The International Astronomical Union (IAU) currently recognizes five dwarf planets in our solar system, though there are likely many more. The most famous of the bunch is Pluto, way out beyond the ...

Aliens may have lived in our solar system, according to new research. NASA scientists have unveiled evidence that the dwarf ...

When NASA’s Dawn spacecraft arrived at Ceres, scientists expected to find a cold, inactive relic of the early solar system. Instead, they were confronted with bright white patches, strange mountains, ...

How do you build a planet, let alone one capable of sustaining and evolving life? The clues to the “recipe” can perhaps be found in the leftovers scattered around our solar system. Things like ...

Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, has long perplexed planetary scientists. Once considered a planet, then an asteroid, and now officially classified as a dwarf ...

On March 29, 1807, the German astronomer Heinrich Olbers discovered the asteroid Vesta. Vesta is the second-largest body in the asteroid belt and is surpassed in size only by the dwarf planet Ceres.

Astronomers have long been intrigued by the makeup of the asteroid belt’s largest body. When it was first spotted in 1801, Ceres appeared dry and rocky, its surface marked by craters and dents. For ...

Dwarf planet Ceres now appears less like a dead rock and more like a world that may have briefly brimmed with potential for life When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...

Not long ago, the idea of mining in space sounded like something out of a sci-fi novel. But today, it’s a field that scientists and engineers are seriously exploring. Why? Because tucked away in our ...

Geologic map of the asteroid belt. Circles identify the asteroid families from which our meteorites originate and letters mark the corresponding meteorite type. The horizontal axis ranges from short ...