NASA Solar System
@NASASolarSystem

Join us as we explore the worlds of our solar system.

 Milky Way Galaxy
science.nasa.gov/solar-syste…
Joined June 2008
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NASA Solar System retweeted
NASA Goddard
@NASAGoddard
5h
Get ready to wave to an asteroid 👋🪨 In 2029, asteroid Apophis will swing by Earth, passing safely about 20,000 miles from the surface. The OSIRIS-APEX mission will meet up with the asteroid shortly after, to map the surface and study its chemical makeup.
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NASA Solar System retweeted
NASA Moon Base
@NASAMoonBase
9h
The seasons are changing, and the Harvest Moon is here. 🌕🍂 This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the fall equinox. Watch for it rising in the east after sunset on Saturday.
The Worm Moon rises over New Orleans on the evening of March 13, 2025. The full Moon glows against a deep blue sky, framed by dark, out-of-focus tree branches in the foreground. Credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon

ALT The Worm Moon rises over New Orleans on the evening of March 13, 2025. The full Moon glows against a deep blue sky, framed by dark, out-of-focus tree branches in the foreground. Credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon

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Replying to @Solvent_IC
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See what the asteroid samples have revealed so far, and learn more about OSIRIS-APEX, the follow-on to OSIRIS-REx, which will study the asteroid Apophis after its rare close encounter with Earth in 2029. science.nasa.gov/mission/osi…

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission to Asteroid Bennu

OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to collect an asteroid sample in 2020, delivered the sample to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023.

science.nasa.gov
NASA History Office
@NASAhistory
Sep 24
Stuck the landing! Three years ago today, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft released a sample capsule at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere to land perfectly upright in the Utah desert. The capsule held a record amount of pristinely captured rocks and dust from asteroid Bennu. Scientists have studied the extraterrestrial sample, learning it contains all the ingredients key to life.
A black, cone-shaped spacecraft reentry capsule sits upright, with its pointed end stuck slightly into the wet sand of a desert plain dotted with low green shrubs. Pale mountains rise in the distance beneath a clear blue sky. The capsule appears intact after landing, standing out against the light-colored, sandy terrain.

ALT A black, cone-shaped spacecraft reentry capsule sits upright, with its pointed end stuck slightly into the wet sand of a desert plain dotted with low green shrubs. Pale mountains rise in the distance beneath a clear blue sky. The capsule appears intact after landing, standing out against the light-colored, sandy terrain.

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Make your own discoveries about the eighth planet at science.nasa.gov/neptune/

Neptune

Neptune is the eighth and most distant planet from the Sun. It’s the fourth largest, and the first planet discovered with math.

science.nasa.gov
NASA History Office
@NASAhistory
Sep 23
Whoomp there it is! After two astronomers, Urbain Le Verrier and John Couch Adams, independently calculated its predicted location, Johann Gottfried Galle found the planet Neptune 180 years ago on Sept 23, 1846. In 1989 when Voyager 2 became the first—and so far only—spacecraft to visit Neptune, it took thousands of images of Neptune, its rings, and its moons, including this one.
Closeup of Neptune where the planet takes up 3/4 of the frame. Storms and clouds are visible on this bluish gas giant.

ALT Closeup of Neptune where the planet takes up 3/4 of the frame. Storms and clouds are visible on this bluish gas giant.

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NASA Solar System retweeted
NASA Mars
@NASAMars
Sep 23
Layered beauty 😍 The Arabia Terra region on Mars has deposits that preserve a record of the planet’s ancient climate. The rhythmic nature of the layers could be due to cyclic processes, such as dust storms, perhaps involving groundwater. 1/2
A desert landscape seen from directly above. The left side of the frame is filled with layers of light-toned rock and pits filled with dark sand. On the right, below a cliff, is more dark sand windblown into a rippled pattern. NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

ALT A desert landscape seen from directly above. The left side of the frame is filled with layers of light-toned rock and pits filled with dark sand. On the right, below a cliff, is more dark sand windblown into a rippled pattern. NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

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Replying to @AewDefender
You're right - life doesn't have to follow Earth's rules! We even have scientists studying "agnostic biosignatures": potential universal signs of life that don't assume Earth-like chemistry. Think of things like chemical complexity, elemental accumulation, and energy transfer. Learn how one lab is tackling this topic here: astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/a…

“Agnostic Biosignatures,” And the Path to Life as We Don’t Know It

Biosignatures – evidence that says or suggests that life has been present – are often very hard to find and interpret. Scientists examining fossilized life on Earth can gener...

astrobiology.nasa.gov
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Replying to @doodlie61
The organisms are microscopic and found in the waters of California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park.
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Extreme heat can damage DNA, unravel proteins, and break down the membranes that organize complex cells. The “fire amoeba” has ways to protect all three. Studying these survival strategies helps scientists better understand where organisms could endure on other worlds.
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A tiny amoeba broke complex life’s heat record and could broaden the search for habitable worlds. 🔥 NASA-supported researchers found the first known eukaryote able to reproduce at 145°F (63°C), hotter than scientists thought complex cells could withstand. go.nasa.gov/4hg7prz
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NASA Solar System retweeted
NASA Marshall
@NASA_Marshall
Sep 22
Depending on your locale, equinoxes can be seen as bearers of longer nights and gloomy weather, or promising beacons of milder temperatures and more sunlight. Today, we mark the autumnal equinox - the official start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. 🔗 go.nasa.gov/4hF49Y6
Images from NASA's EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) aboard the NOAA mission DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) show Earth on the December and June solstices and the March and September equinoxes, illustrating how the tilt of Earth’s axis shifts the continent’s apparent positions through the year. NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

