - and under
the watchful eye of Hubble - could give us a lot of
information. Known as PDS 70b, the planet orbits a
very young orange dwarf 370 light years away in the
southern constellation of Centaurus, which has two
actively forming planets within its protoplanetary
disc. PDS 70b, which orbits the star at the same
distance as Uranus orbits our Sun, is already around
five times the mass of Jupiter - and possibly twice as
large - and at a mere 5 million years old should
continue to form for a little while yet, though the rate
at which it is accreting more material has dwindled.
©ESO
52
Jupiter facts
5,000
14x
Jupiter’s magnetic field
is 14 times stronger than
kilometres
The thickness of Jupiter’s
atmosphere - the deepest
1665
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
is a storm known to have
Earth’s and is the strongest in the Solar System existed since at least
in the Solar System 1831, and maybe even
except for sunspots since 1665
Evolution of the
Jovian giant Years Jupiter takes
to orbit the Sun
4th
Fourth-brightest object in
the sky as seen from Earth
known moons circulate
around Jupiter
4.6 billion years ago
The Solar System began to
form from a cloud of gas and dust
around a new star.
4.596 billion years ago

Jupiter and Saturn began
to take shape.
2400 BCE
Babylonians tracked a
full cycle of Jupiter’s movement
across the skies.
Time: 270 BCE

Jupiter was part of
Aristarchus of Samos’ heliocentric
model of the Solar System.
Time:1610
Galileo discovered the
Galilean moons: Ganymede,
Callisto, Io and Europa.
Future plans for Jupiter
3 December 1974 While Jupiter has been heavily 2023 to study Ganymede, Callisto and
Pioneer 11 passed within photographed by missions such as Juno, Europa, to evaluate their potential to
42,500 kilometres (26,400 miles) of which arrived at the planet in 2016, much support life. Other countries also have
scientific interest has now transferred to their eyes on the giant planet, with
Jupiter’s cloud tops.
the planet’s moons, which are thought to China’s Gan De craft proposed for
harbour subsurface liquid oceans and launch in 2029 and an unnamed Russian
5 March 1979 possibly even life. Europa, Ganymede proposal to use a nuclear-powered tug to
Voyager 1 performed a and Callisto, three of the Galilean moons, travel to the planet sometime after 2030.
would be the targets, but multiple Further into the future, Europa is seen
flyby of the gas giant planet.
missions have been cancelled due to as a potential site for human colonisation
lack of budget. of the Solar System, as it is geologically
8 December 1995 In 2024 NASA’s Europa Clipper should stable and levels of radiation are low
The Galileo probe entered launch, following up on studies from the there. Low is a relative term, however,
Galileo probe and performing multiple as unshielded colonists would receive
Jupiter orbit.
flybys of Europa without orbiting it, using 5.4 sieverts of radiation per day from
the gravity of nearby moons to change Jupiter compared to 0.0024 sieverts per
5 July 2016 its course. The European Space Agency year on Earth. This is still enough to
sent its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer in April cause radiation poisoning.
©NASA;
The Juno probe entered a

polar orbit around the planet.
Everything you
need to know
about Saturn
With its moon system, rings of dust and ice and
occasionally tempestuous atmosphere, there’s
more to this gas giant than meets the eye
S aturn is our Solar
System’s ringed wonder
- a spectacular world
encircled by planes of icy
debris, giving it a unique
appearance. But there’s a
lot more to Saturn than just its rings; this
enormous world is worth exploring both
for its own complexity and the fascinating
family of satellites that orbit it. As the most
distant Solar System object easily seen with
the naked eye, Saturn orbits at an average
of 1.43 billion kilometres (887 million
miles) from the Sun. Its slow orbit means
that Saturn takes 29.5 years to make a full
circuit through the constellations of the
zodiac; it was this stately movement that
led ancient stargazers to associate it with
the father of Jupiter in Roman mythology.
Its distance makes it a challenging
object for study, even in the era of giant
telescopes. Most of what we know about
the planet comes from the Voyager probe
flybys in the 1980s and the Cassini mission
that orbited between 2004 and 2017. Earth
observations, coupled with close-up images
from these explorers, have revealed that
what often appears to be a placid orb
of creamy cloud is in fact a surprisingly
active world.
Internally, Saturn is a gas giant like
Jupiter, a huge ball dominated by the
lightweight elements hydrogen and
helium. It owes its very different outward
appearance to a substantially lower mass
- Saturn weighs as much as 95 Earths,
Saturn Moons
Daphnis Mimas
• •• Enceladus Tethys Dione
Dimensions: 8.6 by 8.2 Diameter: 396 kilometres Diameter: 504 kilometres Diameter: 1,062 Diameter: 1,123
by 6.4 kilometres (5.3 by (246 miles) (313 miles)• , • •• • • • kilometres (659 miles) kilometres (698 miles)
5.1 by 4’0 miles) Mass: 37.4 x TO15 tonnes Mass: 108.0 x 1015 tonnes Mass: 617.4 x 1015 tonnes Mass: 1095.4 x 1015
Mass: 0.08 x 1012 tonnes Orbital period: 0.94 days Orbital period: 1.37 days tonnes
• • • • * • •• •
Orbital period: 0.59 days Discovered: William Discovered: William Discovered: Giovanni Orbital period: 2.74 days
Discovered: Cassini, Herschel, 1789 Herschel, 1789 Domenico Cassini, 1684 Discovered: Giovanni
2005 Domenico Cassini, 1684
but this is less than a third of Jupiter. The degrees Celsius (-285 degrees Fahrenheit). (1,118 miles) per hour, the second fastest
weaker gravity allows Saturn’s upper layers This creates conditions where ammonia in the Solar System after Neptune, forming
to billow outwards, giving it the lowest can condense into ice crystals and form jet streams that wrap around the planet.
average density of any world in the Solar hazy white clouds that blanket the planet, Saturn’s major cloud bands run parallel to
System - about two-thirds that of water. muting the colours and detail of features the equator; they are broader and fewer in
Combined with a rotation period of deeper inside the atmosphere. Visiting number than those around Jupiter, but still
just ten-and-a-half hours, Saturn struggles space probes have confirmed a wide range give rise to intense storms that appear as
to hold onto material around its fast of atmospheric compounds, including bright ovals and persist for weeks.
moving equator, giving the planet a ethane, methane and ammonia, while the Although Saturn has no permanently
pronounced bulge around the middle. At deeper clouds likely consist of ammonium visible storms to match Jupiter’s Great Red
120,532 kilometres (74,895 miles), Saturn’s hydrosulfide or water. Differences in the Spot, it intermittently produces seasonal
equatorial diameter is almost 12,000 cocktail of chemicals are probably mostly storms on just as grand a scale. The most
kilometres (7,456 miles) more than its responsible for Saturn’s restrained palette famous, known as the Great White Spot,
polar diameter. The planet’s low density in comparison with Jupiter. erupted in the northern hemisphere at
also means its atmosphere is cooler, Despite its relatively monotone roughly 30-year intervals from 1876 until
and combined with its distance from appearance, Saturn’s atmosphere is far 1990. Its regular cycle suggests a link to
the Sun means that temperatures in the from dormant. Space probes have recorded seasonal changes in the upper atmosphere.
uppermost layers plunge to a chilly -176 wind speeds of up to 1,800 kilometres With its equator tipped at an angle of 26.7
degrees to its orbit, Saturn goes through
Taken as Cassini passed an Earthlike pattern of seasons each long
through Saturn’s shadow, this
year. But the spot’s unexpected early
spectacular image reveals the
planet and its ring system reappearance in 2010 - and absence since
backlit by the Sun - suggest things may be more complicated.
Beneath its outer cloud layers, Saturn’s
internal structure is governed by the
increasing temperature and atmospheric
pressure deeper inside the planet. About
1,000 kilometres (621 miles) below the
visible surface, its hydrogen gas is so
compressed that it condenses into liquid.
Some way below this, conditions become
so extreme that hydrogen molecules are
broken apart, forming a sea of electrically
charged liquid metallic hydrogen that
© NASA/JPL-Caltech
generates a powerful magnetic field as

the planet spins. The exact structure of
Saturn’s core remains something of a
56
Rhea •• • •• Titan Hyperion Iapetus Phoebe
Diameter: 1,528 Diameter: 5,149 Dimensions: 360 by 266 Diameter: 1,469 Dimensions: 219 by 217
kilometres (949 miles) kilometres (3,199 miles) by 205 kilometres (223 kilometres (913 miles) by 204 kilometres (136
Mass: 2306.5 x 1015 Mass: 134,520.0 x 1O1S by 165 by 127 miles) Mass: 1805.6 X IO15 by 134 by 127 miles)
tonnes tonnes tonnes . Moss: 8.3 x 1015 tonnes
Orbital period: 4.52 days Orbital period: Orbital period? Orbital period: .Orbital period: 550 days
• •*
Discovered: Giovanni 15.95 days• • • 21.28 days 79.32 days Discovered: William
Domenico Cassini, 1672 Discovered:
• • •. • Christiaan Discovered: William Discovered: Giovanni Henry Pickering, 1899
Huygens, 1655 Cranch Bond, William Domenico Cassini, 1671
Lassell, 1848
mystery, but recent studies of the way

it affects the planet’s rings suggests it is
probably fuzzy or diffuse, amounting to
about 17 Earth masses of material and
Inside Saturn
extending 60 per cent of the way to the Ammonia Deeper clouds Liquefied gas
surface, where it becomes mixed with 1 haze
Cold conditions in the
2 As pressure
increases further into
1 At a depth of
about 1,000 kilometres
the metallic hydrogen above. Deep within upper atmosphere Saturn’s atmosphere, (621 miles),
the planet, one or more mechanisms allow ammonia to other chemicals pressures reach 1,000
condense and form condense into droplets Earth atmospheres -
generate vast amounts of heat, allowing and form clouds - enough for hydrogen
bright, hazy clouds at
Saturn to radiate 2.5 times more energy pressures between in particular ammonium to condense into its
than it receives from the Sun. In part roughly 0.4 and 1.7 hydrosulfide and a water liquid molecular form.
times Earth’s ice/ammonia mix.
this is probably due to a well-understood
atmospheric pressure.
mechanism of gravitational contraction
that sifts denser material towards the Metallic ocean Fuzzy core Solid centre?
core, but it’s likely that other chemical and
physical processes within the liquid layers
4 Here pressures
reach 2 million Earth
5 Recent studies
suggest Saturn has a
The scientific jury
is still out on whether
atmospheres and fuzzy core that begins Saturn has a distinct
also play a role. temperatures rival the where heavy elements solid core of rock and
Although all four of the Solar System’s surface of the Sun. mix with the liquid metal.
giant planets are now known to have Hydrogen molecules metallic layer, and it
split apart to form a sea grows denser towards
rings of one kind or another, Saturn’s are of electrically charged the centre.
by far the brightest and most extensive. metallic hydrogen.
They were first spotted by Galileo Galilei
in 1610, though his crude telescope could
only show that the planet appeared
strangely elongated. It wasn’t until 1659
that Christiaan Huygens realised the
true structure of the rings as a broad
but thin disc around the planet, which
disappears from view when the plane of
the rings lines up with Earth twice in each
Saturnian year.
The two brightest rings, stretching to
about 2.4 times Saturn’s diameter, are
designated A and B, and are separated by
a mostly empty gap, the Cassini Division.
Inward of the B Ring lies the C Ring, semi
transparent but still visible from Earth,
individual orbit around the planet. The a large, icy comet about 100 million years
orbits are almost perfectly circular and ago - or have somehow been replenished
he in a single narrow plane less than a with new material over time.
kilometre (0.62 miles) deep, but the system The shepherd moons are just the
is constantly evolving as the gravity of innermost members of a vast family;
Saturn’s major moons pulls fragments out with 82 members at the most recent
of this neat arrangement and collisions count, Saturn has the biggest satellite
with their neighbours jostle them back system of any of the major planets.
into line. Cassini images have revealed Beyond the rings orbit eight major moons,
After reappearing in late 2010, increasing levels of detail within the rings, substantial worlds that formed from
Saturn’s Great White Spot soon including dark radial ‘spokes’ rippling material left behind during the birth of
developed a tail that wrapped 8
their way across the rings like a wave and Saturn itself. The inner five major moons
around the planet as it became
distorted by high winds propeller-shaped structures caused by ring follow a broad trend of increasing size,
fragments clumping together. from 400-kilometre (248-mile) Mimas,
Within and just beyond the rings, probes through Enceladus, Tethys and Dione,
while a tenuous D Ring extends all the have traced the influence of so-called to 1,500-kilometre (932-mile) Rhea; each
way down to Saturn’s upper atmosphere. ‘shepherd moons’ such as Daphnis - small consists of a mix of ice and rock, and
The narrow braid of the F Ring hems the satellites ranging from a few kilometres to most show signs of geological activity at
A Ring’s outer edge, while several minor a few tens of kilometres across that keep various stages in their past, most likely
rings - fragmentary ‘arcs’ or clouds of tiny individual ringlets in line, create gaps in low-temperature cryovolcanism creating
particles - lie still further out. the system and may even contribute fresh eruptions of icy slush. The exception is
The laws of physics mean that it’s material to the rings. The evolving nature the extraordinary Enceladus - a brilliant
impossible for rings to be solid bodies - of the system, which grinds down ring white world 504 kilometres (313 miles)
the varying strength of Saturn’s gravity fragments over time and ultimately loses in diameter whose terrain has not only
would tear them apart. Instead, each material as it spirals down onto Saturn’s been reshaped by very recent resurfacing,
ring - and the many distinct ringlets equator, means that the rings must either but is also blanketed in fresh snow. Heat
within them - is composed of countless be relatively young - one recent analysis generated as Enceladus is distorted by a
icy fragments, each following its own points to formation from the breakup of gravitational tug of war between Saturn
Major missions to Saturn
© A d ria n M ann
Pioneer 11 Voyager 1 Voyager 2 Cassini Huygens*• » . • • • •

Dragonfly
Type Jupiter and Type Jupiter and Type: Multi-planet Type: Saturn orbiter Type: Titan lander Type:* Planned Titan
► • * *■ . . * ’
Saturn flyby . Saturn flyby flyby Launched: 15 Launched: 15 lander
•. • I
Launched: 5 April Launched: 5 ' , ' Launched:20 October 1997 October 1997 Launch: 2027 ;
• • •
• • • V • • •• •
1973 September 1977 August 1977 Saturn orbit: i July Titan descent: 14 Titan landing) 2034
Saturn flyby: 1 Saturn flyby: 12 Saturn flyby: 26 - 2004 January 2005 Key goals:
September 1979 November 1980 August 1981 Key discoveries: Key discoveries:
Key discoveries: ’ Key discoveries: Key discoveries: ' Detailed survey of First descent helicopter-like
First close-up Analysis of Saturn’s Measurement of Saturn, its rings and through Titan’s robotic explorer
images of Saturn. upper atmosphere. temperature in the moons. Monitored atmosphere and designed to fly
Measurements Discovery of upper atmosphere. Great White Spot images from the across Titan’s
of the magnetic complex structure Images of more outbreak of 2010. surface. Landed surface and
field. Measured in the rings of . structure in the Imaged Titan visit several
the temperature of Saturn rings through its clouds amid pebbles of locations, studying
• * .• * “ •. • ‘ ’ ••
Titan Status: Entered Status: Entered Status: Destroyed water ice the moon’s
♦
Status: Contact interstellar space in interstellar space in during a controlled Status: Contact with complex surface
lost; now entering 2012; still returning 2018; still returning plunge into Saturn’s Cassini lost soon
♦
chemistry and
interstellar space data to Earth data to Earth atmosphere in 2017 after landing potential for life.
58
Top 5
discoveries
The Dragon Storm
I Usually hidden deep beneath the clouds, this
long-lived storm occasionally sends plumes of white
cloud to the surface and goes through periods of
violent lightning activity.
Polar hexagon
2 Saturn’s north pole is home to a giant hexagonal
cloud structure 30,000 kilometres (18,641 miles) across.
At its very centre lies a swirling vortex-like feature that’s
matched by one at the south pole.
Ring ripples
3 Saturn’s rings are constantly reshaped by the
gravitational influence of its moons - here the
86-kilometre (53-mile) Prometheus creates dark
channels in the narrow F Ring as it disrupts the orbits of
individual ring fragments.
Plumes of Enceladus Jk2
4 Jets of water vapour erupt from seas just beneath

the icy crust of Enceladus, spraying snow across the
surface and forming the doughnut-shaped E Ring that
surrounds the moon’s orbit.
Titan’s eerie geography

5
© NASA/JPL-Caltech
Infrared images have revealed that Titan is a
complex world with a fresh, mostly uncratered terrain.
and its outer neighbouring satellites warms Solar System after Jupiter’s Ganymede. surviving fragment of a moon that was
the moon’s south polar region, creating A combination of high gravity and cold once much larger. Iapetus, which rivals
reservoirs of liquid water just beneath conditions allow Titan to hold onto a Rhea in size, has starkly contrasting light
the icy crust. As the surface flexes, water substantial atmosphere, making it one and dark hemispheres, the end result of a
escapes into space, shooting huge plumes of a kind among Solar System satellites. complex process that begins with Iapetus
of vapour high above the moon’s surface. This atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, picking up dust that spirals Saturnwards
Enceladus’ near-surface liquid water but a small amount of methane forms from its dark outer neighbour Phoebe.
makes it a prime candidate in the search clouds that render it an opaque orange. Phoebe itself is the largest of more than
for life elsewhere in the Solar System. When the Cassini probe’s infrared 50 outer ‘irregular’ moons - small icy
The centrepiece of Saturn’s moon cameras pierced this veil, they revealed a bodies that follow tilted, elongated and
system, the appropriately named Titan, curiously Earthlike landscape with eroded sometimes backward orbits. Grouped into
dwarfs all the other satellites. With a ‘continents' and low-lying plains that several distinct families, they are thought
diameter of 5,149 kilometres (3,199 miles), resemble ocean basins. With an average to be the fragmented remains of comets
it’s the second-largest moon in the entire temperature of-179 degrees Celsius (-111 or asteroids from the outer Solar System,
degrees Fahrenheit), Titan’s terrain has captured by Saturn’s gravity long after
been shaped by both cryovolcanic activity their formation. Together, the outer limits
and a ‘methane cycle’ resembling Earth’s of their distant orbits extend the limits
water cycle, This involves the volatile of this dazzling system to more than 30
chemical shifting between atmospheric million kilometres (18.6 million miles)
gas, solid ice and liquid rain that erodes from Saturn itself.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech
the surface and gathers in lakes around

