Planetary Science, or Planetology, is a rapidly growing branch of science which describes the study of planets, celestial objects that are like planets, and anything which affects their shape, composition, appearance, or behaviour. As the study of planets includes the study of their structure and composition, atmosphere and climate cycles, their natural satellites and their interactions and relations with them and their star, planetary science overlaps greatly with some of the more traditional scientific disciplines.
The planet we know best is, of course, the one we are living on. Other planets can be studied remotely, using telescopes to observe them from a distance, while Space agencies around the world send robotic spacecraft to orbit, fly past or land on our planetary neighbours, and a dozen men have visited the moon.
We've published 15 articles and 22 specialist blog posts about planetology so far, featuring 179 unanswered planetology questions! But we're not done yet as we still have another 80 planetology research areas in our database to write about, so come back soon!
Recent Planetology News
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Starlink on Mars? NASA Is Paying SpaceX to Look Into the Idea
4th May, 2024
NASA has given the go-ahead for SpaceX to work out a plan to adapt its Starlink broadband internet satellites for use in a Mars network.
Rising Wheat Prices and Unprecedented Demonstrations: Pakistani Protestors Demand Autonomy
3rd May, 2024
Since January, thousands of protestors in Gilgit-Baltistan, a glaciated region of northern Pakistan, have been demanding a restoration of a recently revoked wheat subsidy in a push for political autonomy and economic justice.
We don’t know what causes lightning, how much of it there is, nor how to predict it. As global temperatures increase, so does lightning; as lightning increases, so do global temperatures. Its impact on atmospheric chemistry is still being explored.
Geoengineering the climate would mean venturing into new technology with huge consequences. But what might those consequences be and is there an alternative solution to anthropogenic climate change?
Chemists are exploring ways to mimic nature’s selective, low-temperature biochemical reactions that make delicate and reactive structures. Previously, chemists had copied high temperature geological reactions.
The search for alien life catches many people's imagination and has always been a very public branch of science. So with all this investigation, why has our search revealed nothing? Are we truly alone in the Universe?
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It’s been observed since Babylonian times, yet we know little about what goes on inside this giant red planet.
Can't find what you're looking for? Browse the branches of planetology that interest you most.
Atmospheric Science is a catch-all term for the study of planetary atmospheres, including the climate and weather.
Exoplanetology is the study of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun.
Geochemistry is the use of Chemistry to study the composition and mechanisms of major geological systems such as Earth.
Geology is the study of terrestrial structures and the processes acting upon them.
Geophysics refers to the study of the physics of the Earth and its environment in space, including its gravitational and magnetic fields, and its atmosphere.
Hydrology is the study of water in the environment.
Planetary Astronomy is the study of planets, moons, and planetary systems through measurements taken from afar.
![Image credit: ©Photo by Crisco 1492 [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia](https://www.thingswedontknow.com/img/sci/640px-mount_merapi_in_2014.jpg "Volcanoes")
Atmospheric Science is a catch-all term for the study of planetary atmospheres, including the climate and weather.
