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On Thursday, February 19, Mercury reaches its longest elongation east!
This makes this week a great time to try spotting the planet in the evening sky! At its longest elongation, Mercury appears furthest from the Sun in our sky, meaning less interference from sunlight and a better chance to observe the planet shortly after sunset, low on the western horizon.
Clear skies and happy observing!
Image Credit: NASA
#Mercury #Observing #NightSky #Stargazing #SolarSystem #SpaceScienceSaturday #YorkUObservatory #Astronomer #Telescope #AICO #Physics #Astronomy #AllanICarswellObservatory #Science #SpaceExploration #Research #ScienceOutreach

2026-02-14 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-02-07)

NEPTUNE
- Distance (km): 4,591,104,461.93 km (+11,330,532.33 km)
- Distance (AU): 30.69 (+0.08)
- Light travel time: 4 h 15 min 14.28 s (+37.79 s)
- Orbital speed: 5.47 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Crescents of Neptune and Triton
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Neptune #Space #SolarSystem

This dramatic view of the crescents of Neptune and Triton was acquired by Voyager 2 approximately 3 days, 6 and one-half hours after its closest approach to Neptune north is to the right.

THE WEEKLY SPIN
07/2026

#SolarSystem #OrbitalMechanics #Earth #Moon #Mars

Has Jupiter been hitting the treadmill? The biggest planet in our Solar System just got a little smaller, thanks to — not a cardio routine — but more precise measuring. Read more from @ScienceAlert:

https://flip.it/2NYgaG

#Science #Space #Jupiter #ScienceNews #SolarSystem

Unique 'inside out' planetary system reveals rocky outer world https://phys.org/news/2026-02-unique-planetary-reveals-rocky-outer.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #Space #Science #SolarSystem

If the Winter Olympics went interplanetary, where else could you ski in the solar system?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.space.com/astronomy/solar-system/if-the-winter-olympics-went-interplanetary-where-else-could-you-ski-in-the-solar-system

We take a look at the best (and worst) places to ski in the solar system, logistics aside.

2026-02-13 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-02-06)

URANUS
- Distance (km): 2,903,821,149.20 km (+17,724,587.86 km)
- Distance (AU): 19.41 (+0.12)
- Light travel time: 2 h 41 min 26.10 s (+59.12 s)
- Orbital speed: 6.71 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Uranus Atmosphere
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Uranus #Space #SolarSystem

A latitude-longitude grid superimposed on this false color image obtained by NASA Voyager 2 in 1986 shows that Uranus atmosphere circulates in the same direction as the planet rotates.

Winterzauber im EUROPA-PARK | ACSOLAR #027

https://makertube.net/w/r822CBxh48nEz7uZ5Qc4q6

I would have been surprised if there hadn't been any life on #Planet #Mars ever. I’m a firm believer that there once was life on Mars.

https://www.heise.de/en/news/Too-much-for-non-biological-source-Substances-found-on-Mars-point-to-life-11174726.html

#PlanetaryScience #SolarSystem

Unseen planet or brown dwarf may have hidden 'rare' fading star https://phys.org/news/2026-02-unseen-planet-brown-dwarf-hidden.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #Space #Science #SolarSystem

Can a nonprofit help protect Earth from dangerous asteroids? How the B612 Foundation has taken on the challenge

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/can-a-nonprofit-help-protect-earth-from-dangerous-asteroids-how-the-b612-foundation-has-taken-on-the-challenge

An artist's illustration of asteroids headed toward Earth.

2026-02-12 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-02-05)

SATURN
- Distance (km): 1,538,633,876.93 km (+10,969,054.04 km)
- Distance (AU): 10.29 (+0.07)
- Light travel time: 1 h 25 min 32.33 s (+36.59 s)
- Orbital speed: 9.68 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: The Rose
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

#Saturn #Space #SolarSystem

The spinning vortex of Saturn north polar storm resembles a deep red rose of giant proportions surrounded by green foliage in this false-color image from NASA Cassini spacecraft.

China aces test of next-gen lunar capsule and rocket in effort to land humans on moon before NASA (video)

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/chinas-next-gen-capsule-rocket-for-crewed-moon-missions-ace-key-test-video

China's Mengzhou crew capsule aced a key abort test on Feb. 10, 2026. The Long March 10 rocket that launched the test successfully steered itself to an ocean splashdown as well.

Asteroid samples NASA brought to Earth suggest life's building blocks may be widespread in the universe

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/asteroid-bennu-samples-nasa-transported-to-earth-reveal-lifes-building-blocks-could-be-pretty-widespread

An artist's impression of OSIRIS-REx above the surface of Bennu.

⏱️Einstein was right: Time ticks faster on Mars, posing new Challenges for Future Missions.

Scientists have found that time moves slightly faster on the Red Planet than it does on Earth. Clocks on Mars tick, on average, 0.477 milliseconds [477 microseconds] faster over 24 hours when measured from Earth compared with time recorded on our planet, a new study finds. Knowing this difference may help in establishing an "internet" across the solar system.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0c16

#earth #mars #time #study #einstein #theory #space #science #media #solarsystem #physics #tech #news

[ImageSource: NASA/JPL]

A gravity map of Mars taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor [MGS]. For the new study, researchers had to find a region of Mars akin to Earth's sea level, then compare the gravity and velocity of the region with Earth.

👾First, they chose a reference level on Mars — an equivalent to Earth's sea level called the areoid. Then, they used physics-based formulas to calculate how, at the areoid, Mars' and Earth's gravities and velocities would influence Martian time. Although Mars' slower orbital speed relative to Earth slows down Mars-based clocks, the planet's weaker surface gravity [five times lesser at the areoid than Earth's sea-level gravity] speeds them up much more.👾

But this analysis neglected the orbits' shapes. Mars' orbit is more egg-shaped than Earth's, having been contorted by the gravitational tugs of Earth and its moon. [Mars' moons, Deimos and Phobos, have a negligible impact, because of their puny size. They're just a few miles wide, compared with 2,159 miles, or 3,475 kilometers, for Earth's moon.] So, the researchers factored Mars' orbital shape, the sun's gravity and Earth moon's gravity into their equations.

⁉️Setting clocks on Mars⁉️

The analysis showed that Martian clocks tick faster, when measured from Earth, than Earth-based ones by an average of 477 microseconds per Earth day.

Uranus' moon "Miranda" likely has an ocean and possibly life https://www.earth.com/news/uranus-moon-miranda-may-have-hidden-ocean-possibly-extraterrestrial-life/ 🪐 #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Could the remains of a 'dead' comet still be in the solar system? Astronomers are still searching 6 years later

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/could-the-remains-of-a-dead-comet-still-be-in-the-solar-system-astronomers-are-still-searching-6-years-later

A Hubble Space Telescope image of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)taken on April 23, 2020 as the comet disintegrated.

2026-02-11 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-02-04)

JUPITER
- Distance (km): 658,240,628.24 km (+9,252,229.09 km)
- Distance (AU): 4.40 (+0.06)
- Light travel time: 36 min 35.65 s (+30.86 s)
- Orbital speed: 13.00 km/s (-0.01 km/s)

Image: Juno SRU and MWR Coverage (Artist's Concept)
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI

#Jupiter #Space #SolarSystem