Giles Sparrow
the moon’s winter pole. Space science writer
The final two large moons are also Giles has degrees in astronomy
Cassini captured long shadows cast by ragged intriguing. Spongelike and misshapen and science communication
material at the outer edge of the B Ring as the and has written many books
Sun rose over the southern face of the rings Hyperion is a mere 360 kilometres and articles on all aspects of
shortly after Saturn’s 2009 equinox (223 miles) long, and is thought to be a the universe.
59
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W 31 S A S
ranus and Neptune is a member of the science team for a
could be stranger
Uranus and proposed future mission to the ice giants
than we once thought. Neptune are led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
On the surface these Goddard Space Flight Center and the
two planets - roughly
generally thought of European Space Agency.
midway in size between as ‘failed’ versions of Hydrogen and helium would also have
Earth and Jupiter - seem unassuming, evaporated close to the Sun once it
if different from one another. Uranus
Jupiter and Saturn started shining. This volatility also applies
is a featureless, pale-azure planet, and Voyager 2, although both are studied by to the ices, which include ammonia, water
Neptune a deep-blue one with white cloud ground and space-based telescopes. and methane compounds. Water might
bands and a dark storm system similar The giant planets formed in the outer seem like a surprising addition, but it’s
to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. But at heart Solar System where hydrogen and helium liquid on Earth because of the pressure
they may be much more alike, as well as were more abundant. Clearly Uranus and of our atmosphere, if you discount
unlike anything we would encounter on Neptune aren’t small and rocky like the temperature variations.
Earth. Studies are showing that in terms planets of the inner Solar System. But The current broad consensus by
of chemistry, density, temperature and nor do they quite reach the status of planetary scientists is that both planets
pressure, the interiors of these worlds ‘gas giant’ like Jupiter and Saturn, even have rocky, iron-nickel Mars to Earth
have the complexity of a Shakespearean though they have similar bulk sized cores; fluid, icy mantles that are 10
character, and even that they may compositions of hydrogen and helium by to 15 times Earth’s mass - with Uranus’
have actual diamond rain. percentage. They belong to a class of their calculated to be 13.4 times - and hydrogen-
Although NASA’s pioneering Voyager own: so-called ‘ice giants’. The ‘ice’ refers
■ aTiTi iWTI ktiT^MbiM UKtt
anu 1
and d
wor
82 Hydrogen
LC4. L
olhcial
edges c
billion kilometres ( Helium
miles
•J <1 IGkftBWiW (i kWUHH I <•) II

Methane
Inside Uranus
Hydrogen-helium atmosphere
Q Although by percentage the
atmospheric composition of hydrogen
and helium is similar to the other giant
planets, by mass it’s very low.
Silicate iron-nickel core

a The core is thought to be a rocky,
iron-nickel body 0.5 to 3.7 times Earth’s
mass. The precise figure is unknown due
to the difficulty of calculating it.
Fluid icy mantle

a Made of ammonia, water and
methane ices, the mantle is the bulk of
Uranus’ mass, increasing in temperature
© T o b ia s R o e tsch
and pressure towards the core
61
Seasons on Uranus
In this year the northern It was back in 1986 that With the rings edge-on It’s winter in the southern
hemisphere of the planet the Voyager 2 spacecraft to the Sun, the northern ahemisphere, while the
underwent its autumn flew past the ice giant during hemisphere’s spring equinox northern hemisphere is
equinox while the southern the northern hemisphere’s took place around seven treated to the summer
half was in spring. During this winter, which means that the years ago. It’s this time of solstice. As a result, the
time there were roughly northern hemisphere was year where there are 21 northern hemisphere
equal measures of day and plummeted into 21 years years of normal days receives 21 years of daytime.
night for 21 years. of darkness. and nights.
helium atmospheres with small amounts Extreme Conditions simulated water atoms of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen
of methane. But even with the Voyager and ammonia mixtures at low remain in a fixed lattice,” says Hermann.
2 data, scientists still don’t really know temperature conditions. The team “It’s a partially molten state that still
what these worlds are like inside. Work discovered that the mixture allowed a carries signatures from the underlying
done over the years almost always has compound called ammonia hemihydrate crystal structures.”
to rely on computer simulations because to remain stable as it went through ionic What this means is that molecules of
the planets’ internal conditions are so phases at increasingly high pressures. superionic matter start off as a ‘sea’ of
difficult to recreate with current laboratory “There’s an interesting state of matter - free-floating ions of their original selves,
equipment. Ices comprise the bulk mass called superionic - where, due to heat, but then, under increasing pressure,
of the ice giants’ mantles, and their protons become diffuse, while the heavy they crystallise to become a strange liquid-
temperatures and pressures change at
different altitudes. This is where the term
‘ices’ becomes weird in the conventional
sense, because the ammonia, water and
methane mixtures can reach thousands
of degrees Celsius in temperature the
further you go down. The reason they
are able to maintain their composition is
because of the soul-crushing pressures of
hundreds of thousands to even millions of
Earth atmospheres.
A recent study has investigated this
further. An international team led by
Dr Andreas Hermann of the University Voyager 2 is the only
spacecraft to have visited
of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and
©NASA
the ice giant planets

Astronomy and Centre for Science at
SECRETS OF
THE ICE GIANTS
How an ice giant is made

• The ice giants formed around the Sun like their Solar System siblings .
Cloud of gas and Material comes Clumps collide The planets Planets get
I dust collapses
• . •
An interstellar cloud of
•• 2 together
Heavier materials in the
3 and merge
Clumps combined
4 take shape..
Solar wind from the Sun
5 in formation
Uranus and Neptune
* ♦
gas and dust, known as spinning disc'of gas through collisions and dispersed any might have formed
• • a solar nebula,• • • and dust started to form started to become the remaining gas from the •»
farther in between
• • • • •
collapsed in on itself into clumps. Closer to building blocks of Solar System, and . Jupiter and Saturn and
•4-
and began to spin. Our the Sun these materials planets. Over millions planet formation was later migrated out to
♦
newborn Sun began to ’ included rock and iron, Of years these almost done. Uranus their final positions
. ♦
•shine in the centre of but beyond the frost planetesimals and Neptune are . ’ today over hundreds of
e • •
this spinning
• • disc as the • • line, which lies between increased in size thought to have formed millions.of years. Uranus
temperatures ;and the orbits of Mars and through more collisions. after the dust was swept was likely hit by an
pressures triggered . Jupiter, there were The four giant planets away from the inner. impactor when its
thermonuclear fusion. solid ‘ices’ like beyond the frost line • Solar System to its • moons and rings were
• • • 0
• • * • • • • • • • •
water, methane grew big enough to outer regions. still forming.: •
and ammonia. amass hydrogen
and helium.
© T obias R oetS ch
•
63
SOLAR SYSTEM
compounds, which has been the case for international team led by Dr Dominik
studies in the past. Kraus of the University of Rostock and
But what else did the team’s study Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
show? “We calculated that ammonia fired a powerful X-ray laser at pieces
hemihydrate has a lower density than pure of polystyrene at the SLAC National
water ice at the same pressure. It would Accelerator Laboratory. The polystyrene
then form a well-defined layer above was meant to be a stand-in for methane
an icy sea,” explains Hermann. Imagine inside ice-giant mantles - both made of
a solid-liquid ammonia layer above a carbon and hydrogen - and the laser
This false-colour image by Hubble shows bright
slushy, frozen ocean at 3 million Earth created two shock waves within it.
clouds in Neptune’s atmosphere in orange
atmospheres. However, he also says that Under those conditions, the shock waves
solid hybrid. No superionic matter has truly understanding what layers would overlapped, creating pressures of 1.5
ever actually been observed, but it’s actually form, if any, would also require million atmospheres and temperatures
thought to exist inside giant planets. adding methane and excess hydrogen to
In their research paper the team say the simulations. In the meantime, the team Physically
that ammonia hemihydrate will likely is working on simulations of superionic
precipitate out of ammonia-water mixtures ammonia hemihydrate.
recreating the
at high enough pressures. The reason this Though physically recreating interiors of the
study is particularly important is because the interiors of the ice giants may
this result emerged from modelling a be challenging, it’s not completely
ice giants is
mixture of ices, instead of individual impossible, as has been discovered. An challenging
How the ice giants’ weather systems

compare with other worlds
•••••* • . •
■ • • • •
The climate is very different across distant worlds
Earth Venus HD 189733 B Uranus

Type of rain: Water Type of rain: 1 Type of rain: Glass Type of rain:
Average temperature Sulphuric acid . Average temperature Diamond
16 degrees
• Celsius
e Average temperature 843 degrees Celsius Average temperature
(61 degrees • 462 degrees Celsius (1,549 degrees -216 degrees Celsius
Fahrenheit). . (864 degrees Fahrenheit) (-357 degrees
*• ••
Day: 24 hours Fahrenheit) Day: 13 days Fahrenheit)
% •
Year: 365 days Day:-116 days Year: 2.2 days Day: 17 hours
• f i
Year: 225 days Year: 84.3 years

Inside Neptune
Hydrogen-helium atmosphere
It has a hydrogen-helium
atmosphere, albeit with a more
dynamic climate and prominent upper
clouds. The nature of the deep-blue
colour is unknown.
Silicate iron-nickel core

Neptune has a rocky iron-nickel
core that’s at least as massive as Earth.
Pressures at its centre could reach 7
million Earth atmospheres.
Fluid icy mantle

Neptune’s bulk mass is composed
of a mantle made of ammonia, water,
© T o b ia s P o e ts c h
methane and other ices. Recent
experiments suggest a carbon ocean.
Hydrogen
Helium
Neptune OGLE-TR-56B Titan

♦
Methane
Type of rain: Type of rain: Iron Type of rqin: Methane
Diamond• • % Average temperature: Average temperature:
Average temperature: 1,699 degrees Celsius -179 degrees Celsius .
of 5,000 degrees Kelvin for fractions of a
-214 degrees Celsius (3,090 degrees (-290 degrees
(-353 degrees Fahrenheit) Fahrenheit) •• second - briefly mimicking the conditions
Fahrenheit) Pay: Unknown‘ Day: 16 days inside an ice-giant mantle. The team
* • •• ♦ • • e•
Day: 16 hours .Year: 1.2 days . . Year: 29 years was surprised to discover that diamond
Year: 164.8 years was created, albeit nanometres in size.
They theorise that in the more sustained
conditions of an ice-giant mantle - around
10,000 kilometres (6,214 miles) down - the
diamonds will grow to a larger size as the
methane breaks down into hydrogen and
carbon and precipitate down to the core.
Previous teams have used methane inside
laboratory diamond anvil cells to create
diamond, but under lower temperatures
and pressures. However, the results were
always inconclusive.
In another study, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory scientists subjected
a diamond to 1.1 million Kelvin and
40 million atmospheres to recreate the
K3
© conditions inside giant planets. Results
65
— — — ORBIT The rings of Neptune

RING
Galle Arago
I Galle is 2,000
kilometres (1,240 miles)
4 Arago orbits
Neptune at 57,200
wide; it orbits Neptune kilometres (35,500 miles)
at 41,000 to 43,000 and is less than 100
kilometres (25,500 kilometres (62 miles)
to 26,700 miles). wide.
Le Verrier Adams
2 113 kilometres (70
miles) wide, it orbits
5 Adams is 35
kilometres (22 miles)
53,200 kilometres wide and orbits around
(33,000 miles) away. Neptune at 62,900
kilometres (39,000
Lassell miles).
3 Lassell is more like a
broad dust sheet than a Arcs
ring, with its orbit
around Neptune
6 These arcs are the
particles of dust
between 53,200 and clustered together in
57,200 kilometres the Adams ring, named
(33,000 and 35,500 Fraternite, Egalite 1,
miles). Egalite 2, Liberte and
Courage.
suggested that at the bottom of the ice it a more dynamic climate than Uranus.
giants’ mantles could lie a liquid-carbon It’s been suggested that somewhere
layer with chunks of floating diamond. inside Uranus is a thermal boundary
Kraus’ team are now working on follow layer that stops heat from escaping.
up experiments. “Our efforts have now Hermann says that if the planet’s layers
turned to looking at what happens when are more stratified than thought, “it’s not
we reduce the carbon concentration in inconceivable that ammonia hemihydrate,
our samples and add other light elements or similar strongly bound ionic phases,
that are also present inside Neptune and could form such a layer.” Such work could
Uranus, such as oxygen or nitrogen,” he ultimately help in understanding not only
says. They’re also figuring out ways to safely the ice giants, but all the giant planets. As
capture the nanodiamond particles, which Fortney says: “The deep cores of Jupiter
travel at incredibly high speeds and are and Saturn may actually resemble Uranus
currently only detected via spectroscopy. and Neptune, but at much higher pressures
The work done so far may help solve and temperatures.”
another mystery: why Uranus radiates less
Kulvinder Singh
excess heat than it receives from the Sun
Chadha
compared to all the other giant planets. Space science writer
Even Neptune, which is farther from the Kulvinder is a freelance
Moons such as Neptune’s Sun, radiates 2.6 times as much heat as it science writer, outreach worker
Triton will be studied by and former assistant editor of
receives. This heat energy may be what
©NASA
future missions Astronomy Now. He holds a

drives Neptune’s storm systems and gives degree in astrophysics.
66
Missions to Uranus and Neptune
NASA reports suggest several possible future spacecraft to the ice giants
Neptune orbiter with probe Uranus orbiter only Uranus orbiter with probe Uranus flyby with probe
Launch date: 2030s Launch date: 2030s . Launch date:
• 2030s • ♦ Launch date: 2030s
• ■ • •
Mission length: 15 years Mission length: 15 years Mission length: 15 years Mission length: lO.years
A minimum 50-kilogram This would weigh three 3 An orbiter and probe 4 A flyby, weight for weight,
1 science payload would be
required for a mission to
2 times as much as the other.
concepts, but carry five times
would have g major
advantage over a flyby. While
would be the cheapest
ic6-giant mission option, and it
Neptune. This would include as many instruments.
* the probe studied the planet’s would achieve many of the
both the orbiter and probe’s Alongside a narrow-angle * orbiter
atmospheric layers, the same science objectives.
science packages. The orbiter camera and instruments for could study the moons and . However, a flyby mission
would study Neptune’s moons measuring magnetic fields and ring system in great detail. As a wouldn’t have much time to
- particularly Triton, which is a interior
• • atmospheric
• • structure, ' comparison to Cassini, study the planet, its moons or
captured Kuiper Belt object. It the orbiter will have unexpected discoveries such ring system. Lt would have
would
•* • also study Neptune
• ’s spectrometers, a dust detector as plumes of water ice on . to work fast and release its
weather systems, and other devices. It would Enceladus were a fortunate probe.
■ As* with Neptune,
• * •
the
magnetosphere and solar wind have a wide-angle camera for consequence.
• A Uranus
• orbiter- probe would be required to '
particles at this cjjstance. The snapping wide vistas of the probe would be almost tbe measure the abundance of
atmospheric
• • probe would be planet, its moons and rings. It same as the Neptune orbiter hydrogen, helium, •heavier
• •
required to accurately may clear up long-standing probe concept.
• * It’s thought
• noble gases and other
measure the abundance of mysteries. One big mystery of both planets’ moons harbour elements such as volatiles in
♦ ♦ .
; noble gases, Including Uranus is why it radiates so little • water in some form. This would • the atmosphere. Although • not
. hydrogen and helium, and heat compared to the other be of value in understanding. the same as Neptune, a lot
••
other elements. giant planets. both planets’ environments.’ could be inferred from it by
studying Uranus.
© Adnan M ann
©Alamy
Even though we know more about our
natural satellite than any other celestial
body - and have even visited it - the Moon
continues to fascinate us
♦
COMPLETE GUIDE
TO THE MOON
ecause we can‘easily • Most planetary satellites • • •*. to

• •orbit closer
discern features on the. • . their planet’s equatorial plane, but the * .
• • • with
Moon •••the* naked
. e • •• Moon is inclined from the plane of the
eye, it’s been a source ecliptic by approxirhately 5.1 degrees.
of wonder to us since Its average distance from Earth is
• ancient
* “* times.-The
• • * ,fc Moon 384,400 kilometres (239,000 miles), and it
is the brightest object ini our sky after completes an orbit once every 27.3 days.
• • . . ' • • • • • a •
the Sun, and influences everything from The Moon is in synchronous rotation with.
our oceans to our calendars. It’s always Earth - its rotation and orbital period -
been ‘the Moon’ because we didn’t know are the. same - so the same side is almost
that there were any others. Once Galileo . • always, facing our planet. This is called the
discovered in 1610 that Jupiter had ‘near side’ of the Moon, while the opposite
• •...• J ♦ ’ • .
satellites, we’ye used the word ‘moon’ to. side is the ‘far’ or ‘dark’ side, although it
describe celestial bodies that orbit larger gets illuminated just as often as the near
bodies, which orbit stars. Since the Moon side. This hasn’t always been the case:
*has always been so present it might not the Moon used to rotate faster but the
• ’ • - • ••••• • 4
seem worth studying, yef there’s a reason influence of Earth caused it to slow arid
why we continue to return to it - we still become locked.. • • •
have plenty to learn from our satellite. . Although we say that we can only see
The Moon is the fifth-largest and second- one side of the Moon at a time, that’s
densest satellite in the Solar System. Its not strictly true. The Moon’s orbit isn’t
diameter is 27 per cent of Earth’s at 3,476
kilometres (2>160 miles), while its mean
density is'60 per cent that of Earth’s. This’
makes the Moon the largest, satellite in size • • The Moon is the fifth
relative to the planet that it orbits. The largest and second-
Moon is also, unusual because its orbit is
more closely aligned to the plane of the .
densest satellite
ecliptic - the plane in which Earth orbits. • in the Solar System
The Moon Spring tide
and tides 1 During new and full

Moon, both the Sun
Along with the Sun, the Moon
and Moon exert a
exerts serious force on Earth’s
tides. Whether the tides vary strong effect,
widely or not much at all has producing spring tides.
a lot to do with the interactions
between the solar and lunar
cycles. When they are together,
their combined effects produce Neap tide
tidal variations called spring
tides - high tides are very high
and low tides are very low. If the
2 On first and third
quarter Moon, the Sun
Sun and Moon are on the and Moon have little
opposite sides of the sky, they
effect on tidal range,
nullify each others’ effects,
producing neap tides - with leading to neap tides.
©NASA
little variation.
quite circular - it has an eccentricity of

0.0549. The Moon also wobbles a bit along
Measuring up its orbit. These two factors cause some
variations in how much of the Moon that
the Moon by its we see, called librations. When the Moon is
diameter closest to Earth, called the perigee, it orbits
slightly slower than it rotates. This means
Ganymede that we can actually get a glimpse of about
eight degrees of longitude of its eastern far
5,268 kilometres side. When the Moon is at its furthest point
(3,300 miles) away in its orbit, the apogee, its orbit is
slightly faster than its rotation. So we get different strengths, timing and numbers
a glimpse of eight degrees of longitude of tides. Measuring and predicting these
on its western far side. This is called tides is vital for everything from fishing
Saturn longitudinal libration. to navigating inter coastal waterways. We
5,150 kilometres The Moon also appears to rotate towards use the term ‘tides’ to describe oceanic
(3,200 miles) and away from Earth. This is due to the tides, but tides also occur on a smaller
5.1-degree inchnation of its orbit, as well level in lakes as well as Earth’s atmosphere
as the 1.5-degree tilt of the Moon’s equator and crust.
to the plane of the ecliptic. This results Scientists believe that the Moon formed
Callisto
in us seeing about 6.5 degrees of latitude when a huge celestial body about the size
on the far side along both the sides of the of Mars - which has been given the name
4,821 kilometres
poles. The Moon’s orbit also means that it Theia - impacted with a young Earth. This
(3,000 miles)
appears to move about 13 degrees across is known as the giant impact hypothesis.
the sky each day, and this movement This force sent debris out into Earth’s orbit,
accounts for the lunar phases. which fused to form the Moon. However,
The Moon’s gravitational pull has a in 2012 an analysis of rock samples taken
strong effect on Earth. The most obvious from the Moon during the Apollo missions
3,642 kilometres
effect to us is the tides. High tide occurs showed that the Moon’s composition is
(2,300 miles)
when the level of water at the coastline almost identical to Earth’s. This calls the
rises, and low tide occurs when the water giant impact hypothesis into question
rushes further out. While some coastlines because previously we thought that at least
The Moon experience one high tide and one low tide some of the Moon’s material had to have
Earth per day, of equal strength, others have come from Theia.
3,476 kilometres
(2,160 miles)
Two sides of
Europa the Moon
As opposed to the near
side, the far side is covered
3,122 kilometres
with craters and very little
(1,940 miles) maria. This may be because
it’s hotter on that side, or
because it experienced
a collision.
T riton
Neptune
2,700 kilometres
(1,700 miles)
Titania
Uranus
The near side is mostly covered
1,578 kilometres in dark areas that were
(980 miles) originally thought to be seas,
©NASA
called maria. The lighter areas

are called the lunar highlands.
72
How the Moon
was made
Theia nears Earth is hit Material is Debris The Moon
I Earth
A Mars-sized
2 The impactor
hit Earth in a
3 thrown out
The vaporised
4 gathers
Smaller objects
takes shape
Many of the
Our
companion
is formed
object on an head-on collision, material from both began to smaller objects Eventually all the
unalterable vaporising both bodies mixed and condense out of stuck together to pieces came
collision course Theia and the was thrown the vapour while form a protomoon together to form
with early Earth. mantle of Earth. outwards. continuing to orbit in orbit around the basis of the
© G e tty
around Earth. Earth. Moon we see

today.
The Moon’s orbit

First, quarter Third quarter
1 Half of the \ \
Moon is visible in
5 Half of the
Moon is visible in
the afternoon ' the late evening
and early evening. and morning.
18:00 Waning gibbous

Waxing
2 crescent •
*• * •
Up to 49 per cent of
*
«•
-•»» • • B
21:00 15:00
Between 51 and 99 per
cent of the Moon is visible
• ' • 4 •
for most of the evening

the Moon is visible • • , • . • •• • * * • • • # •
and in the early morning.

