Planetary Science TWDK Planetary Science (Planetology) doodle by Giles Meakin

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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JWST Scans an Ultra-Hot Jupiter’s Atmosphere
1st June, 2023
Astronomers have been obsessed with WASP-18 b since it's discovery in 2009. Now the JWST's NIRISS instrument is feeding that obsession.
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Announcing a New Podcast: DoveTale
1st June, 2023
Science and technology alone cannot solve climate change. The DoveTale podcast explores the interconnecting ethical, spiritual, psychological, moral, artistic, and historical dimensions of on-the-ground climate action.
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Astronomers see 6,000-mile water vapour plume blasting from Saturn moon
30th May, 2023
‘Extraordinary’ sighting may open window on possibility of life beneath Enceladus’s icy outer crust
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Juice is Fully Deployed. It’s Now in its Final Form, Ready to Meet Jupiter’s Moons in 2031
27th May, 2023
Launched on April 14, 2023, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice; formerly known as JUICE) spacecraft has finally completed the unfurling of its solar panel arrays and plethora of booms, probes, and antennae while en route to the solar system’s largest planet. However, Juice’s first six weeks in space haven’t been … Continue reading "Juice is Fully Dep…

Our latest planetology articles

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Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars
Mars. An alien landscape. But could it – does it – or has it ever supported life?
Image credit: ©via Wikipedia Commons
Lightning
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.
Image credit: ©Courtesy: The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPECHE
Geoengineering
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?
Image credit: ©Photo: R Fletcher-Wood, Artist: Jason Heppenstall
Ambient chemistry
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.
Image credit: ©Photo by Crisco 1492 [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia
Volcanoes
Volcanic eruptions can be hugely devastating events, wiping out towns and villages in the wake of the magma flows or ash clouds.

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Our latest planetology blog posts

Our blog posts focus on a specialist topic.
Many are written by scientists about their ongoing research, others by the TWDK team.

TWDK red science flask
TWDK red science flask
Is there a ninth planet in our Solar System?
Thursday 22nd of September 2016
TWDK red science flask
How were Mars’ moons formed?
Friday 1st of July 2016
TWDK red science flask
100,000 Years Later
Saturday 6th of February 2016
TWDK red science flask
Location, Location, Location
Monday 21st of September 2015
TWDK red science flask
Collapsing Ice Shelves
Friday 5th of December 2014
More blog posts about planetology...

Delve deeper into Planetology

Can't find what you're looking for? Browse the branches of planetology that interest you most.

TWDK magnifying glassAtmospheric Science is a catch-all term for the study of planetary atmospheres, including the climate and weather.

TWDK magnifying glassExoplanetology is the study of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun.

TWDK magnifying glassGeochemistry is the use of Chemistry to study the composition and mechanisms of major geological systems such as Earth.

TWDK magnifying glassGeology is the study of terrestrial structures and the processes acting upon them.

TWDK magnifying glassGeophysics refers to the study of the physics of the Earth and its environment in space, including its gravitational and magnetic fields, and its atmosphere.

TWDK magnifying glassHydrology is the study of water in the environment.

TWDK magnifying glassPlanetary Astronomy is the study of planets, moons, and planetary systems through measurements taken from afar.

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