ALT Images from NASA's EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) aboard the NOAA mission DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) show Earth on the December and June solstices and the March and September equinoxes, illustrating how the tilt of Earth’s axis shifts the continent’s apparent positions through the year. NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

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NASA Solar System retweeted
NASA JPL
@NASAJPL
Sep 22
As of Sept. 22, it's officially fall in the Northern Hemisphere…while spring begins in the Southern Hemisphere. 🍁 🌎 💐 That's the September equinox, when the Sun is directly above Earth's equator and day and night are close to equal in length around the world.
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NASA Solar System retweeted
NASA Mars
@NASAMars
Sep 21
Sometimes following the water can lead to surprising places💧 A new study of data from Perseverance reveals that rocks in Jezero Crater were shaped by a complex sequence of ancient lakes, groundwater systems, and hydrothermal fluids. 1/2
A panoramic view of a desert landscape with reddish rocks and sand and low hills in the distance. At the center-right of the frame, rover tracks can be seen.

ALT A panoramic view of a desert landscape with reddish rocks and sand and low hills in the distance. At the center-right of the frame, rover tracks can be seen.

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We love a Moon appreciation moment 🌎🌓🎉     It’s International Observe the Moon Night! People all over the world are observing the Moon together today, and you’re invited.     Find an event near you, or register to observe on your own or with friends, at go.nasa.gov/ObserveTheMoon
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This weekend, people all over the world will observe the Moon together, and you're invited! Join a local or virtual International Observe the Moon Night event, register as an individual observer, or gather your own Moon observing crew. Get started: go.nasa.gov/ObserveTheMoon
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The Moon’s got a big new crater! 🕳️ Spotted by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the McGetchin crater formed when a rock as big as a six-story building crashed into the Moon. It’s 141 feet deep and wider than the length of two football fields.🪨💥🌕 go.nasa.gov/3TzHqUf
An aerial view of a lunar crater. A bright, circular impact crater sits in the center of a dark, cratered surface, with white rays of ejected lunar material radiating outwards in all directions, creating a stark contrast against the gray terrain.

ALT An aerial view of a lunar crater. A bright, circular impact crater sits in the center of a dark, cratered surface, with white rays of ejected lunar material radiating outwards in all directions, creating a stark contrast against the gray terrain.

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Field-testing a new set of tools for solar system exploration 🌎🪐 In these tests, two rovers and a drone worked together to explore their environment using onboard AI, and researchers assessed the fleet’s ability to act as an independent science team. go.nasa.gov/4y17SFk
Three robotic explorers in a grassy field: a drone parked between two rovers. The larger rover has a multi-jointed arm extending from it.

ALT Three robotic explorers in a grassy field: a drone parked between two rovers. The larger rover has a multi-jointed arm extending from it.

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Get ready with us to observe the Moon 💅 One more week until International Observe the Moon Night! You’re invited to celebrate our nearest neighbor in space, together with people all over the world. Find an event near you, or observe on your own: go.nasa.gov/ObserveTheMoon
Collage of images: The Moon, with the Apollo 15 landing region (Hadley-Apennine) outlined and labeled, overlaps with a photo of an astronaut reaching out to touch a rover on the lunar surface. In the same photo, behind the astronaut, a dramatically shadowed grey hill rises towards a black sky. In the sky, text reads “International Observe the Moon Night” “September 19, 2026”. Along the bottom edge is a partial, zoomed-out screenshot view of a Moon Map document, with highlighted areas of the Moon, close-up photos, and location labels.

ALT Collage of images: The Moon, with the Apollo 15 landing region (Hadley-Apennine) outlined and labeled, overlaps with a photo of an astronaut reaching out to touch a rover on the lunar surface. In the same photo, behind the astronaut, a dramatically shadowed grey hill rises towards a black sky. In the sky, text reads “International Observe the Moon Night” “September 19, 2026”. Along the bottom edge is a partial, zoomed-out screenshot view of a Moon Map document, with highlighted areas of the Moon, close-up photos, and location labels.

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Trace the whole history of NASA's expeditions to Jupiter and its intriguing moons: science.nasa.gov/jupiter/exp…
Swirling, brownish clouds and storms in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Brian Swift CC BY

ALT Swirling, brownish clouds and storms in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Brian Swift CC BY

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Thirty years ago, NASA's Galileo mission collected the images for this collage of Jupiter and its four largest moons, shown to scale. Our Juno mission continues its exploration of the giant planet today, and our Europa Clipper spacecraft is now en route to the Jovian system. 1/2
Collage of Jupiter and four of its moons. Only a small portion of Jupiter is visible. The giant, red, swirling storm known as the Great Red Spot is visible in Jupiter's clouds.

ALT Collage of Jupiter and four of its moons. Only a small portion of Jupiter is visible. The giant, red, swirling storm known as the Great Red Spot is visible in Jupiter's clouds.

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