• in the afternoon and
after dusk.
Full Moon
New Moon
< MIDNIGHT — 12:00
7 The entire
3 The first visible

crescent in the
Moon is visible all
night long.
• • • I
southern hemisphere,
Waxing gibbous
seen after sunset. 03:00 09:00
Between 51 and 99
Waning crescent 06:00 per cent is visible in the
4
A • •
Up to 49 per cent is later afternoon and •. • * •
visible just before dawn most of the evening.

and in the morning.
Inside
and out
Earth’s natural satellite shares
some remarkable similarities the Moon they dis
with our home planet
Ithough the Moon the melt crystallised into solids. The denser with about a 300-kilometre (186-mile)
may seem like a solid materials sank, forming the mantle, while radius. Between the core and the mantle,
rock, it’s actually less dense materials floated on top and there’s a boundary layer of partially
differentiated like formed the crust. melted iron that has about a 500-kilometre
Earth; it has a core, The core is probably very small, with a (300-mile) radius. It is also known as
a mantle and a crust. radius about 20 per cent the total size of the lower mantle. The upper mantle is
The Moon’s structure likely came from the Moon. By contrast, most differentiated mafic - rich in magnesium and iron,
the fractional crystallisation of a magma celestial bodies have cores about 50 per topped by a crust of igneous rock called
ocean that once covered it. This probably cent of their total size. The core itself anorthosite. It mainly includes aluminium,
happened not long after the Moon was comprises a solid innermost core that is calcium iron, magnesium and oxygen,
formed, about 4.5 billion years ago. As rich in iron as well as nickel and sulphur, with traces of other minerals. We estimate
the magma ocean cooled, its composition with a radius of 240 kilometres (150 miles). the crust is around 50 kilometres (31
changed as the different minerals within This is surrounded by a fluid outer core miles) thick.
Crust
The crust is igneous
rock called anorthosite,
about 50 kilometres (31
miles) thick.
Mantle
E The main mantle is
mafic - rich in
magnesium and iron.
Inner core
B The inner core is
rich in iron with a radius
of 240 kilometres (150
miles), and much smaller
than the cores of most
terrestrial bodies.
Outer core
The fluid outer core
has a 300-kilometre
(186-mile) radius.
Partial melt
a This partially melted
layer is mostly iron, with
a radius of 500 kilometres
(300 miles).
74
The Moon The magnetic field mystery
The Moon has an external magnetic field - it’s less than one-hundredth that of
by numbers Earth’s magnetic field. It’s not a dipolar magnetic field like Earth, which has a field
that radiates from the north and south poles. Researchers believe the Moon once
had a dipole magnetic field, created by a dynamo - a convecting liquid core of
400
molten metal. But we aren’t sure what powered that dynamo. It could have worked
like Earth’s dynamo. Earth’s dynamo powers itself as elemental radioactive decay
maintains convection in the core. The Moon could also have had a dynamo
powered by the cooling of elements at the core.
How many times bigger the

Sun is than the Moon. It’s also
about 400 times further away
from Earth, which is why they
look the same size in the sky POLES
29.5
days
The length of a lunar month,
longer than the amount of time
it takes the Moon to orbit Earth
because Earth is moving, too
© G e tty
The number of people who have
set foot on the Moon
The Moon has no plate tectonics, and 1977 by seismometers on the surface.
but it does have seismic activity. When This data has helped us to determine the
astronauts visited the Moon they Moon’s internal composition.
centimetres
The distance the Moon moves
discovered that there are moonquakes
- the Moon’s equivalent of earthquakes.
The dominating feature on the near side
of the Moon’s surface, called maria, are the
away from Earth each year Moonquakes aren’t as strong as result of ancient volcanic activity. These
earthquakes, but they can last longer vast, dark plains are basalts - igneous
because there’s no water to lessen the rock that formed after lava erupted due to
effects of the vibrations. Seismometers partial melting within the mantle. These
showed that the strongest moonquakes basalts show that the Moon’s mantle is
are about 5.5 on the Richter scale. There much higher in iron than Earth’s, and has
are four different types of moonquakes: a varied composition. Some basalts are
shallow, deep, thermal and meteorite. very high in titanium, while others are
Shallow ones occur 20 kilometres (12 higher in minerals like olivine.
The amount of time it takes to miles) below the surface, while deep These basalt maria have influenced the
reach the Moon by rocket moonquakes can be as deep as 700 Moon’s gravitational field because they’re
kilometres (435 miles). These deep so rich in iron. The gravitational field
16.6 moonquakes are probably related

to stresses on the Moon caused by
contains mascons, positive gravitational
anomalies that influence how spacecraft
kilograms its eccentric orbit and gravitational

interactions between it and Earth. Thermal
orbit the Moon. The maria can’t explain
all of the mascons that have been tracked
The amount you would weigh earthquakes occur when the Moon’s crust by the Doppler effect on the radio signals
on the Moon if you weighed heats and expands. Shallow moonquakes emitted by spacecraft that orbit the Moon.
100 kilograms on Earth
are the strongest and most common. And there are also some large maria
Nearly 30 were recorded between 1972 without associated mascons.
75
On the surface
The surface of the Moon is about contrasts:
light and dark, hot and cold
he landscape of the Moon reflect light from the Sun and make it In some cases, the basalt eruptions
is dominated by three appear that the Moon is glowing at night. flowed into or over large impact craters
main features: maria, Both the maria and terrae have impact called basins. In general, the terrae have
terrae and craters. The craters which were formed when asteroids far more craters because the maria are
basalt maria appear dark and comets struck the surface of the Moon. younger in age than the terrae. While
due to their high iron These craters range in size from very the Moon isn’t much younger than Earth,
content and are much more prevalent on tiny to massive. It is estimated that there our planet has processes that continue to
the near side of the Moon. Other volcanic are around 300,000 craters on the near change its surface over time, like erosion
features on the surface include domes and side of the Moon that are wider than one and plate tectonics. The Moon doesn’t
rilles. Domes are shield volcanoes that are kilometre (0.62 miles). The largest impact experience these, which is why some
round and wide with gentle slopes, while crater, called the South Pole-Aitken Basin, impact craters are up to 500 million years
rilles are twisting sinuous formations is about 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) in older than the basalt filling them.
caused by channels of flowing lava. diameter and 13 kilometres (eight miles) The loose soil on the Moon is called
The lighter areas on the Moon are called deep. The biggest craters also tend to regolith. It’s powdery and filled with small
terrae, or lunar highlands. They are made be the oldest, and many are covered in rocks. Over time, impacts from meteors,
up of anorthosite, the type of igneous smaller craters. Younger craters have as well as space weathering (solar wind,
rock that dominates the overall crust of more sharply defined edges, while older cosmic rays, meteorite bombardment and
the Moon. While this type of rock can be ones are often softer and rounder. If the other processes), break down the rocks
located in some places on Earth, it’s not impact was especially large, material and grind them into dust. Aside from the
generally found on the surface due to plate may be ejected from the surface to form basalt and anorthosite rocks, there are also
tectonics and deposits. These highlands secondary craters. impact breccias - rock fragments that were
welded together by meteor impacts - and
glass globules from volcanic activity.
Although you may sometimes see
Exploring the Moon: The Past the term ‘lunar atmosphere’, the Moon
is actually considered to exist in a
Apollo 11 Apollo 12 Apollo 14
vacuum. There are particles suspended
21 July 1969 19 November 1969 5 February 1971
above the surface, but the density of
NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin The second spacecraft to Apollo 14’s commander was
and Neil Armstrong became land on the Moon, Apollo 12, Alan Shepard who, a decade the Moon’s atmosphere is less than
the first humans to set foot used a Doppler effect radar earlier on 5 May 1961, had one hundred trillionth that of Earth’s
on another body in space technique to land within become the second person atmosphere. What little atmosphere there
when they landed on the walking distance of the in space after Yuri Gagarin
Moon in 1969. Surveyor 3 probe. and the first American. is gets quickly lost to outer space, and is
constantly replenished. Two processes
Apollo 15 Apollo 16 Apollo 17 help to replenish the Moon’s atmosphere:
30 July 1971 21 April 1972 11 December 1972 sputtering and outgassing. Sputtering
NASA deemed this landing the Apollo 16 was the first This last manned mission to occurs when sunlight, solar wind and
most successful so far out of its spacecraft to land in the the Moon carried the meteors bombard the surface and eject
manned missions. It is also the highlands on the Moon, Traverse Gravimeter
particles. Outgassing comes from the
first of the longer missions to which let the astronauts Experiment, which measured
the Moon, called ‘J missions’, gather older lunar rocks. relative gravity at different radioactive decay of minerals in the crust
staying for three days. sites on the Moon. and mantles, which can release gases
like radon.
Luna 1 Luna 21 Luna 24 The Moon has a very minor axial
4 January 1959 15 January 1973 22 August 1976 tilt, so there aren’t seasons in the same
This Soviet probe was the first This Soviet spacecraft landed This was the last of the Luna way that we have them here on Earth.
to reach the vicinity of the on the Moon and carried a missions, landing near Mare
However, temperatures on the Moon can
Moon and the first to break lunar rover, Lunokhod 2. It Crisium to recover samples. It
out of geocentric orbit. But it performed numerous was the last spacecraft to change dramatically because there’s no
didn’t impact the Moon as experiments and sent back have a soft landing on the atmosphere to trap heat, and portions of
had originally been planned. more than 80,000 images. Moon until 2013.
the Moon may be either in full sunlight
or total darkness depending on where it
A lunar world tour
Oceanus Luna 9 Surveyor 1 Copernicus Vallis Alpes
I Procellarum
This mare is so large
2 This site marks the
first soft landing of an
3 The first American
soft Moon landing
4 This crater is well
known because it can
5 This lunar valley
bisects a mountain
that it was deemed an unmanned spacecraft happened here, be easily seen from range called the
ocean, covering about on the Moon, launched on 30 Earth. It is a younger Montes Alpes, and
4,000,000 square launched by the Soviet May 1966. crater, about 800 extends 166 kilometres
kilometres space program on 31 million years old, with (103 miles).
(1,500,000 square January 1966. a prominent system of
miles). ejecta rays.
Montes Mare Apollo 11 Tycho Schrodinger

6 Apenninus
This mountain range is
7 Tranquillitatis
This mare was the
Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin
9 This distinctive
crater has ejecta rays
W This huge crater
near the south pole
about 600 kilometres landing site for the became the first men visible from Earth can only be viewed
(370 miles) long and Apollo 11 spacecraft. It to set foot on the during a full Moon, from orbit. It is 312
has peaks up to 5 is slightly bluish Moon, on 21 July 1969 reaching more than kilometres (194 miles)
kilometres (three because it has a high as part of NASA’s 1,000 kilometres (621 in diameter.
miles) high. metal content. Apollo program. miles) from the crater.
is in its rotation. Full sunlight can mean

temperatures of greater than 100 degrees
Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit). But at
the end of the lunar day the temperature
can drop by hundreds of degrees. There
are also big differences in temperatures
depending on the surface features. For
example, the Moon is coldest in its deepest
craters, which always remain in darkness.
The coldest temperature ever recorded
in the Solar System by a spacecraft was
measured by the Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter in the Hermite Crater near the
Moon‘s north pole at -248 degrees Celsius
(-414 degrees Fahrenheit).
77
OLAR SYST
r a
of rock samples taken from the

Moon during the Apollo missions showed
that the Moon’s composition is almost
identical to Earth’s
-
&W
78
79
Humans will return to the

Moon in 2025 and explore
sites for a permanent base
Main mission
objectives
Long-term
presence
Following Apollo 17’s
three-day presence
on the Moon, Artemis will
©NASA
send astronauts there

for weeks.
Exploring the Moon Equality

A female astronaut
Present and future hasn’t set foot on the

Moon yet. This mission
will demonstrate the
increasing role women
We’ve been studying the Moon for over 50 years, and thanks to a have played in space
missions since the
host of pioneering missions we now know more about our satellite Apollo era.
than ever before
Partnerships
Ithough there hasn’t mission is ARTEMIS, an extension of an
NASA has collaborated
been a manned earlier satellite mission. Two small probes with private companies
mission to the Moon have been orbiting the Moon together such as SpaceX and
Boeing. These show
since 1972 and there since summer 2011, having previously
space travel’s shift
were no soft landings performed lunar and Earth flybys. towards
at all until 1966, we’re The Lunar Crater Observation and commercialisation.
still exploring our satellite. Currently the Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was launched
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is along with the LRO and considered an Technology
still circling the Moon. It launched on 18 inexpensive way to look for water ice, and NASA is always learning
from past missions; the
June 2009, the first NASA mission to the it was successful. The LCROSS discovered
spacecraft and
Moon in more than a decade. The LRO is ice in the Cabeus crater near the Moon’s spacesuits have been
meant to be a precursor to future manned south pole after its upper stage impacted tailored to the Moon
mission, exhibiting the
missions, and was originally designed to as planned on 9 October 2009. Two small
latest in space
spend just a year in orbit. However, the spacecraft under the name GRAIL A and technology.
mission was extended several times. It was GRAIL B were launched on 10 September
designed to extensively map the Moon in 2011 and impacted on 17 December 2012,
Knowledge
high resolution, explore the potential of ice having collected data to help understand
Collecting further
in the polar regions, study the deep space how terrestrial planets have evolved. information about the
radiation, and continue to map the surface Japan, India and China have all had lunar lunar surface and deep
space, NASA hopes to
of the Moon. The other current NASA probes in the last six years as well.
become better
prepared for later
missions back to the
Moon and further afield.
2022 2024 2025
Artemis I ARTEMIS Artemis II ARTEMIS Artemis III A7TEM1S Resources
The first Carrying the first This will see the Access to the lunar
mission will be four Artemis next man and surface provides the
uncrewed to test the takeoff astronauts, the Orion capsule first woman step onto the opportunity to search for
and the capsule’s ability to will take the crew farther from lunar surface. Providing rare minerals and exploit
orbit, descend and Earth than humans have ever previous missions have been resources. Hydrogen and
splashdown. It will carry 13 travelled before. Over the successful, the astronauts oxygen could be used as
small satellites to perform approximately ten-day will shoot towards the Moon, rocket fuel to travel from
© G e tty
experiments and technology mission, the crew will using the lunar lander to the Moon.
demonstrations. The craft complete a lunar flyby and lower two people to the
will orbit the Moon for six return to Earth, evaluating the south polar region. They will
days, collecting performance of the remain on the Moon for
performance data. spacecraft’s systems. around a week.
80
Earth to the Moon
Jump on board the Orion as we follow the route
planned for the Artemis astronauts
Launch day Entering orbit Trans-lunar To deep Lunar flyby Moon landing
1 Scheduled to
launch in 2025, the
2 Once the rocket
has taken Orion into
3 injection
Having made it into
4 space
Set on a precise
5 A main engine
burn 185 kilometres
6 Having docked
with Gateway, the
third Artemis orbit, its engines Earth orbit, the trajectory, Orion will (115 miles) above crew may need to
mission and second shut down and it Orion vehicle will travel over 384,000 the Moon’s surface inspect it and
with crew on board will separate from head to the Moon. kilometres (239 will put Orion on a collect supplies.
will launch from the the capsule. These During a 20-minute miles). This needs to trajectory to While two
Kennedy Space rocket components burn, the engines account for factors intercept the orbit astronauts will stay
Center in Florida. It will fall towards the will fire to increase such as gravity and of the planned aboard the
will be monitored Pacific Ocean. the speed, the movement of Lunar Gateway spacecraft in orbit,
by the nearby Orion will then displacing the the Moon. Artemis I space station, set to the other two
Launch Control deploy its solar spacecraft from its will have tested the launch in will transfer to
Center. arrays. low-Earth orbit. planned path. November 2024. a lander vehicle.
Lunar Ascent Splashdown

