Small Bodies of the Solar System

Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
For the first time, scientists used the joint power of NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to study some of the most far-flung bodies in our solar system, Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). Some of these are the smallest and faintest ever directly seen. The researchers unexpectedly found fewer small TNOs than they expected, and that […]
Posted September 8, 2026
Astrophysics
Comets
Goddard Space Flight Center
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Science & Research
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
The Universe
As interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began moving away from the Sun in December 2025, astronomers took the opportunity to turn NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope in its direction and capture detailed measurements of its chemical components. The comet was freshly warmed from its closest pass by the Sun, and its ancient ice had been converted […]
Posted June 22, 2026
Astrophysics Division
Comets
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Planetary Science
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that the spinning of a small comet slowed and then reversed its direction of rotation, offering a dramatic example of how volatile activity can affect the spin and physical evolution of small bodies in the solar system. This is the first time researchers have observed evidence […]
Posted March 26, 2026
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Comets
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
In a happy twist of fate, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope just witnessed a comet in the act of breaking apart. The chance of that happening while Hubble watched is extraordinarily minuscule. The findings published Wednesday in the journal Icarus. The comet K1, whose full name is C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)—not to be confused with interstellar comet […]
Posted March 18, 2026
Vesta
Dawn
Earth's Moon
GRAIL (Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Planetary Science
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
Analyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface. Although the Moon and the asteroid Vesta are very different, two NASA studies use the same technique to reveal new details about the interiors of both.
Posted May 14, 2025
Europa Clipper
Europa
General
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jupiter Moons
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
To explore the mysterious ice-encrusted moon Europa, the mission will need to endure bombardment by radiation and high-energy particles surrounding Jupiter.
Posted October 24, 2023
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