7 exploration
The astronauts will
Having carried
out experiments on
After spending
less than 30 days in
remain on the the Moon, the space, the
Moon for roughly astronauts will parachuted
seven days. As an reboard the Human capsule will return
area where water Landing System to Earth, splashing
ice is present, they and return to down in the Pacific
will explore the Gateway. Taking Ocean. NASA will
suitability of the samples with them, have a team ready
lunar south pole for they will return to to retrieve the crew
a permanent Orion for the and the capsule.
Moon base. journey home.
The astronauts will

remain on the Moon for
roughly seven days
81
I
moons in the
.•
Some of the most fascinating worlds in our
•• • • • • •
* '.
’* . ’*
• • •• • . • 1
• cosmic neighbourhood are not planets, but

the moons that orbit around them
11 but two of our Solar heat and light, they nevertheless show as forces from their parent planets,, triggering
• System’s planets have much Variety as the planets themselves.
• . • » • r • •
phases of-violent activity like those which
• satellites• • Of one sort
• or Here All About Space takes a trip to visit • shaped• Miranda-,
• Uranus
• ’.Frankenstein , •
another. Earth’s Moon, . some of. the strangest and most exciting of moon. In some cases these forces are still
•
• • • •.
• •
. *
a beautiful
• • but stark, these astonishing worlds. Some, such as ..
• • • • •
*at work today, creating fascinating bodies
dead world shaped by Jupiter’s Callisto and Saturn’s Mimas, have such as Jupiter’s tortured Io and'Saturn’s
■’ancient volcanoes and countless impact been .frozen solid for billions of years but
• • • • •« •
icy Enceladus, whose placid exterior may
craters, is undoubtedly the most familiar, bear extraordinary scars from exposure even hide the greatest secret in the Solar .
■: - but . *it• ’s far
• from
• being the • hiost interesting. to bombardment from space. Others, System: extraterrestrial life itself; • ;
• Each of the . outer Solar System’s giant such as Saturn’s shepherd moons fan and
/ - planets is accompanied by a large retinue Atlas and Neptune’s lonely Nereid, have -■ Giles Sparrow/ •. a
of satellites,-many of-which formed at the . ' been affected throughout their history by Space science writer ‘ ■
same time .and from the same ice-rich interactions with their neighbours.' • Giles has degrees in astronomy
and science communication and
material as the planets-that host them. . •-■ Most excitingly, some of these exotic has written books and articles on
though far from all aspects of the universe.
•• the Sun • • and . starved • of worlds* have been heated •by
* •- • powerful tjdal
82 t •
Enceladus The ring bearer
©NASA
Mass: 1.1 x 1020kg (2.4 x 1020lbs) Diameter: 504km (313 miles) Parent planet: Saturn
Discovered: 1789, William Herschelz
Since NASA’s Cassini probe through one - was a s

arrived at Saturn in 2004, confirmation that I
the ringed planet’s is an active world Callisto
small inner satellite, With a diameter of
The most
Enceladus, has become 504 kilometres (313 cratered world
one of the most miles) and a rock/ice
Mass:
intensely studied and composition, E: 1.1 x 1023kg (2.4 x 1023lbs)
debated worlds in the should have frc Diameter:
entire Solar System. It billions of years ago 4,821km (2,996 miles)
owes its new-found fame to many of its neight Parent planet: Jupiter
the discovery of huge plumes in the Saturnian system. But Discovered: 1610, Galileo
Galilei
of water ice erupting into space tidal forces caused by a tug of war
along fissures in its southern hemisphere between Saturn and a larger moon, Dione The outermost of Jupiter’s
- a sure sign of liquid water lurking just keep the moon’s interior warm and active Galilean moons, Callisto
is the third-largest moon
beneath the moon’s thin, icy crust. making it a prime target in the hunt for
in the Solar System and is
The strange activity of Enceladus was fife in the Solar System. only slightly smaller than
suspected before Cassini’s arrival thanks to While much of the water ice falls back Mercury. Its main claim to
earlier images that showed the moon has to cover the surface, a substantial amount fame is the title of most
heavily cratered object in
an unusually bright surface and craters escapes from the weak gravity and enters the Solar System; its dark
that look like they are blanketed in snow. orbit around Saturn. Here it spreads out surface is covered in
Nevertheless, the discovery of the ice to form the E Ring - the outermost and craters down to the limit
plumes - initially made when Cassini flew sparsest of Saturn’s major rings. of visibility, the deepest of
which have exposed fresh
ice from beneath and
scattered bright ‘ejecta’
debris across the surface.
Callisto owes its
cratered surface to its
location in the Jupiter
system - the giant
planet’s gravity exerts a
powerful influence,
disrupting the orbits of
passing comets and often
pulling them to their
doom, most spectacularly
demonstrated in the 1994
impact of Comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9.
Jupiter’s larger moons
are directly in the firing
line and end up soaking
up more than their fair
share of impacts, but
Callisto’s inner neighbours
- influenced by greater
s tidal forces - have all
©
experienced geological
processes that wiped
away most of their
1
ancient craters. Callisto’s
Inner rings A Ring E Ring Orbit of Geyser surface, however, has
The broad Saturn’s brightest The E Ring is a Enceladus faults material remained essentially
Cassini Division ring is the A Ring, broad, largely Enceladus’ orbit Tidal forces unchanged for more than
separates the A divided by the transparent ring around Saturn create an ocean trailing behind 4.5 billion years,
Ring from the narrow Encke of scattered icy coincides with that erupts as icy developing its dense
inner B, C and Gap. The particles. the densest part plumes along landscape of overlapping
D Rings. ultra-fine F Ring of the E Ring. weak fault lines craters across aeons.
runs around its in the southern
outer edge. hemisphere. or
83
Dactyl The asteroid moon

Mass: 1.1 x 1020kg (2.4 x 1020lbs) Diameter 504km (313 miles)
distance Dactyl \
was about 90 kilometres
(56 miles) from Ida
Parent planet: Saturn Discovered: 1789, William Herschel during Galileo’s flyby.
243 Ida’s moon is tiny, just 1.6 kilometres Direction

(0.99 miles) on its longest axis. Thanks to
the larger asteroid’s weak gravity, Dactyl is
1 of
/
orbit
Dactyl orbits in
the same
unlikely to be an object captured into orbit.
direction as Ida’s
Ida is a major member of the Koronis rotation. ,
family of over 300 asteroids, all of which
share similar orbits. The family is thought to
have formed 1 or 2 billion years ago during
an asteroid collision. Dactyl could be a
smaller fragment of debris from the collision
IDA
that ended up in orbit around Ida, but there
is a problem - computer models suggest
Dactyl would almost certainly be destroyed
Close approach
by an impact from another asteroid. So how
can it be over a billion years old?
3 Computer models show
that Dactyl can come no
closer to Ida than 65
One theory is that the Koronis family is
kilometres (40 miles) for its
younger than it appears, and Ida’s cratering orbit to remain stable.
Range of
is due to a storm of impacts triggered in the
original break-up. Another theory is that 4 possibilities
These tracks show a
Dactyl has suffered a disrupting impact, but range of potential
orbits that would fit
has pulled itself back together in its orbit -
Galileo’s
which might explain its spherical shape. observations.
Nereid
Iapetus Neptune’s boomerang
The walnut Mass: 3.1 x 10,9kg (6.8 x 1019lbs)
Mass: 1.8 x 1021kg (4.0 x 1021 lbs) Diameter: 1,469km (913 miles) Diameter: 340km (211 miles) (
Parent planet: Neptune 1
Parent planet: Saturn Discovered: 1671, Giovanni Cassini
Discovered: 1949, Gerard Kuiper
Iapetus has two distinct claims to a place in any list of weird satellites.
The first became obvious when it was discovered in 1671 - it is much
Nereid was the second moon found to
dimmer when seen on one side of its orbit compared to the other. Its orbit Neptune, and its claim to fame arises
leading hemisphere - the half that faces ‘forwards’ as it orbits Saturn - from its extreme orbit. Nereid’s distance
is dark brown, while its trailing hemisphere is light grey. One early theory from Neptune ranges between 1.4 million
to explain the colour difference was that the leading side is covered in
dust generated by tiny meteorite impacts on small outer moons, which and 9.7 million kilometres (870,000 and
spirals towards Saturn. 6 million miles). This orbit is usually
However, images from Cassini reveal a more complex story. Most of typical of captured satellites - asteroids
the dark material seems to come from within Iapetus, left behind as
and comets swept up into highly eccentric
dark ‘lag’ when dust-laden ice from the moon’s surface sublimates -
turns from solid to vapour. The process was likely started by dust from orbits by the gravity of the giant outer
the outer moons accumulating on the leading hemisphere, but once it planets - but Nereid’s unusually large size
began, the tendency of the dark surface to absorb heat has caused a suggests a rather more interesting story.
runaway sublimation effect.
Evidence from Voyager 2’s 1989 flyby |
Iapetus is also ringed by a mountainous equatorial ridge that o
is 13 kilometres (eight miles) high and 20 kilometres (12 milt suggests that Triton was captured into i
wide, giving the moon its distinctive walnut shape. The orbit from the nearby Kuiper Belt. Triton ®
©
origins of this ridge are puzzling - some theories suggest it would have disrupted the orbits of |
is a ‘fossil’ from a time when Iapetus span much faster and
Neptune’s original moons, ejecting many I
bulged out at the equator, while others think it could be
©NASA/JPL-Caltech
debris from a ring system that once encircled the moon of them. But many astronomers believe j
and collapsed onto its surface. Nereid could be a survivor, clinging on at |
the edge of Neptune’s gravitational reach. ©
84
IO The cold inferno
8.93 x 1022kg (1.97 x 1023lbs) )iar 3,643km (2,264 miles)
Parent planet: Jupiter Discovered: 1610, Galileo Galilei
Io is the innermost of the four giant The moon is caught in a gravitational tug
Galilean moons that orbit the Solar of war between its outer neighbours and
System’s largest planet, Jupiter. But while Jupiter itself, and this prevents its orbit
the outer three are - at least outwardly - from settling into a perfect circle. Small
placid, frozen worlds of rock and ice, lo’s changes in lo’s distance from Jupiter - less
landscape is a virulent mix of yellows, than 0.5 per cent variation in its orbit -
©NASA
reds and browns, full of bizarre and ever create huge tidal forces that pummel the
changing mineral formations created by moon’s interior in all directions. Rocks
sulphur that spills onto its surface in grinding past one another heat up due to
many forms. Io is the most volcanic world friction, keeping the moon’s core molten
in the Solar System. lo’s strange surface and creating huge subsurface reservoirs
was first observed during the Pioneer of magma. Hyperion
space probe flybys of the early 1970s, but While the majority of lo’s rocks are
The spongy satellite
its volcanic nature was only predicted silicates similar to those on Earth, these Mass:
weeks before the arrival of the Voyager 1 have relatively high melting points, and so 5.6 x 10,8kg (1.2 x 1019lbs)
mission in 1979. are mostly molten in a hot magma ocean Diameter:
270km (168 miles)
that lies tens of kilometres below the
Parent planet: Saturn
surface - most of lo’s surface activity, in
Discovered: 1848, William Bond,
contrast, involves sulphur-rich rocks that George Bond and William Lassell
can remain molten at lower temperatures.
Together these two forms of volcanism Hyperion is the strangest-looking
have long since driven away any icy satellite in the Solar System, its
material that Io originally had, leaving surface resembling a sponge or
a world that is arid and iceless despite coral with deep, dark pits rimmed
an average surface temperature of -160 by razor-sharp ridges of brighter
degrees Celsius (-256 degrees Fahrenheit). rock and ice. But that’s not the only
thing that’s strange about Hyperion:
it was the first non-spherical
moon to be discovered and has a
distinctly eccentric orbit.
Rather than matching its rotation
to its orbital period, it spins in a
chaotic pattern, with its axis of
rotation wobbling unpredictably.
Like all moons in the outer Solar
System, it’s mostly made of water
LOKI PATERA COLCHIS REGIO MEDIA REGIO ice, but its surface is unusually
PELE dark. When Cassini flew past it
PROMETHEUS ZAL MONTES measured its density to be 55 per
cent that of water - its interior is
mostly empty space.
One popular theory to explain
these weird features is that
Hyperion is the surviving remnant
of a larger satellite that once
. JI orbited between Titan and Iapetus,
and which was largely destroyed
by a collision with a large comet.
Material that survived in a stable
BABBAR CULLAN BOSPHORUS TARSUS
orbit then came together again to
PATERA PATERA REGIO REGIO
© create Hyperion as we know it.
SYSTEM
Weak sunlight Methane loss

I Titan’s distance from the Sun and
its thick atmosphere mean that the
3 Methane
evaporates from lakes
surface receives aboql one per cent back into the
of the sunlight that Earth receives. atmosphere.
Tiny Sun
2 From Saturn, the Sun
is ten per cent of the size
as seen from Earth.
Giant planet
4 Saturn’s huge bulk
is largely hidden by a
hazy atmosphere.
Methane
Solid methane
Methane frosts
coat a landscape of
5 lakes
Methane rains out of
the atmosphere at the
rock and water ice.
winter pole to form
large lakes.
Methane rainfall onto

highland areas runs
downhill and collects in
methane lakes.
Titan The second Earth

Mass: 1.3 x 1023kg (2.9 x 1023lbs) Diameter: 5,150km (3,200 miles)
Parent planet: Saturn Discovered: 1655, Christiaan Huygens Titan
Measuring up Titan Earth
Saturn’s largest moon, Titan is unique in the Solar System as the only satellite with
SURFACE GRAVITY
a substantial atmosphere of its own - a discovery that frustrated NASA scientists
when images from the Voyager probes revealed only a hazy orange ball. The Cassini
orbiter was fitted with infrared and radar instruments that pierced the opaque
atmosphere, revealing a softened landscape of rivers and lakes that is unlike any
other world in the Solar System except for Earth. Despite being larger than Mercury, Day length in Earth days
Titan can only hold onto its thick atmosphere because of the deep cold. Found some 16
1.4 billion kilometres (0.9 billion miles) from the Sun, the moon’s average surface
temperature is a freezing -179 degrees Celsius (-290 degrees Fahrenheit).
Titan’s atmosphere is dominated by the inert gas nitrogen - also the major Orbital period in Earth days
component of Earth’s air - but it gets its distinctive colour, opaque haze and clouds
from a relatively small proportion of methane. Amazingly, conditions on Titan
are just right for methane to shift between its gaseous, liquid and solid forms,
generating a ‘methane cycle’ rather similar to the water cycle that shapes Earth’s
Temperature
climate. In cold conditions methane freezes onto the surface as frost and ice. In -179°C (-290°F)
moderate temperatures it condenses into liquid droplets and falls as rain that
erodes and softens the landscape before accumulating in lakes, while in warmer
regions it evaporates and returns to the atmosphere.
Atmospheric pressure
Titan experiences changing seasons very similar to those on our planet, though
1.5 bar
its year is 29.5 Earth years. Temperatures at the winter pole seem to favour rainfall,
so the lakes migrate from one pole to the other over each Titanian year. With 1.0 bar
all this activity, Titan is an intriguing target in the search for extraterrestrial fife,
© S cie n ce Photo Library
Atmospheric composition
though most biologists find it hard to envision organisms that could exist in such
95% nitrogen, 5% methane
harsh and chemically limited conditions, and most agree that Titan’s watery inner
neighbour Enceladus offers more promising prospects for life. 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon
86
STRANGEST MOONS
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Miranda The chiselled satellite Pan and Atlas

Mass: 6.6 x 1019kg (1.5 x 1020lbs) Diameter: 470km (292 miles) The flying saucers
Parent planet: Uranus Discovered: 1948, Gerard Kuiper
Mass:
4.9 x 10,5kg (1.1 x 10,6lbs) and
Miranda is one of the strangest worlds theory comes up Wj
6.6 x 10,5kg (1.6 x 10,6lbs)
in the Solar System. Voyager images short when trying Diameter:
revealed an extraordinary patchwork of to explain Miranda’s " Average of 28km (17 miles)
terrains. Some parts are heavily cratered mix of surface features, and 30km (19 miles)
and some relatively uncratered - indicating and the right kind of impact Parent planet: Saturn
Discovered: 1990 and
their youth, as they have been less exposed is unlikely. Instead it seems plausible that
1980, Voyager 2
to bombardment. tidal forces are to blame.
An early theory to explain Miranda’s Today Miranda follows a near-circular
Saturn’s moons Atlas and Pan are
appearance is that it is a Frankenstein orbit, but its past orbit was in a ‘resonant’
the smallest moons in the Solar
world - a collection of fragments from a relationship with larger moon Umbriel.
System. However, despite their size
predecessor moon that coalesced in orbit This brought the two moons into frequent
their influence can be seen clearly
around Uranus. Astronomers wondered alignments that pulled Miranda’s orbit
from Earth in the form of the
whether Miranda’s predecessor might into an elongated ellipse that experienced
prominent ‘gap’ they create in the
have been shattered by an interplanetary extreme tidal forces. Pushed, pulled and
planet’s ring system.
impact, and whether this event might be heated from within, its surface fragmented
These two tiny worlds are
linked to Uranus’ own extreme tilt. Further and rearranged itself before the moons
perhaps the best known
studies, however, have shown that such a moved and Miranda’s activity subsided.
examples of shepherd moons -
small satellites that orbit in or
Mimas The real-life Death Star around the ring systems of the
giant planets. As the name
suggests, when coupled with the
Mass: 3.8 x 10,9kg (8.4 x 1019lbs) Diameter: 396km (246 miles)
Parent planet: Saturn Discovered: 1789, William Herschel influence of distant outer moons,
such satellites help to herd the
When NASA’s Voyager space probes Mimas is the innermost of Saturn’s
particles orbiting in the ring
sent back the first detailed images of substantial moons - orbiting closer than
system together while ‘clearing
Mimas in the 1980s, scientists and the Enceladus but further out than Pan and
out’ others. Pan is responsible
public were shocked by its resemblance Atlas - and with a diameter of just 396
for creating the Encke Gap, a
to the Death Star space station from the kilometres (246 miles), it’s the smallest
prominent division in Saturn’s
Star Wars films. A huge crater - named object in the Solar System known to
bright A Ring, while Atlas orbits
after William Herschel, who discovered have pulled itself into a spherical shape
just outside the A Ring.
the moon in 1789 - dominates one from its own gravity. Some larger Solar
The most intriguing property of
hemisphere, and is almost the exact System objects haven’t quite managed
both worlds is their smooth shape,
size and shape of the planet-killing laser this, and most astronomers agree that
resembling a walnut or a flying
dish dreamt up by George Lucas many it’s only possible for Mimas because
saucer. Experts believe the moons
years before. But Mimas has more to of the moon’s low density - just 15 per
are blanketed in small particles
offer than pop-cultural references. cent greater than water.
swept up as they keep the space
Death Star crater Cracked surface between the rings clear. As most of
If Mimas was scaled up to the Deep chasms were likely the particles orbit in a plane one
size of Earth, its giant crater created in the formation of
Herschel would be as wide as Herschel. Scaled up to the size
kilometre (0.6 miles) thick, they
Australia. The crater was of Mars, they would rival the tend to pile up around each moon’s
originally far deeper. Valles Marineris canyons. equator, building a distinctive
Towering peak Colour changes equatorial ridge.
Herschel’s central peak Enhanced-colour images
rises six kilometres (3.7 show slight variations in
miles) above the crater the surface: a slightly
floor - it’s as high as greenish hue overlaid with
Mount Kilimanjaro. blue around Herschel.
Crater variation Rugby ball core

Craters around its south pole are Tidal forces have given it an
half the size of those elsewhere, ellipsoidal shape, with the axis pointing
suggesting this was probably resurfaced towards Saturn ten per cent longer
with fresh ice early in Mimas’ history. than the axis from pole to pole.
©NASA
©NASA
87
1!
3S'■
Does Earth
have a
. •
second
• • » 4
moon?
There’s an asteroid tracking our
planet’s orbit around the Sun, and
. astronomers have been surprised
■ by its composition
w
e all know that Kamo‘oalewa - a Hawaiian name that
Earth only has one roughly means ‘oscillating celestial
moon, and if you fragment’ - is University of Arizona
want proof of that, planetary sciences graduate student Ben
you just need to Sharkey. For the past five years he has
peer at the night dedicated much of his time and energy
sky. Can you see another? Astronomers into finding out the origin of the celestial
are sticking to their guns by saying the body, with interest piquing following
Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. the recent pubheation of his team’s
Case closed... or so you’d think. In 2016, academic paper in the scientific journal
however, astronomers using the asteroid Communications Earth & Environment.
hunting Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii Getting this far has certainly been no
discovered a rock orbiting the Sun while easy task. The eccentric entity is no more
also repeatedly looping around Earth. than 58 metres (190 feet) in diameter,
Celestial objects such as these are called which makes it roughly the size of a Ferris
quasi-satellites, and while four others have wheel. What’s more, the orbiting object is
been identified since 2004, this one was the 4 million times fainter than any human
closest and most stable ever seen. could see with the naked eye and about
What makes it particularly interesting 40 times farther out than the Moon. At
is its potential origin, although a recent its greatest distance it is 25 million miles
breakthrough has gone a long way towards away, and it gets no closer to Earth than
clearing up the five-year mystery over 9 million miles. But there it is, in orbit
what this object could be. The smart around Earth and the Sun, albeit following
money is now on it actually being a a rather strange path.
fragment of our Moon. In that sense you “Kamo‘oalewa is kind of weaving inside
could say it’s Earth’s second moon - as and outside of Earth’s orbit as both it and
some have indeed dubbed it - though it’s our planet go around the Sun,” Sharkey
not quite on that level, if truth be told. Still, explains, this behaviour resulting from
it’s no less intriguing, and astronomers are the Sun and Earth’s gravitational pulls
keen to discover more. competing with one another. “If you look
One of the people leading studies at that from the perspective of Earth, it
into the object, which is being called looks like a cork scurrying around the
Kamo’oalewa
by numbers
25 million
The farthest Kamo’oalewa gets
from Earth, in miles
9 million
The closest Kamo’oalewa gets
to Earth, in miles
2016
Year it was discovered
365.9Orbital period, in days
45 to 58
metres planet in an orbit that doesn’t close at any a much closer look at Kamo’oalewa, with
The estimated size of
Kamo’oalewa point. It never repeats the same loop in observations beginning in 2017.
exactly the same way.” Backed by data from the Lowell
30
The celestial object’s odd corkscrew Discovery Telescope, which is a five-hour
like orbit certainly caught astronomers’ drive away in Flagstaff and funded by
imagination. “We could tell this object had NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations
a unique orbit, so there was an immediate Program, the astronomers have been
Kamo’oalewa’s rotational
period, in minutes
interest in characterising it to determine able to monitor Kamo’oalewa’s faint
what it’s made of and how it is spinning,” infrared signature. The team would make
Nine
Sharkey says. “As a student, it seemed observations, then plan ahead for the
like a challenging and interesting project following year’s window of opportunity,
to sink some time into, so we collected a building up a solid bank of knowledge.
Number of asteroids found bunch of different kinds of data over a “Asteroids like this are essentially
to have lunar origins long period of time.” Such diligence has darker than the sky and fainter than
been reaping rewards. the background glow, so you need large
4 million
times fainter than the faintest star
There’s no doubt that the Arizona
study has progressed slowly, but there’s
been no way of speeding it up. It’s only
been possible to observe Kamo’oalewa
telescopes and infrared instruments
to make these detections,” Sharkey
explains. Slowly but surely, the team’s
observations and analyses pointed them
visible with the naked eye
for a few weeks every April, when towards Kamo’oalewa being a lost piece of
500 to it was illuminated by the Sun, but

astronomers have nevertheless been
able to observe the object sufficiently
the Moon.
There’s a big reason why this is a
major deal. If Kamo’oalewa is indeed a
100,000
Years ago it may have
to draw some conclusions. They have
been primarily making use of the Large
Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham
lunar fragment then it would be the only
known asteroid with a lunar origin. It also
opens up a whole new line of inquiry that
broken off the Moon in southern Arizona. The observatory’s explores how the piece came to break
huge nine-metre (28-foot) mirrors allowed away and when it happened. Of course,
90
EARTH’S
SECOND MOON
•Sb
*•* a.-5*
Moon rock samples

brought back in the Apollo
era have told us much
lock samples from the about our lunar companion
son during the Apollo 14 mission
ompared almost perfectly fa the
a gathered about Kamo’oalewa
‘Big Bertha’, the
third-largest lunar
sample ever collected
Kamo'oalewa is kind
of weaving inside and
outside of Earth’s orbit as
both it and our planet go
around the Sun
Ben Sharkey W- i
such events have occurred many times in the
past. “You can see craters on the Moon with
your own eyes,” explains Sharkey. But we
think of most asteroids as coming from the
asteroid belt. A '.X
“We know material from the Moon has been

ejected in the past, some of it coming to Earth
as meteorites,” Sharkey says. “Hundreds
of lunar meteorites have been collected
on Earth, so impacts on the Moon are not
uncommon. But the question is whether
we can find a fink in the processes. Is
there a possibility that material from the
Moon that hasn’t hit Earth is out there,
yet to be found? We could tell a lot about
how material has mixed or moved around the
Solar System with time.”
Sharkey and his team knew early on that
Kamo‘oalewa wasn’t a standard near-Earth
91
Plotting Kamo’oalewa’s orbit

How the asteroid became Earth’s moon-like buddy
Orbiting the Sun

1 Kamo’oalewa is also known as
2016 HO3, and just like Earth it
orbits the Sun, taking just over a
year to do so.
“ Kamo’oalewa also circles

Earth, and it has become a
stable quasi-satellite. It doesn’t Sun
venture too far away as both the
asteroid and Earth orbit the Sun.
Weaving in and out

3 The asteroid spends roughly
half of the time closer to the Sun
than Earth; the objects leapfrog
so that the other half of the time it 2016 HO3
is farther away.
Gravitational pull
4 This unusual orbit is due to
Earth’s gravity being strong
enough to hold onto the
asteroid. It doesn’t venture
farther than 100 times
the distance of Earth
to the Moon.
S o u rc e : W ik ip e d ia c o m m o n s © F orest & K im S tarr
Pan-STARRS is the
world’s leading
near-Earth object
discovery telescope;
it picked up on
Kamo’oalewa in 2016
92
EARTH’S
SECOND MOON
asteroid. During observations it wasn’t

reflecting brightly in particular infrared
frequencies, even though it was made of The theories
common silicates in the same way as other Astronomers have considered a
asteroids. Sharkey sought to match data few explanations for
gathered on Kamo‘oalewa with the light Kamo’oalewa’s origin
reflecting off other near-Earth asteroids. But
Kamo‘oalewa’s dimmer reflection pointed
to it being composed of a different material.
Researchers just needed to be totally sure
there had not been a mistake.
Denise Hung and Dave Tholan of the University
“The spectral signature of some other
of Hawaii took this image of Kamo‘oalewa on
asteroids can actually look very similar 10 June 2016
to what Kamo‘oalewa looks like at visible
wavelengths,” Sharkey says. “We had samples, a near-perfect match was found.
this expectation that it would basically This suggested that Kamo‘oalewa indeed
reflect infrared light in a similar way to originated from the Moon, with the A captured asteroid
how it did in the visible, but it displayed a spectral characteristics being consistent The study’s authors examined the possibility
that Kamo’oalewa was captured in its
redder reflectance spectrum. We tried to with silicate material showing a high
Earth-like orbit from the general population
run through different scenarios and think degree of space weathering, such as of near-Earth objects. But the paper says
about the different ways to change how solar wind particles or micrometeorite that simulations of such a scenario don’t
match the low eccentricity and inclination
asteroids reflect light. This doesn’t have bombardment.
displayed by Kamo’oalewa.
to do with just the material it’s made of. It Even so, Sharkey and his advisor,
could be to do with different textures of University of Arizona associate professor
the surface - scuffing can make something of lunar and planetary sciences Vishnu
appear darker or change its colour, for Reddy, harboured doubts. Although a
instance, altering how asteroids are second set of data was obtained in 2019,
reflecting light. they were frustrated that they couldn’t
“But we tried to say if we take a more observe Kamo‘oalewa in 2020 because
typical asteroid and apply this effect, can the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Large
we come up with a satisfying answer and Binocular Telescope to be shut down.
achieve a reflection identical to what we Fortunately, it was back up and running
saw with Kamo'oalewa? And our argument in April this year, allowing another Fragment of an asteroid
was that we can’t get anything else to observation, and this finally convinced the
There are two known asteroids that orbit
work. Then we saw that there’s a source team that they were correct. the Sun at the Earth-Sun Lagrangian points
of material that has a very good match But Kamo‘oalewa isn’t going to hang L4 and L5. They have similar orbits to
Earth’s, and it could be that Kamo’oalewa
to this spectrum which is nearby: space- around. According to the study’s coauthor,
is a split-off piece of one of them, drawn
weathered lunar silicates.” It opened up a University of Arizona planetary sciences from a quasi-stable population that has
winning line of inquiry. professor Renu Malhorta, who has been yet to be found.
As luck would have it, one of Sharkey’s studying the orbit, it will wave goodbye
PhD advisors had studied samples collected in about 300 years time, once it frees
from the Fra Mauro formation in the lunar itself from the gravitational ropes that
highlands which had been brought back are keeping it around Earth. “It will not
to Earth by the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. remain in this particular orbit for very
“It was a kind of funny moment because long, only about 300 years in the future,”
he just sort of mentioned it randomly, Malhorta affirms, adding that “it arrived in
and it was like, ‘hey, you should probably this orbit about 500 years ago”. But what
think about this comparison too’,” Sharkey exact path it will take when it goes on its
© J u a n A . S anchez/P S I, A la m y , G e tty , E arthS ky
laughs. By comparing Kamo‘oalewa’s lonely adventure is not entirely certain. A piece of the Moon
pattern of reflected fight to those lunar What we do know, however, is that it’s
The recent study of Kamo’oalewa strongly
suggests that the asteroid is an ejected
We could tell this object had a unique fragment of the Moon, probably caused by
an impact. This is supported by the
orbit, so there was an immediate interest reflectance spectrum of Kamo’oalewa
being a near-perfect match in comparison
in characterising it to rock samples returned from the Moon.
Ben Sharkey
93
An image of the lunar

surface taken on the
Apollo 14 mission
A la m y
It will not remain in this particular orbit for

very long, only about 300 years in the future;
it arrived in this orbit about 500 years ago
Renu Malhorta
gravitationally bound to the Sun rather being planned by the China National Space Kamo‘oalewa
than Earth, and that’s why it can’t actually Administration, with a launch pencilled is roughly the
size of Italy’s
be classed as a moon, even though it’s in for 2025. It’s also entirely possible that Leaning
made up of a bit of one. Kamo‘oalewa is not alone, and the orbits of Tower of Pisa
“Orbital dynamics are outside my three other near-Earth objects could even
normal expertise,” says Sharkey, “but one be linked. “I feel at this point that anything
of the big challenges is tracing the exact could be a surprise, or not a surprise, and
path of an object like this beyond a few the honest answer is that we really don’t
hundred years. Your uncertainties just know,” Sharkey says. “I think that’s part of
become so large that it’s really difficult why this kind of study adds excitement, at
to say anything with confidence besides least from my perspective. But we didn’t
the sort of general ideas about the state really have a good handle on the question
of the object. Beyond 300 years or so, it’s of what Kamo‘oalewa was beforehand and
a question of the exact path it takes, but whether other objects could be related
S o u rce : W ik ip e d ia c o m m o n s © S a ffro n B laze
it’s not going to shoot off in some new in similar ways. The next step is to keep
direction. It’s going to be a more gentle asking that question.”
progression than that.”
David Crookes
This still gives plenty of time to make Science and technolo oumalist
more observations, and while there’s no David has been reporting on
chance anyone is going to be thinking of space, science and technology
for many years, has contributed to
landing a human on this particular ‘moon’, many books and is a producer for
a sample-return mission to Kamo‘oalewa is BBC Radio 5 Live.
94
DISCOVER THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
OF SPACE EXPLORATION
From the formative years of Sputnik through to modern-day innovations like
Perseverance, embark on a journey across the history of humanity’s missions
into space, and glimpse what is in store for the future.
Ordering is easy. Go online at:

future magazines direct•com
Or get it from selected supermarkets & newsagents
When the Sun scorches Earth, a tiny moon in orbit
around the ringed giant Saturn is our next home
© N A S A /J P L -C a lte c h
96
ur planet may have National Centre for Scientific Research from
survived for 4.5 the Observatoire de Paris. “The increasing
billion years, but solar insulation means Earth will either
Evolution
humanity faces evaporate all of its oceans or lose them by of the Sun
some major threats. the atmospheric escape of hydrogen.”
There’s always the But that will only be the start. Even if
possibility that an asteroid will wipe us humans do somehow survive the mass
out, just as one did for the dinosaurs some loss of water on Earth, the next thing to be
65 million years ago. We could be engulfed affected would be the current habitable
by a gamma-ray burst or disrupted by a zone. At some stage the Sun’s hydrogen
wandering star. There are also dangers supplies at its core are going to deplete,
closer to home, from volcanoes to nuclear and gravity will take over. Nuclear
war. Even supposing humans manage fusion - the energy-generating process
to survive all these threats, of converting hydrogen into
we can still say for certain helium - will cease, bringing
that life here on Earth an end to 10 billion years of
will eventually be no stability. As the Sun’s core
more. In around 5 collapses, helium will fuse
billion years from now into carbon and the Sun
the Sun will undergo a will bloat into a red giant,
The Cassini-Huygens
massive change that will mission sent back 256 times its original size.
fundamentally alter our up-close views of the The Sun will swell out to
Saturnian moon
Solar System. It will cause beyond the orbit of Earth,”
the end of not only all life here says Dr Christopher McKay, a
on Earth, but possibly the entire planetary scientist at NASA Ames
planet, and we will have no choice other Research Center. The effects of this will be
than to find somewhere else to live. devastating for both Earth and the inner
Astronomers have been looking at the Solar System, and at this stage staying on
possibilities of colonising other planets our planet will not be an option.
for years. Mars currently tops the fist of After all, the outer layers of the Sun will
destinations, with NASA working hard to now be at escape velocity and peeling away.
develop the capabilities needed to send Mercury and Venus will be engulfed, and
humans to the Red Planet in the 2030s. the orbits of the planets will be widening
Yet some scientists are taking a much due to a weakened gravitational pull.
longer view. Rather than looking towards
the terrestrial planets for our new home, In around a billion
they say humans will one day have to
relocate to the outer Solar System if they
years’ time, Earth will
want to survive. As it currently stands, probably no longer
sending scores of humans to five beyond
the asteroid belt is out of the question. be habitable for
The four gas giants are utterly unsuitable humans
for life, and the moons of the outer Solar
Benjamin Charnay
System are well outside of the habitable
zone - the region around the Sun where
the atmospheric pressure is able to support
liquid water, making conditions for life as
we know it ‘just right’.
Yet things can and will change. The
Sun is getting gradually warmer, and it
will eventually become so hot that it will
boil off Earth’s oceans. This will happen
sooner than we think. “In around a billion
years’ time, Earth will probably no longer
be habitable for humans,” says Benjamin Titan’s water ice holds key ingredients <
Charnay, a research associate at the French necessary for life - they just need heating ©
97
A potential home
When the habitable zone shifts, Titan could be
‘ our.first destination
What is it?
H
This radar image taken by the Cassini
spacecraft shows empty and liquid-filled The second-largest
depressions on Titan moon in the Solar
System, with a radius of 2,575
kilometres (1,600 miles).
Distance
from the Sun
Titan is 9.54 AU 1 AU
being the Earth-Sun distance ?
from the Sun, outside the
habitable zone.
Current
□ temperature
The highest temperature
A close-up radar image of Ligeia Mare, the on Titan is -180 degrees Celsius *
second-largest known body of liquid (-292 degrees Fahrenheit).
hydrocarbons on Titan
li Titan’s ice
“Even if it survives, Earth will be inside the
Sun’s atmosphere,” McKay adds. If all of
E fl Titan’s mantle is .
fl composed of water ice,
and it is likely to harbour a layer
this sounds quite gloomy for the future of of liquid water.
humankind, then be assured that it is. “The
issue for humans would be to survive to Liquid
this time,” says Charnay, strongly hinting
that there is every chance that nobody will
0 hydrocarbons
There are more liquid
hydrocarbons on Titan than all the
be around to see any of it. known OH and natural gas reserves
Let’s suppose that humans do manage bn Earth.
to get that far. Where will they be able Gravity and

to go when the Sun has turned a vivid
red? The smart money is on a lovely
□ atmosphere
Titan has low gravity and
a thick nitrogen atmosphere that
home overlooking Saturn and its stunning
is ten-times larger than Earth’s.
system of rings. In the new order of
the Solar System, Titan, Saturn’s largest
moon, is likely to become the number one
destination for humans. It won’t be easy - moon since Huygens, an atmospheric entry atmospheres - Venus and Earth being
the journey to Titan from Earth takes some probe, landed there in 2005 following a the others. “The thick atmosphere cuts
seven years, which will excessively burden seven-year journey as part of the Cassini- down on radiation, so it is a very neutral
the body and mind of any astronaut - but Huygens mission. It was the first-ever environment,” says Dr Mike Malaska, a
it could be the perfect escape route that landing accomplished in the outer Solar scientist at NASA. It has a gravity that is
will keep humankind going for many more System, and it will not be the last by any similar to that of our own natural orbital
millions of years. means. When the day comes that space satellite, making Titan the easiest place
It may be hard to imagine that a moon agencies are seeking to send manned to fly and land in the Solar System -
which is ten-times further away from the flights to Titan, you can be assured that something that should help with future
Sun than Earth could possibly become a the technology needed to safely transport colonisation. Astronauts will be able to
new human base, but Titan is actually a people 3.2 billion kilometres (2 billion navigate Titan wearing just warm coats
close match for our planet. In many ways miles) across the Solar System will be very as it benefits from having zero to low
it mimics Earth’s primitive state. As such much in place. pressure, unlike our Moon or Mars. “The
it has proved fascinating for astronomers Titan is one of only three worlds in the Moon and Mars both share the problem
who have been building up data about the Solar System with rocky surfaces and thick that if humans didn’t wear spacesuits they
98
would die rapidly from depressurisation,
which the movies like to show as being
The Sun will swell
explosive,” says McKay “On Titan a out to beyond the
spacesuit is not required.”
Titan has weather, and it is the only
orbit of Earth. Even if
body in the Solar System other than Earth it survives, Earth will
to possess surface lakes and seas. It also
has river channels, dunes and complex be inside the Sun’s
Future Titan hydrocarbons, along with pebbles of ice atmosphere
that point to an existence of water in
What is it? Christopher McKay
H -Titan will remain the
second-largest moon as
the past. Crucially, it has copious organic
raw materials. “These would be great
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede will for colonialists to use for manufacturing be suitable for life. Things would begin to
still exist.
things,” adds Malaska. “The diversity of slot into place.
h Distance features on the surface suggests that there What’s more, the moon’s warmer
| from the Sun
E ■ During the red giant

phase of the Sun, Titan will be in
the habitable zone.
might be different patches of different types
of organics - kind of like the different rock
outcrops here on Earth. There might also
temperature would also change the
composition of the atmosphere. Currently
it is made up of 95 per cent nitrogen and
be outcrops of water ice, so water might be five per cent methane and “the air is
Rising available after heating it.” thicker than Earth by a factor of seven,”
D temperatures
.Titan’s surface
Indeed, astronomers say that all Titan
effectively needs is warming up to make it
says McKay. But 5 billion years from now
“the luminosity will be large enough to
temperature could rise to -70
degrees Celsius (-94 degrees a viable home. “Temperature is a current affect the icy crust and liberate a water-
Fahrenheit). problem on Titan,” says McKay, as the ammonium ocean,” says Charnay. The
Flowing water
moon receives one-hundredth of the solar effects will be jaw-dropping.
heat we get here on Earth. “At -180 degrees Dr Carrie Anderson, planetary
K—and melted ice, Titan Celsius (-292 degrees Fahrenheit), if you astronomer at the Astrochemistry
would host large oceans of
visited today it would feel like plunging Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight
life-giving water.
into freezing cold water, so humans would Center, says the water will melt, mix with
, . Organics will have to find a way of keeping very warm. the organics and make up amino acids,
emerge We’d have to wear special spacesuits like which contain carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and
Titan should have
the ones divers wear. Yet all this changes hydrogen - the basic elements necessary
around 100 million years for
organics to heat and flourish once the Sun becomes a red giant.” for life. “Titan has all of these,” she told an
When the Sun has transformed, Titan audience at the Library of Congress. “It’s
Lovely will be in the middle of a new habitable just waiting. It’s ready to go.”
□ atmosphere?
The upper atmospheric
zone, which will have moved deeper Even so, there are still some doubts:
haze will deplete and into the Solar System, taking it as far as “It would be difficult to produce an
methane-based greenhouse the Kuiper Belt. The frozen moons of the oxygen-rich atmosphere because Titan’s
effects will kick in.
outer planets will become far warmer, atmosphere and interior are very
melting ice into liquid water and allowing reducing,” says Charnay. “For instance,
life a chance to flourish. As McKay, Ralph there is a lot of methane, which would
Lorenz and Jonathan Lunine wrote in an react to destroy oxygen.” There would also
important paper published back in 1997, be something of a race against time in
Titan would respond well to being given order for life to form and flourish. Titan
a new lease of life, and humans could will have a window of ‘just’ 100 million
benefit greatly from it. years for life to emerge, for reasons we’ll
Quite apart from the Sun raising the come to in a moment. Anderson believes
moon’s temperature to -70 degrees Celsius that this is sufficient time for life to form
(-94 degrees Fahrenheit), they noted that on Titan, however, making it a viable
the surrounding thick, orange haze of future home for humans. “At this moment
Titan’s atmosphere would also be depleted. in time the ice will melt in the mantle,
Since the haze currently allows the surface and a lot of it should melt, so you should
to be unaffected by the increase of solar have liquid water. Then we have all those
Bright sunlight can be seen reflecting off radiation caused by the Sun being closer organics just sitting around on the surface
Titan’s hydrocarbon seas, which are
and hotter, this would enable a greenhouse just waiting for the Sun to heat them up,”
©ESA
mostly liquid methane and ethane

effect, creating an environment that would she says.
99
It is a prospect that also excites Malaska. different type of life and would take our temperature and chemical regimes that we
“When the Sun evolves into a red giant, fundamental understanding of biological can start to think about.”
Titan will heat up,” he says. “The water processes to a new level.” But even if life exists, emerges or travels
ice in the crust will melt, and the organics He claims that Titan has already to Titan, one thing is certain: it won’t be
on the surface will probably react with changed how we think about geology: staying there forever. Any migration from
water, each other and themselves. It’ll be a “Comparing and contrasting the geology Earth to Titan will always be temporary
wonderfully interesting organic chemistry of Earth and Titan is a powerful tool. since it will start to get too close to the Sun.
mess. Most of the organic ‘goo’ will be With regards to geology, we talk about Once those 100 million years are up, liquid
floating on the surface of the water.” how lakes and rivers work and now water on Titan will evaporate and the moon
And yet there is a possibility that life have examples using both water and will suffer an incredible rise in heat.
already exists on Titan. Malaska says hydrocarbons, so we can understand the But there is potential for a reprieve.
life could be based on different sets of fundamental processes even though the The Sun will later contract and become
molecules and interactions, and that materials, temperatures and gravity fields a white dwarf that will burn for a billion
microscopic alien organisms may already are totally different. years. This will place Titan back into the
be swimming in seas of methane. Could “Discovering life on Titan would habitable zone. It means that any humans
this have a profound effect on our ability to likewise change our understanding of the who escape to Titan and then suffer
colonise Titan in the event of a red giant? fundamental processes of biology. It would another setback as Titan is burned dry
Would questions be raised over our chances extend our concept of the habitable zone could - if they somehow hold out - have
of adapting and living alongside such alien where surface liquids exist to a different another opportunity for a long existence
life? Time will tell, and scientists will be temperature range and set of on Saturn’s moon. As Anderson told her
working on those very answers. surface conditions. It audience: “Maybe life has a real chance
“If we discover life on Titan, it would would also tell us that on Titan during those billion years.” For
be incredibly huge,” says Malaska. there may be even the sake of the future of humanity, we
“It would be a fundamentally wilder and weirder sincerely hope it does.
What a view
Red giant From some areas of Titan,
Residents on Titan would see the around a third of the view
Sun as a huge, vivid red ball. will be taken up by Saturn.
A lovely atmosphere
>
^Setting up home a to iuo kilometres

a deliveries easy.
around Saturn
*
It may have similarities with Earth, but
what would it really be like to live on Titan?
Indoor life
People living on Titan
would live indoors where
the environment can be
better regulated.
I 1
Suiting up Lots of lakes

A spacesuit is only needed to Lakes on Titan could be used for
breathe and keep warm. Walking transport and, by using dams
will be like trekking through pillows. and gates, power generation.
c
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©
100
ISBN 978-1-83850-222-5
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SYSTEM
Space
volcanoes
From Venus to Mars and the moons around
far-flung planets, volcanoes have helped shape
the bodies of our Solar System
n 5 March 1979,
Voyager 1 made its
closest approach
to Jupiter. What it
discovered astounded
navigators at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in California. Not
least of all astronomer Linda Morabito,
who had been analysing an image taken by
the spacecraft and saw a puzzling feature
that turned out to be a volcanic plume
off the limb of Io. It was 270 kilometres
(170 miles) tall, spewing sulphur into the
airless sky with great ferocity. This volcano
came to be known as Pele, after the
Hawaiian fire goddess, and its discovery
was hugely significant: it was the first time
that an erupting volcano had been found
anywhere other than Earth.
It wasn’t the first time that alien
volcanoes had caught the imagination
Missions to the Moon had uncovered
basalt samples ~some~3.3 billion years oki,
and Apollo 15 landed close to Hadley^
Rille, an immense groove oh the Moon
j(0.9 miles)
1.5 kilometres —— - - - <<7widtTahd 300
metres (984 feet) deep. This groove likely
originated as a lava tube whose roof

collapsed. The unmanned Mariner 9
highlighted a varied Martian terrain in
1977 which had huge volcanoes, including
the mammoth Olympic Mons. Yet these
discoveries were all completely extinct.
Io proved to be a swirl of colours
thanks to a thin atmosphere laden with
sulphur, and was showing signs of being
the most geologically active body in
the Solar System: more than 150 active
volcanoes - of more than 400 in total
- have been discovered there. Moons
Enceladus and Triton also have active
volcanoes. Venus, too, as well as the
Jovian moon Europa. “Although we have
volcanoes on Earth, you have to study
somewhere different to understand the
big picture,” says Dr Rosaly Lopes of
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Lopes became interested in volcanology
during her studies, becoming particularly surface change to show that a volcano is - cold or frozen gases including water,
hooked when Mount Etna exploded and active. The easiest way is to detect heat, ammonia or methane. Volcanic activity
her volcanology professor didn’t show up. so I would compare pixels of the images can be short or long-lived, continuing to
“I thought it was really exciting to work on we received, looking for infrared hotspots spew for decades at a time. Io volcanoes
something where you had to rush off like that were different to the surroundings. stay active for very long periods of time.
that,” she says. Following her graduation We had limits of resolution and it was a “They are much more powerful than the
she worked on Galileo, a mission to Jupiter lot of work, but it wasn’t that hard.” volcanoes on Earth,” says Lopes. “When
that launched in 1989. She studied infrared There are different types of volcanoes in Voyager 1 flew past in 1979, about a dozen
data from Io that allowed her to detect the the Solar System. Shield volcanoes are built volcanoes were active. When Galileo
heat from the volcanoes. Between 1996 and up of fluid lava flows and they have broad, visited, most of these volcanoes were still
2001 she discovered 71 active volcanoes low-profile features. Composite volcanoes active and there were detections from the
- more active volcanoes than anyone are conical, built up of ash, rock, dust and ground in-between. The New Horizons
else. “Io has sulphur dioxide pretty much hot steam. Depending on their location in voyage to Pluto used Jupiter as a gravity
everywhere,” Lopes explains. “So you space, they either spew molten silicate rock assist. We did some observations of Io
have to detect either the heat, plume or a magma or - as is the case beyond Mars at that time, and some of the very same
volcanoes were still active.”
“There are some volcanoes on Earth
that are always active on land. There
are also volcanoes under the ocean
that are harder to find. Certainly lo’s
volcanoes have the largest heat output
and the largest calderas - craters formed
by volcanic eruptions or the collapse
of surface rock into a vacant magma
chamber. Io is considered to be one of the
most volcanically active bodies that we
know of.” The most unusual volcano on Io
is Loki Patera. It’s the most powerful and
has the largest volcanic caldera in the Solar
System. There is also potential evidence
of a lava lake, usually a rare occurrence,
but seemingly common on Io. “We want
to know what is creating these lava lakes
and how the eruption mechanisms work,”
says Lopes. “Loki Patera has some peculiar
106
Volcanoes of fire and ice
Volcanoes can blow hot and cold, but what’s the difference between the two?
Two main types of volcanoes exist in also had such volcanism. “Recently, rock. Cryovolcanoes exist on icy moons
space. The first and most familiar is the volcanism that was around 100 million such as Enceladus and Titan, which circle
type that spews out molten rocks, typically years old was discovered on the Moon,” Saturn. “The water that comes up from the
at high temperatures of at least 700 says Khan, pointing to NASA's Lunar liquid ocean beneath the icy crust of these
degrees Celsius (1,292 degrees Reconnaissance Orbiter, which showed the moons behaves very similarly to lava,”
Fahrenheit). These exist on terrestrial Moon's volcanic activity gradually slowed says Lopes. “It’s defined as volcanism
planets and moons that are composed over time. because it's a process of bringing material
primarily of metals or silicate rocks - in our The second type of volcano is very to the surface.”
Solar System they tend to be closest to the different. Cryovolcanoes, which are
Sun. When they erupt, magma leaves the colloquially known as ice
volcano and reaches the surface; it then volcanoes, still have a heated
becomes known as lava. The volcanoes on interior, but they spew water
Io, Venus and Mars - both active and mixed with ammonia or
extinct - are of this type. Our Moon has methane rather than molten
Tidal heating ice

1 When there is
tidal friction, the pressurised H2O
When it breaks
through, it sends
interior of the pocket that melts a water vapour
moon starts to ices. Because the plume and ice
become very hot. heat has to particles into the
somehow escape, it air. The friction
begins to push heats nitrogen,
upwards to the which builds
body’s surface. pressure
and erupts.
Main vent Shield volcano

A composite Wider than eruptions
volcano’s magma composites, they Layers of hardened
escapes through a have gentle, sloping lava build up. A
large main vent at sides; lava is able to conical appearance
the top. flow out easily. appears as a result.
The crust ^ Shield magma

Magma breaks
through the crust The magma seeks
9 The magma
chamber of a shield
10 on its route up to other outlets and can volcano is spread
the surface. also escape through over a wider
secondary vents. subsurface area.
11 Lava Rising magma Chamber

W channels
Venus has lava
n As magma
rises, pressure builds.
Beneath the
surface is molten
channels. Its longest The buildup is more liquid rock, pooled in
is 6,800 kilometres intense under a what is called a
©NASA
(4,200 miles) long. composite volcano. magma chamber.
107
Scaling space peaks

How does Mount Everest compare with some of the highest peaks in the Solar System?
Mount Moot Mons Ascraeus Olympus Arsia Pavonis

1 Everest
Location: Earth
2 Mons
Location: Venus
3 Riimker
Location: Moon
4 Mons
Location: Mars
5 Mons
Location: Mars
6 Mons
Location: Mars
7 Mons
Location: Mars
Height: 8.8 Height: 4.9 Height: 1.1 Height: 15 Height: 26 Height: 11.7 Height: 8.7
kilometres kilometres kilometres kilometres kilometres kilometres kilometres
(5.5 miles) (3.0 miles) (0.7 miles) (9.3 miles) (13.6 miles) (7.3 miles) (5.4 miles)
•! 40 days •! 20 days t 1 day IJ 85 days •J 120 days •J 58 days i! 43 days
Elysium Boosaule Doom

25km
8 Mons
Location: Mars
9 Montes
Location: Io
W Mons
Location: Titan
Height: 12.6 Height: 18.2 Height: 1.4
kilometres
(7.8 miles)
kilometres
(11.3 miles)
kilometres
(0.8 miles)
0
j! 64 days • 80 days •J 3 days
20km
15km
0
Key
10km
5km
108
SPACE
L C A N 0 E S
patterns - an almost cyclical closer to the planet in its orbit then moves
pattern of eruptions that we away. Its surface is constantly being bent
thought we understood, but and flexed, creating the necessary heat
then stopped.” for volcanism. It’s like taking a ball of wax
How explosive a volcano and massaging it, making it hotter and
is depends on its hotter inside.
composition and “It’s unusual because Io is around the
the amount of gases size of Earth’s Moon and it should have
dissolved in the magma. lost a lot of its primordial heat, just like the
It’s often been compared to Moon has. It should have cooled down,”
shaking up a fizzy drink and says Dr Lopes. “But Io is in a peculiar orbit
opening it - if the drink has and it has the gravitational pull of Jupiter.
been allowed to go flat, it’s At the same time, the other satellites
likely to come out with less further away from Io are also experiencing
Dwarf planet Ceres has been found ferocity than one with its full this pull. The constant tug-of-war causes
to have active cryovolcanism
soda potential. “In a volcano, you get these friction, creating heat and ensuring the
gases that are dissolved in the magma,” interior of Io remains very molten. That is
says Lopes. “When magma rises towards what drives volcanism.”
the surface, the pressure lessens and the As volcanoes erupt on Io, it affects the
gases want to come out. If the lava is very entire Jovian system. The plumes, says Dr
viscous, or sticky, the gases cannot escape Michael Khan, who works in the mission
easily and eventually they will come out analysis office of the European Space
explosively. You can get what we call a Operations Centre at the European Space
.. O.. Hawaiian-type Agency (ESA),
eruption where produce a ring of
you may have
We want to know what is charged material
this beautiful creating these lava lakes around Jupiter
lava oozing in and “create
fountains.”
and how the eruption a very nasty
Interestingly, mechanisms work” environment” as
.................................. there are Rosaly Lopes around 2 trillion
differences watts of power is
o in the ways similar types of volcanoes

behave according to where they are. On
Earth there is a relatively thin crust that’s
generated. “All of the stuff gets electrically
charged. If you want to fly a spacecraft
there, it gets hit by the charged particles
divided into several plates gliding over and all of the electronics fry. It’s not a nice
the mantle. This is referred to as plate thing to happen.”
tectonics. The crusts slowly move, crash But the differences between volcanoes
and slide into each other, propelled by on different planets go beyond the causes
the incredible heat simmering below of activity. Even patterns of eruption can
them. When one plate is forced below be dissimilar, as is the case on Venus.
another in a process called subduction, “Venus can go hundreds of millions of
the magmas that come out in those years with no activity,” says Khan. “Then
places tend to be more viscous, forming everything goes off at once and the surface
explosive cone-shaped volcanoes. When is completely remodelled.” Volcanoes
they pull apart, more fluid basaltic lava cover around 90 per cent of Venus and
comes out, creating shield volcanoes that its surface has been transformed by
erupt effusively, rather than violently. volcanic eruptions. According to Lopes,
Plate tectonics are an alien concept on Io, who documented planets in her book Alien
where volcanic activity originates from the Volcanoes, the Magellan spacecraft found
tidal forces associated with its planetary Venus’ volcanism to be young in geological
host, Jupiter. Io was not expected to have terms. “There are about 1,000 volcanoes,
volcanoes since it is a small body and but I haven’t counted them,” she jokes.
should have cooled a long time ago, like “The surface is really volcanic, but we
© N ASA; ISRO;
Earth’s Moon. But as it rotates around don’t know that much about it because
Jupiter it is effectively squeezed as it gets it’s a very challenging environment. The
109
The robotic space

probe MESSENGER
spent four years
orbiting Mercury,
uncovering the
planet’s volcanic
past. Hills, vents and
long channels have
been photographed.
One of the volcanoes
was thought to
have erupted for a
billion years
kJ'
Most of the Moon is

covered with
hardened lava,
made up of old
basaltic flows. Some ASM xlrl .?
volcanic features
may be less than 50
million years old
same is true of Io, as v weren’t modelling for it to spouting water in 2013, showing that the
the environment is very vj / go this way.” hypothesis of an underground ocean was
radiation intensive.” r Mars may also have probably correct. “Volcanic vents locally
Planetary volcanism can mimic geological structures that are heat up the water, and eruptions happen,”
that of the moons. For instance, Mars referred to as mud volcanoes. They are explains Khan. “Volcanism could be an
has dozens of volcanoes that are large and similar to the geysers in Iceland, spewing enabler for life on Europa because it has
dominant, and this is believed to be due dirt from beneath the ground. A region warmth, nutritious minerals and water,
to lower surface gravity. A thicker crust called Acidalia Planitia in the northern which are the basic ingredients.”
and higher eruption rates allow lava to plains of Mars appears to have a fair But just as some astronomers are
pile on top of lava, creating extra height few of these, and they are also found on looking for signs of life, others are keen to
and bulk. Olympus Mons is 25,000 metres Earth - there is a large concentration in discover volcanic activity on other bodies.
(82,021 feet) high; not only is it three times Azerbaijan and the adjacent Caspian Sea. “It’s why it’s important to spread your
as high as Mount Everest, but its footprint “It may explain the plumes of methane studies to other planets,” says Lopes. “You
would also cover the entirety of Germany. in the atmosphere of Mars,” says Khan, never know what you may learn. Before
If it existed on Earth at that size and who notes that the drastic differences and we started studying Io, people wouldn’t
weight, it would break through the crust completely unpredictable natures of many have imagined a moon that size could have
and go right to the mantle. Mars also has volcanoes make for some very intriguing active volcanism, but it does. There are
limited plate movement, meaning the lava observations. “It tells us how differently certainly things we want to know about
buildup only has certain areas in which planets can evolve even though they were volcanism on Io, the big mystery being
it can break through. The surface of Mars created at the same time and relatively the composition of the lava. Studying this
is effectively two large tectonic plates that close to each other,” he says. “If you look would help us understand lava from the
have been rubbing against each other. at the exoplanets around other millions early Earth.” Better equipment is helping
“Volcanoes are so different,” says Lopes. and billions of stars, how this enormous enormously. “There have been a lot of
“While we have instrumentation that can variety of different geologies can exist is advances in telescope instrumentation and
give us geophysical measurements and a lesson that the Solar System is teaching techniques,” says Lopes. “We are getting to
an idea of what’s underneath a volcano, us. It also shows that the conditions for the point where we may have smaller and
there’s a lot that we surprisingly don’t life may exist in situations where you cheaper telescopes that can observe these
©NASA
know. There may be peculiar conditions wouldn’t think it is possible.” volcanic bodies very frequently.”
that will make volcanoes erupt in a certain By way of explanation he points to
David Crookes
way. You only have to look at Mount Saint Europa, another of Jupiter’s geologically Science and technology journalist
Helens in Washington, which erupted in active moons. Like Io, it has been David has been reporting on
1980. Scientists were expecting the blast to deformed by tides as it orbits the giant space, science and technology
for many years, has contributed to
go up, but it went sideways. A lot of people planet, releasing heat through rock-and-
many books and is a producer for
weren’t evacuated because the scientists ice friction. Hubble revealed the icy moon BBC Radio 5 Live.
110
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT A UNIVERSAL ENIGMA
Whether they’re supermassive, primordial or double, black holes are a mystery.
It’s time to strip away some of puzzle as we head inside black holes to find out
how they work and what really happens on the event horizon.
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A megatsunami swept
over Mars after a massive
asteroid hit the Red Planet
The impact left a huge crater behind
A- Martian megatsunami
a giant killer wave
that may have reached
Union named after science-fiction
grandmaster Frederik Pohl in August.
The scientists focused on the landing
images from previous missions to the
planet. This helped them identify Pohl,
which is located about 900 kilometres
more than 80 storeys site of NASA’s Viking 1, the first spacecraft (560 miles) from Viking l’s landing site
tall - may have raced to operate successfully on the Martian within a region of the Martian northern
across the Red Planet surface. Viking 1 touched down in 1976 in lowlands. “The northern plains of Mars
after a cosmic impact similar to the one Chryse Planitia, a smooth circular plain in comprise an enormous basin where,
that likely ended Earth’s age of dinosaurs. the northern equatorial region of Mars. about 3.4 billion years ago, an ocean
Although the surface of Mars is now cold The probe landed near the endpoint of formed and subsequently froze,”
and dry, a great deal of evidence suggests a giant channel, Maja Valles, carved out Rodriguez said. “The ocean is considered
that an ocean’s worth of water covered by an ancient catastrophic flood, the first to have formed due to catastrophic floods
the Red Planet billions of years ago. time scientists identified an extraterrestrial released from aquifers, so my initial
Previous research found signs that two landscape carved by a river. Unexpectedly, approach to looking for a megatsunami
meteor strikes might have triggered a pair instead of discovering the kind of flood- triggering impact was to look for a crater
of megatsunamis about 3.4 billion years related features scientists had expected of beneath the ocean’s frozen residue and
ago. The older tsunami inundated about the site, such as streamlined islands worn above the channels that discharged the
800,000 square kilometres (309,000 square smooth by flowing water, they found a ocean-forming floods.” Pohl was the only
miles), while the more recent one drowned boulder-strewn plain. crater the scientists found that met this
a region of about 1 million square Now the researchers suggest these criterion, he noted.
kilometres (386,000 square miles). boulders may be debris from a The researchers simulated cosmic
A 2019 study found what may have been megatsunami, the giant wave carrying impacts on this region to see what type
ground zero for the younger megatsunami pulverised rock away from the site of the of impact might have created Pohl.
- Lomonosov crater, a 120-kilometre cosmic impact. “The marine floor would Their findings suggest that Viking l’s
(75-mile) wide hole in the ground in the have been tossed up in the air, feeding landing site is “part of a megatsunami
icy plains of the Martian arctic. Its large the wave with sediments and probably deposit emplaced about 3.4 billion years
size suggests that the cosmic impact that aiding the development of a catastrophic ago,” Rodriguez said. Then the scientists
dug the hole itself was big, similar in scale debris flow front,” said lead scientist Alexis used simulations to understand how a
to the one from a ten-kilometre (six-mile) Rodriguez, a planetary scientist at the crater with similar dimensions to Pohl
wide asteroid that struck near what is now Planetary Science Institute in Arizona. might have originated. If an asteroid
the town of Chicxulub in Mexico 66 million The scientists analysed maps of the encountered strong ground resistance, it
years ago, triggering a mass extinction that Martian surface created by combining would have needed to be about 5.6 miles
killed off 75 per cent of Earth’s species,
including all dinosaurs except birds. A
new study has found what may be the The northern plains comprise an enormous
origin point of the older megatsunami -
Ill-kilometre (69-mile) wide Pohl crater,
basin where an ocean formed and froze
which the International Astronomical Alexis Rodriguez
(nine kilometres) wide, with the impact
unleashing energy equivalent to 13 million
megatonnes of TNT; if the asteroid met
weak ground resistance, it might have
been only three kilometres (1.8 miles)
across, releasing the energy of 500,000
megatonnes of TNT In comparison, the
most powerful nuclear bomb ever tested,
Russia’s Tsar Bomba, had the strength of
57 megatonnes of TNT
Both simulated impacts generated a
megatsunami that reached as far as 1,500
kilometres (930 miles) from the impact
site - more than enough to reach Viking l’s
landing site. The massive wave might have
initially stretched about 500 metres (1,640 The researchers want to further A view from NASA’s Mars
feet) high and measured about 250 metres investigate how the ancient Martian Reconnaissance Orbiter of a crater
on Mars that formed in 2012
(820 feet) tall on land. Those statistics ocean might have changed between the
would make the Pohl impact similar to that two megatsunamis to see what potential
of Chicxulub. Prior work has suggested biological effects that change may have had.
that impact struck about 200 metres (650 “Right after its formation, the crater would
feet) below sea level, formed a crater have generated submarine hydrothermal
about 100 kilometres (62 miles) wide and systems lasting tens of thousands of
triggered a tsunami about 200 metres (650 years, providing energy and nutrient-rich
feet) high on land. environments,” Rodriguez said.
The Red Planet

Explore Mars’ fascinating surface features
Chasma
Boreale
Vastitas B°'e°
Milankovic
Acidalia
Planitia Deuteronilus Mie
Arcadia Mensae
'"ani"a
Planitia
Alba Protonilus
Mons Mensae
Tempe Terra Hecates
Tholus
Uranius
Lycus
surd Tholus
Cydonia
Mensae
Arabia
Uranius
- Mons Terra Elysium Mons
Chryse Cassini
Amazonis Ceraunius Planitia
Planitia Tholus
us Mons
Syrtis r
Major
Planum
Nili
%«n Albor Tholus Orcus
Patera
Patera
Tharsis Isldis
Ulysses Fossae Tholus Planitia
Terra
raeus
Sabaea
Lucus Mons Echus Montes ° nr£e
*
Planum Huygens
Ophir
Pavonis Mons
coprates Aôlis Mensae
PiaPeri°
Tharsis volcanic region
8
Arsia O)
Mons Syria Sinai
Planum Planum J?
CD
o
Daedalia Planum Softs
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Tetra Si renum
Copernicus <Wossae
« P\o^
icario ^tanum Austral©
Racing through space and crashing into Earth’s
atmosphere, we discover the space rocks
that litter our Solar System
114
very 133 years, Comet August each year. Each meteor shower
Swift-Tuttle makes its has a peak, a time when the shooting
return to the inner Solar stars occur in their greatest number. For
System. It last made an the Perseids this occurs on 12 August.
appearance in 1992. Each Either side of this peak, the number of
time it nears the Sun, this meteors drops off - imagine the trail left
speeding ball of ice, rock and dust grows by the comet beginning to spread out. The
a tail that deposits a glittering trail in peak coincides with the densest part of the
its wake. Every year our planet moves trail, and the most active meteor showers
through this, causing the dust particles can produce more than 100 shooting stars
left behind to come crashing through per hour.
the atmosphere. Most of them are tiny, Other great meteor showers include
but as they burn up 100 kilometres (60 the Quadrantids in January, which peak
miles) above our heads they leave a bright on the 3rd; the Lyrids between 16 and
streak of light. We call this a meteor, or 25 April; the Orionids that peak on 21
‘shooting star’. The space between the October; the Leonids that are at their
planets and around Earth’s orbit is full of maximum on 17 November and the
dust, so every night there will be one or Geminids, which are at their best on
two random meteors. When Earth travels 14 December. The names of the meteor
through the cloudy trail of dust left by showers come from the constellations in
a comet such as Swift-Tuttle, there are which they appear to streak from - this
so many meteors that it’s described as a is the direction in which Earth is moving
meteor shower. If you’ve seen one, you’ll through the dust trails. For example, the
know that meteor showers are among the Perseids streak across the sky from their
most spectacular sights in the night sky. ‘radiant’ in Perseus, the Leonids from Leo
There are many meteor showers each and the Geminids from Gemini.
year, some better than others. The dust left The Geminids are unique among meteor
by Swift-Tuttle forms the Perseid meteor showers. All the rest are produced by
shower, which runs from 17 July to 24 dust from comets, but the Geminids are
If you’ve seen one, you’ll know that meteor

showers are among the most spectacular
sights in the night sky
115
produced by dust left by an asteroid, 3200 to 30 metres (66 to 98 feet) in size will A meteor shower occurs
Phaethon. This goes to show that sometimes explosively fragment in the atmosphere, when Earth dances into
the lines between asteroids and comets causing an airburst like the dramatic a path of debris left
behind by a comet or
can be blurred. Astronomers have even event that occurred over the Russian city
asteroid
witnessed some asteroids in the asteroid of Chelyabinsk in 2013. This exploded 30
belt acting like comets by growing a tail. kilometres (18 miles) above the ground,
Counting meteors is scientifically and the shock wave shattered windows,
important. Differences in the speed, damaged roofs and sent 1,500 people to
direction, brightness and colour of meteors hospital with cuts from flying glass.
can tell us a lot about the nature of the The biggest meteors can actually
object that produced them. For example, reach the ground before they completely
Geminid meteors tend to move more slowly disintegrate. We call these meteorites, and
than meteors left by comets, and they over 60,000 of these have been found on
burn up at a much lower altitude, about 38 Earth. Most are chunks of rock smaller
kilometres (24 miles) above ground. than your hand, and the most common
brings back material for examination
Occasionally, a meteor entering the place to find them is in the white, icy
on Earth. But meteorites are naturally
atmosphere is a little larger than the rest. landscape of Antarctica or a barren desert.
occurring samples, bringing pieces of
Rather than just leaving the thin streak Here the charred, black rocks stand out
other celestial bodies to Earth. They’re not
of a shooting star, they are bigger and like a sore thumb. Not all meteorites come
pristine, having been blasted into space
brighter, sometimes even brighter than from asteroids - a handful come from the
- probably as the result of an impact -
Venus. These are fireballs that are burning Moon and Mars.
before being burned in the atmosphere
up lower in the atmosphere. The brightest NASA and the Japan Aerospace
and landing on the ground on Earth. But
are called bolides - if you’re lucky enough Exploration Agency (JAXA) have both
they can tell us a great deal about the
to see one, you might even see flaming launched asteroid sample-return missions,
geology and chemistry of planets and
chunks breaking off. Meteors around 20 where a craft visits a celestial body and
asteroids. There has been speculation that
some of the 277 meteorites from Mars
Asteroid types contain evidence for life in the form of

microbial fossils. This was a claim made
The differences between four main categories by NASA scientists in the 1990s after
examining a meteorite from Mars called
of these space rocks explained ALH 84001, which was found in the
Allan Hills region of Antarctica in 1984.
Unfortunately, most scientists are now
convinced that the microscopic features
are not fossils at all, or if they are then
they are fossils of microbes from Earth
that contaminated the meteorite while it
lay on the ice in Antarctica.
Meteorites can also tell scientists plenty
about the dawn of the Solar System and
C-type_^^^J M-type | V-type
the birth of Earth. This is because many
Carbonaceous Metallic Vestoid
meteorites represent debris left over
They’re so dark due This class of M-types are pure V-types have from the distant era when the planets
to their carbon- asteroids orbit the metal, or mixtures similar surface
inner asteroid belt
were forming 4.5 billion years ago. They
black surfaces that of metal and small properties to 4
even the largest and are primarily amounts of stone, Vesta, one of the are broadly split into three types: stony
require a telescope composed of stony and have largest asteroids in meteorites, iron meteorites and a mixture
to detect. They materials, metallic originated from the the Solar System. of the two. Stony meteorites, especially a
consist mostly of nickel-iron as well cores of planetary They’re not so
specific type called chondrites, make up
clay and silicate as iron and bodies that have different in
rocks and account magnesium been broken apart composition to the vast majority of meteorites and are
for more than 75 per silicates. S-types are by impacts. Most S-type, also made the same type of rock that built planets
cent of all asteroids. the second most are metallic, from stony iron and like Earth. They are very primitive,
Most of these common asteroids comprising largely chondrites, but they having never really melted, and so they
© N ASA/JPL; T h o m a s. W. E arle
ancient space rocks and are also of nickel-iron, and contain higher
preserve the chemical building blocks of
orbit in the among the brightest they are found in levels of silicon
outermost regions of - some larger the middle region aluminium oxides the planet-forming disc that surrounded
the asteroid belt. examples, such as 7 of the asteroid belt. called pyroxenes. the young Sun.
Iris, can be spotted They are a reddish The other type of stony meteorites are
with binoculars. colour.
called achondrites, and these have melted
116
Naming
Comet
2 These bodies are made of ice, rock, dust
and frozen gases. Comets have a nucleus
space rocks and show off a brilliant tail when they get
closer to the Sun. As they disintegrate, some
Depending on their size and what they’re comets leave a trail of solid debris.
made of, space rocks take on new names Meteoroid
Meteor shower
3 A small rocky or metallic body that
races through space, meteoroids are quite
1 These occur at the same time every year,

when Earth passes through a region that has a
a lot smaller than their larger cousins,
asteroids. Lumps of space rock that are
large concentration of debris shed from either even smaller than meteoroids are classified
a comet or an asteroid. From our location on as micrometeoroids,
Earth, meteors appear to originate from the or space dust
same location year after year.
Asteroid
4 Any large lump of space rock
over one metre (3.3 feet) in size is
Meteor
classed as an asteroid. They often
The streak of light that’s
pass our planet and are found
thrown out by a meteoroid or
most commonly in the asteroid
asteroid as it enters the
belt between Mars and Jupiter.
atmosphere at high speed. The
brightness comes as the rock rubs
against air particles to make
friction heating the meteor.
Fireball
This is another term for a
very bright meteor. If you ever
see a fireball streaking through
the night sky, you’ll quickly notice
its bright-white to orange hue
outshines that of the brightest
planet in the sky, Venus.
Meteorite
If a piece of anomer
celestial body survives its
passage through the
atmosphere and touches
down on the ground, we
call this piece of space
Bolide rock a meteorite. They
7 Similar to fireballs, but in this
instance their brightness is likened
can weigh in at
anything from a few
to that of a full Moon and even grams up to dozens
brighter. Bolides often explode in of tonnes.
the atmosphere.
117
Sedna
Mimas
Hyperion
Earth
Saturn
Mercury
Titan
Sun
Venus
Miranda
Arie
Umbriel
Mars
Uranus
Titania
Asteroid belt
Quaoar
Oberon
Discover some of the many dwarf planets

Celestial bodies and moons orbiting in our Solar System
Makemake Haumea Io Callisto Europa Titan

•• I .
Found around 4.2 Haumea sits in the Io is one of • the most

• •** Callisto has a Another of Jupiter’s Although the
billion miles from the Kuiper Belt and is one volcanically active circumference of 9,410 many moons, Europa structure of Titan
Sun, just outside the of the fastest rotating bodies
• • Solar
in• the ' * miles, which is almost is one of the oddest. remains unclear,
orbit of Neptune, this large objects in the System. There are as big as Mercury. Not With a surface scientists think its
dwarf planet is the •Solar System. A single hundreds of only is this moon temperature of ♦ core is made of rock
second-brightest day on Haumea is volcanoes on the impressively large, it around -160 degrees around 2,500 miles in
object in the Kuiper equivalent
* to four • moon’s surface, each has a salty secret deep Celsius, this frozen • diameter, surrounded
Belt - the first being . hours on Earth, but of them spewing lava below its icy surface. satellite bears by water ice. This
Pluto. Its discovery in due to its proximity to .dozens of miles high, Discovered in 1610, it strange streaks. satellite has a dense
2005 prompted the the Sun, one along with lakes of wasn’t until the 1990s These markings are atmosphere, which
International Haumean year is molten silicate. It’s that scientists thought to be cracks gives it its yellow hue.
Astronomical Union equal to 285 Earth thought that Jupiter’s proposed the moon in the moon’s icy . The composition of
to form a new years. This oval intense gravitational has a subsurface . surface, caused by this atmosphere is
classification of shaped dwarf plane pull is the reason for ocean about 155 miles the tidal forces of an primarily nitrogen
celestial bodies, has two moons: Jo’s explosive nature. below its surface. ocean deep • and some methane.
called dwarf planets. . Namaka and Hi’iaka.♦ beneath it.
118
Neptune Triton
flattened 80 million trees in Tunguska, a

remote region in Siberia.
These events greatly worry scientists,
Europa
who fear that one day an asteroid will
hit us that could destroy a city or send
so much dust into the air it would block
out the Sun and end life on Earth. It’s
a big concern to Queen founder and
astrophysicist Dr Brian May, who lends his
Makemake support to the Asteroid Day event to raise
Haumea
awareness about this threat: “30 June was
Ganymede the anniversary of Tunguska in 1908. Not
a huge object, but it exploded before it hit
the ground, which flattened the trees for
hundreds of miles around. Now that is a
city destroyer - the force of a thousand
- either in the impacts that blasted them atom bombs.”
off their original asteroid or when they To forewarn us, NASA’s Spaceguard
were buried deep inside a large asteroid program has found over 90 per cent of
where conditions were hot. Achondrites asteroids larger than a kilometre (0.62
are special because they tell us about the miles) that come close to Earth. These
chemical conditions within large asteroids are the real killers, like the asteroid that
and the protoplanets similar to those that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years
eventually became the true planets. ago. However, there are still millions of
Iron meteorites also come from the undiscovered asteroids out there smaller
cores of protoplanets, because that’s than 100 metres (328 feet) that could still
where all the iron sank to when they do serious damage.
formed. Iron meteorites are incredibly Astroid-surveying missions remind us
hard and dense, but only five per cent of that we still have much to do to protect
Mimas Hyperion all meteorites are of this variety. There ourselves from asteroids. Comets can also
Often called the Not all moons are are two types of stony-iron meteorites: be a danger, but because there are fewer
Death Star moon for spherical. Some, like pallasites and mesosiderites. Pallasites of them they pose less of a risk. Instead
its similarity to the Saturn’s sponge-like
are recognisable thanks to their large Earth is more likely to fly through their
space station in Star moon Hyperion, are
crystals of a green mineral called olivine. tails so we can see spectacular meteor
Wars, Mimas is one o‘f irregular and filled
Saturn’s smallest with deep caverns.
Mesosiderites are more of a jumble of showers in the sky. From shooting stars
I
moons. Its iconic • • With a lower density rock and metal, made when two asteroids to fireballs, meteors and meteorites, their a?
impact crater, named than water, this moon collide in space, with the impact fusing origins are all the same, just on vastly $
Herschel after English is made up of water different materials together. different scales.
astronomer William ice and frozen On rare occasions, a really big meteor
•Herschel, who methane or carbon will enter Earth’s atmosphere. These are Colin Stuart
discovered Mimas in
♦
dioxide. Hyperion’s sometimes big enough to blow out large Science author and speaker
1789, spans 80 miles appearance is craters or explode over towns and cities, Colin holds a degree in astrophysics,
and reaches 3.5 miles thought to be the has written over 17 books on space
causing harm. Over 100 years before the and has an asteroid named in his
high at its peak. result of its distance
Chelyabinsk meteorite, a similar airburst honour: 15347 Colinstuart.
from Saturn.
119
Where are the
biggest craters?
Earth’s largest craters are big, but these are
some of the biggest in the Solar System Mars
he largest confirmed
crater in the Solar
System is the one that
Scale
lies beneath Utopia
One centimetre is
Planitia, a huge equal to 200 kilometres
plain in the northern
hemisphere of Mars. With a diameter
of 3,300 kilometres (2,050 miles), this
huge and shallow basin must have been
created by the force of a wide impactor
and would have had a devastating effect
on Mars at the time. But the Utopia
impact happened roughly 4 billion
years ago, and later geological activity
has done a lot to hide it. The basin was
only confirmed in 2001 using satellite
-
maps of Martian topography. Far more Mars
easily identified as an impact basin is
Hellas Planitia, an oval depression in
the Red Planet’s southern hemisphere
some 2,300 kilometres (1,429 miles)
across. What’s more, these same maps
revealed that a vast swathe of the
northern hemisphere of Mars is notably
depressed and flat compared to the rest
of the planet.
Impact craters in the outer Solar
System tend to be significantly smaller,
with the largest only a few hundred
kilometres across. This may be partly
because the impacts that bombarded
Iapetus
the larger asteroids and moons were
genuinely less powerful, but it’s also for
the simple reason that smaller objects
can only withstand lesser impacts Turgis Utopia Mars1 north South Pole-
without shattering apart completely.
The asteroid Vesta, for example, is
The largest
impact crater in the
2 Planitia
The largest
polar basin
What might be the
Aitken basin
This vast crater on the
misshapen by the vast Rheasilvia crater, outer Solar System confirmed impact Solar System’s largest lunar far side extends
whose diameter of 505 kilometres (314 impact basin creates
lies on Saturn’s icy basin on Mars down to our satellite’s
miles) is a full 90 per cent of Vesta’s
moon Iapetus. At creates a huge bay a huge elliptical south pole. Despite its
ideal spherical size. Several of Saturn’s
580 kilometres (360 on the edge of the depression around size, it has never been
icy moons display craters with 30 to
miles) across, its southern highland the Martian north flooded with volcanic
40 per cent of their diameter, and
diameter is 40 per terrain and contains pole that’s partially lava, so it retains its
their creation must have come close to
cent that of the landing site of obscured by volcanic original depth.
breaking them up.
Iapetus itself. NASA’s Viking 2. rises.
Mercury
The Moon
Mercury
The Moon
Vesta
ft Expert:
■ Robin Hague
Robin is a science writer, focusing on
space and physics. He is head of launch
at Skyrora, coordinating launch
opportunities for Skyrora’s vehicles. The Moon
Procellarum Imbrium basin Caloris basin Rembrandt Hellas Planitia Rheasilvia

basin The Imbrium Mercury’s biggest This sharply Mars’ most This
This enormous basin is the second- crater. Shock waves defined basin is the obvious impact enormous dent in
suspected basin is largest lunar impact from its formation second largest on crater, the Hellas the south pole of
filled by Oceanus crater and the only spread either side of Mercury. It’s roughly basin is a deep Vesta changes the
Procellarum, a lunar one to have been the planet, creating a 3.9 billion years old depression in the shape of the entire
ocean that precisely dated. Rock jumble of chaotic and was discovered planet’s southern asteroid. Rheasilvia
dominates the samples suggest it terrain where they by NASA’s highlands. Red dust is the largest impact
Moon’s western formed nearly 4 met up again on the MESSENGER probe blown from around crater relative to its
ESA
© N ASA;
hemisphere as billion years ago. far side of Mercury. during a 2008 flyby. the planet parent body in the
seen from Earth. accumulates here. entire Solar System.
121
>1! SYSTEM
Alien Storms
Discover incredible weather on other worlds
and what causes it
122
123
©Tobias Roetsch
Our angry,
stormy Sun
Is our Sun becoming
more deadly?
e know our Sun as
w a brilliantly bright
sphere that rises
in the east and sets
in the west each
day. That’s a simple
way to describe it; what really occurs on its The Sun’s surface is a
surface is far from the impression it gives as hive of constant and
violent solar activity
it hangs, almost calmly, in the daytime sky.
While going near the Sun would
be suicide, with the searing heat and When a CME strikes the Earth’s as far south as Spain or even, on very rare
penetrating radiation combining to fry magnetosphere, it overloads the system occasions, Florida in the United States. The
you alive in your spacesuit, technology has and becomes a geomagnetic storm. Earth’s most severe solar storm on record was the
revealed this star to be an angry, bubbling magnetosphere is compressed to breaking Carrington event of 1859, when auroras lit
cauldron of solar activity. point with charged particles flooding up the skies as far south as the tropics and
First up are solar flares - bursts of the magnetic field fines that loop down telegraph wires began to short, sparking
radiation from the sudden release of on to the magnetic poles of the planet. electricity.
magnetic energy from active regions on The particles excite atmospheric gases Those telegraph wires remind us that
the Sun’s surface, the photosphere. These (mainly oxygen and nitrogen), causing auroras are only the pretty side of a
regions are centred on sunspots, which are them to glow in eerie shimmering curtains geomagnetic storm. Although they are not
tangled knots of magnetic fields. The flares of fight - the aurora borealis (northern directly harmful to people on the ground,
release as much as a sixth of the total lights) and the aurora australis (southern a storm instigated by a powerful CME can
amount of energy that the Sun releases lights). Oxygen gas glows green, while destroy our technology. Satellites can short-
every second, with much of it in X-rays or nitrogen glows purplish-red - the two circuit, knocking out communications.
ultraviolet light. The energy of a flare can primary colours seen in auroras. Usually, Astronauts must shelter from radiation in
drive a cloud of charged particles to escape low-level solar wind activity means that a shielded room on board the International
the solar corona in a coronal mass ejection the ‘auroral arc’ is kept, in the northern Space Station. On the ground, power lines
(CME). The CME becomes a giant cloud of hemisphere, to the Arctic Circle, but the can be swamped by raw current from
plasma hurtling through space and, when power of a geomagnetic storm can see the CME plasma - in 1989, a solar storm
CMEs are pointed towards Earth, they the auroral arc extend to more southerly caused a nine-hour blackout in Quebec
cause solar storms. latitudes over Britain and western Europe, in Canada. In our modern world, the
Solar wind current

Surface of Corona Rotation Jupiter
1 the Sun
As the solar wind
2 In the corona, the
solar wind begins to
3 As the Sun
rotates, it causes
4 Material in
the heliospheric
rises it simplifies draw out the the heliospheric current sheet takes
until it consists of two heliospheric current current sheet to three weeks to reach
polarities separated sheet into space, become twisted. Jupiter. The sheet
by the line of the extending the Sun’s extends into the Kuiper
heliospheric atmosphere out into the belt, where Voyager
current sheet. rest of the Solar System. is exploring.
©NASA
124
nightmare scenario is that a powerful
How solar enough solar storm could stop everything
radiation working, wiping computers, crashing the
internet, knocking out power systems and
storms are disrupting communications. The world
classified would be sent into technological, social
Minor and economic chaos.
We’re most vulnerable to solar storms
50 per 11-year solar
cycle at solar maximum, the point in the Sun’s
A minor solar radiation storm
11-year cycle of activity when our nearest
causes minimal impact on star is most active. Solar flares happen all
A solar prominence is an eruption of hydrogen
high-frequency (HF) radio in the the time, and CMEs strike Earth frequently, gas from the Sun’s surface
polar regions, but otherwise
causes no damaging effects.
but rarely are they as powerful as the solar
activity that plunged Quebec into darkness. times further from the Sun than Earth is,
Moderate However, scientists are currently unable to yet it has still to leave the heliosphere.
25 per cycle predict solar activity or when the next big CMEs disperse and lose power the deeper
A moderate storm affects CME will be. they get into the Solar System. However,
navigation at the polar caps and All of this takes place in the Sun’s solar activity can still have an effect,
may, in rare instances, cause
heliosphere, which is the extent of its even on the edge of the heliosphere. Both
problems in satellites, but poses
no threat to humans. magnetic influence throughout the Solar Voyager 1 and 2 have experienced the
System, where the solar wind still blows. heliosphere swelling and shrinking on
Strong
The heliosphere goes out past the orbit gusts of the solar wind that inflate the
10 per cycle of Pluto. The Voyager 1 spacecraft is 118 Solar System’s magnetic bubble.
During a strong storm, astronauts
are advised to seek shelter, while
satellites could lose power and
instrument usage. HF radio will
degrade at the poles.
How can a spacecraft help?
Severe How ESA’s bold proposal would help predict incoming solar weather
3 per cycle
Astronauts and passengers on
planes may be exposed to
As the Sun 2L1 Ll sees solar 3
Incoming
particles 4
Advanced
warning L5 is about 60°
radiation, while satellites could rotates, a coronal weather at the L5 could give us Ships at L5 would behind Earth. A
experience orientation problems. mass ejection same time as more accurate see the Sun up to probe here can
HF radio blacks out at the poles. five days before it
(CME) or solar flare Earth, so doesn’t information on judge the speed
can come into give the same particles heading rotates into view of of solar ejections
Extreme
view. advance warning. for Earth. feqrth. heading to Earth.
Less than 1 per cycle
Astronauts and aeroplane
passengers exposed to high
radiation. Satellites may be
rendered useless. HF
communications black out in
polar regions.
The aurora borealis (northern

lights) and aurora australis
(southern lights) can be seen in
the northern and southern
hemispheres of our planet
125
Dust storms that cover the planet

How solar heating drives up immense storms on the Red Planet
ow, this is really bad weather - a
dust storm that doesn’t just cover
an area, or a hemisphere, but the
entire planet. During summer in the
Red Planet’s southern hemisphere,
when Mars is at its closest point
to the Sun, solar heating can drive immense storms
that blow up red dust and can obscure the surface for
months. In 1971, when Mariner 9 arrived on Mars, it
found the whole planet hidden under a veil of dust,
with only the volcano Olympus Mons visible. More
recently, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and
Opportunity would struggle to survive in dust storms
as the Sun’s light was blocked and their solar panels
covered by a coating of dust.
On Earth, moisture arms swirling storms, but on
Mars there is only dust. Normally most of the dust is
on the ground, but some is found in the atmosphere,
where it scatters sunlight and makes the sky appear
pinky-red. When Mars is at its hottest - still cold
enough to freeze water - the atmospheric dust can How do dust storms form?
absorb the energy of the sunlight, which causes warm
pockets of air to rapidly move towards colder, low- Heating up the Picking up The storm
pressure regions, generating winds of up to 45 metres
per second (162 kilometres per hour or 100 miles per
atmosphere
The absence of
2 the dust
As the atmosphere is
3 begins
The change in
hour) that begin to pick up dust particles from the clouds or water heated, dust is lifted temperature creates
ground, adding to the atmospheric dust content and means radiation into the air and, after winds, swirling at
increasing heating, pushing the winds harder and cannot be reflected absorbing more great speeds of 96 to
faster until the atmosphere is filled by dust. back into space, and sunlight, the dust 193km/h (60 to
And then, just as quickly, the storm can die down. the thin atmosphere warms up the 120mph), capable
Perhaps by blocking the sunlight, the surface of Mars close to Mars’s atmosphere further, of dominating the
grows cooler, allowing some of the dust to begin surface becomes propelling more dust entire planet.
sinking out of the atmosphere. Not all dust storms hotter than the into the air.
swallow the entire planet - some are more localised. atmosphere
However, were you to be on the surface during a above it.
dust storm, other than the sky darkening and a fine
coating of dust settling over you, the atmosphere is
so thin that you’d barely notice the wind or the
scouring dust.
Kicking up dust Hurricanes
1
Desert dust
The dust storms that
frequently rise from the cold
bigger than Earth
deserts of Mars, sometimes
How did the Great Red Spot appear on Jupiter’s surface?
rage across the entire Martian
asily one of the most The answer is not clear, despite the
globe, which crackle and snap
famous storms in the Solar efforts of scientists. However, experts do
with electricity.
System, Jupiter’s Great theorise that the storm is driven by an
Electrifying dust Red Spot is so large that internal heat source, and it absorbs smaller
2 It is possible that dust
particles could be electrified in
it is visible through many
Earth-based telescopes.
storms that fall into its path. Another thing
they know is that the Great Red Spot hasn’t
Martian dust storms when they The Great Red Spot is thought to have always been its current diameter. In 2004,
rub against each other as they been in existence for at least 340 years. astronomers noticed that it had around half
are carried by the winds, The oval red eye rotates anticlockwise the 40,000-kilometre (25,000-mile) diameter
transferring positive (+) and due to the planet’s crushing high pressure. it had around 100 years before. If the Great
negative (-) electric charges. Winds can reach over 400 kilometres per Red Spot continues to downsize at this
hour (250 miles per hour) around the spot. rate, it could morph from an oval shape
Strong swirls However, inside the storm they seem to into a more circular storm by 2040. You
3 Electric fields generated by
dust are thought to be strong
be nearly non-existent. And that’s not all;
this complicated weather system has an
might think this well-known feature won’t
be sticking around for long as it becomes
enough to break apart carbon average temperature of about -162 degrees smaller, but experts believe it’s here to stay
dioxide and water molecules in Celsius (-260 degrees Fahrenheit). since it is strongly powered by numerous
the Martian atmosphere, At around eight kilometres (five miles) other phenomena in the atmosphere.
recombining to make reactive above the surrounding clouds and held in Storms like these are not out of place
chemicals like hydrogen place by an eastward jet stream to its south on Jupiter, whose atmosphere is a zigzag
peroxide, which you’ll find in and a strong westward jet flowing into its pattern of 12 jet streams, with blemishes of
bleach and ozone. north, the Great Red Spot has travelled warmer brown and cooler white ovals in
several times around Jupiter, but how did it the atmosphere owed to storms as young
appear on the gas giant’s surface? as a few hours or centuries old.
The science of the Great Red Spot

A constant twirl
Hot gases in the
atmosphere constantly
rise and fall.
through the atmosphere.

Coriolis makes the area
whirl, creating eddies.
merging eddies
Eddies move around and
merge, creating more
powerful storms.
High wind speeds

4 Winds of the Great
Red Spot can reach over
400km/h (250mph).
127
The violent
polar vortex
How Saturn’s polar storms create a warm
spot on the planet’s surface
n the outside, Saturn second fastest in the Solar System, after ice
almost looks like a giant Neptune, peaking at an impressive
calm, bland world, but 1,800 kilometres per hour (1,120 miles per
once in a while, huge hour) and blowing in an easterly direction.
storms flare up on the Temperatures on Saturn are normally
planet. From the short recorded at around -185 degrees Celsius
lived Great White Spot of 1990 to the more (-300 degrees Fahrenheit), but near the
recent storm of 2010, which grew into an giant swirling polar vortex - a persistent
atmospheric belt covering around 4 billion cyclone taking pride of place at the ringed Around once every Saturn year (roughly 30 Earth
years), huge, storms work their way through the
square kilometres (1.5 billion square miles), planet’s south pole - temperatures start to
clouds of the northern hemisphere. The storm
Saturn has proven to be a turbulent world. warm up, and while the climate doesn’t pictured here, which was imaged in 2011, is the
What’s more, the storms on Saturn are the reach high enough to get a suntan, this longest storm to date, lasting roughly 200 days
Counterclockwise swirl
1 This storm angrily swirls in an
anticlockwise direction, rotating
with a period of nearly 11 hours.
Monstrous size
2 Not only is this storm violent, it
is also argued to be an
estimated 4,000km (2,500 miles)
wide - roughly the distance
between New York and Los
Angeles!
Rolling cloud formation

3 The bubbling of frothy clouds
sit at the centre of Saturn’s famed
northern vortex, a hexagonal
shaped feature characteristic of
the planet’s two poles.
Fast and furious

4 This swirling vortex, located
above Saturn’s north pole at the
centre of a jet stream, whips
around at a speed of 480km/h
(300mph) and is believed to be
at least 30 years old.
128
-122 degrees Celsius (-188 degrees
Fahrenheit) vortex is the warmest spot
on Saturn, with a powerful jet stream
smashing its way through this terrifyingly
Deadly
fierce feature.
Saturn’s north pole also has a giant storm
methane rain
of its own surrounded by a persistent Liquid methane rains down on the surface
hexagonal cloud pattern. Spotted in 1980
of Saturn’s largest moon
and 1981 during the Voyager 1 and Voyager
w
2 flybys, Saturn’s hexagon, complete ith a surface pressure almost one
with six clear and fairly straight sides, is and a half times that of Earth’s,
estimated to have a diameter wider than Titan’s atmosphere is slightly
two Earths. The entire structure rotates more massive than our planet’s
almost every 11 hours. overall, taking on an almost
Sighted more closely by NASA’s Cassini chokingly opaque haze of orange
spacecraft in 2009 as spring fell on the layers that block out any light that tries to penetrate the
ringed giant’s northern hemisphere, experts Saturnian moon’s thick cover.
believe the storm could have been raging Titan is the only world, other than Earth, where liquid rains on a solid
for 30 years, whipping around at over 480 surface. However, rather than the water that we are used to falling from
kilometres per hour (300 miles per hour) in the skies above us, pooling into puddles and flowing as streams and
a counterclockwise direction and disturbing rivers, this moon’s rains fall as liquid methane - liquid hydrocarbons
frothy white clouds in its wake. that add more fluid to the many lakes and oceans that already cover the
surface. It is thanks to the moon’s complex methane cycle, similar to the
natural processes found on Earth, that this is possible.
Rain falls quite frequently on Earth. However, the same can’t be said
for some regions on Titan. Spring brings rain clouds and showers to
Titan’s desert with the moon only experiencing rainfall around once
every 1,000 years on its arid equator. However, these rain showers
certainly make up for the lack of activity by dumping tens of centimetres
or even metres of methane rain on to the Titanian surface.
At the poles of the moon
it’s a completely different
story, however. Methane
“Titan is the only
rain falls much more world other than
frequently, replenishing |
the lakes of,organic liquid
Earth where it rains
I
covering the Titanian land. on a solid surface
© N ASA; G e tty ;
129
Winds at twice the speed of sound

Are Neptune’s freezing temperatures responsible for the planet’s incredible storms?
w
e’ve all witnessed can reach maximum speeds of around So what causes these winds? Neptune
strong winds here 2,400 kilometres per hour (1,500 miles per might be extremely frosty, but astronomers
on Earth, from hour), making this dark horse probably the think that the freezing temperatures might
gusts that turn your most violently stormy world in the Solar be responsible; decreasing friction in the
umbrella inside out System, and making our most powerful gas giant to the point where there’s no
to tornadoes that rip winds look like light breezes. stopping those super-fast winds once they
up everything in their path. You might think Neptune’s fastest storms take the form get going.
these winds are a force to be reckoned of dark spots, such as the anticyclonic Delving into its layers of gas, we find
with, but unless you’ve had a day floating Great Dark Spot in the planet’s southern another possibility pointing to just how these
around the gaseous atmosphere of ice giant hemisphere and the Small Dark Spot active storms came about as the temperature
Neptime, you haven’t seen anything yet! further south - thought to be vortex starts to rise. As things get more snug closer
You might think that Neptune’s distance structures due to their stable features that to the centre, the internal energy could be
from the Sun, which creates temperatures can persist for several months - as well as just what is driving the most violent storms
as low as -218 degrees Celsius (-360 the white cloud group, Scooter. that we’ve ever witnessed.
degrees Fahrenheit), would mean a world
frozen solid by the sub-zero climate with
Long clouds on
not much going on in terms of weather. “Neptune’s fastest Neptune’s surface
However, you would be incorrect. The are similar to cirrus
winds that race through its hydrogen,

storms take the form clouds on Earth
helium and ammonia-laden atmosphere of dark spots”
Neptune’s
atmosphere
A stormy surface
1 Storms on the surface appear
in the form of blemishes.
Great Dark Spot

2 This anticyclonic storm
was replaced by a similar
feature called the Northern
Great Dark Spot.
Clouds and storms

3 The cyclonic storms are
thought to occur in the
troposphere at low altitudes
compared to the brighter white
clouds.
Small Dark Spot

4 This storm, also called The
Wizard’s Eye, is the second most
violent storm on Neptune. Just
like the Great Dark Spot, the
Hubble Space Telescope found
that this cyclone had
©NASA
disappeared in 1994.
130
UNDERSTANDING
THE SOLAR
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25 unbelievable How the planets

The swelling Sun

22 things you didn’t

What are planets

Guide to the Moon

Does Earth have a

120 Where are the

122 Alien storms

weather on other worlds

The Solar System

The Moon is both mind- The Sun’s

5 winds that could harbour life

lasted a few minutes, or at most a few detected phosphine, a possible sign of

Mars’ biggest volcano

The storm has been a raging

R’n9s are more common

26P/G-S Itokawa 21P/G-Z

Y'Q. Most comets

‘Several teams are now on the search for

Other elements &

News from the Sun

Studying the solar wind

Detecting solar flares in

The shape of the Sun

Mission: Deep Space

believe that further studies of exoplanets

ercury is the smallest when an asteroid about 100 kilometres

M the Solar System and

The. surface of Mercury

water, nitrogen, xenon, krypton, neon,

News from Mercury

Insulating iron sulphide

Searching for water ice

Date: 20 October 2018 On Mercury’s nightside There was likely

Date: 15 October 2020

Date: 10 August 2021

Date: 1 October 2021

Date: 9 January 2025

Date: 5 December 2025

Exploring the past and future

Earth’s sister planet is an intriguing and mysterious

Venus has a rich history

Transits are very rare Clouds

a Venus is one of two planets

themselves between Earth and

Faster Improved Head in the Easier to The power Removing

“Conditions on Venus that

degrees Fahrenheit) and pressures would be

Researchers want to understand every planet in the Solar

Seen from above Stationary Indirect surface Never-ending The mystery of

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