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Planetary Science Institute
@psi.edu
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https://www.psi.edu/
A private nonprofit dedicated to studying the origin, characteristics, and evolution of planetary systems and planets, including the Earth.
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Planetary Science Institute @psi.edu · 5d
Our PSI Annual Campaign is on! You can help us on our journey to pursue cutting-edge Solar System research and to share science with our communities by making a year-end pledge: buff.ly/MINpmxp
psi.edu
A new study published in Geophysical Research Letters casts doubt on a 2018 discovery of a briny lake potentially lurking beneath Mars’s south polar cap. 🧪 🔭

Read the full story: buff.ly/JRpyeku
An aerial image of Mars' south pole. Text reads: Mars' south pole lacks lake beneath the ice. Sharad, the Shallow Radar sounder on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, recorded only a faint signal where MARSIS, the low-frequency radar on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft, found a highly radar-reflective surface under the ice in 2018, which that team interpreted to be due to the presence of liquid water.
November 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
psi.edu
“Water is pretty important for habitability, so there is a lot of effort in understanding the processes which modify the oceans and the types of histories these environments experience,” said paper coauthor and PSI's Matthew Walker. 🔭 🧪

Read the story: buff.ly/St7Q6an
A collage of icy moons in the Solar System. Boiling water on icy moons. On moons in the outer Solar System with oceans between an icy shell and rocky core, geology is driven by the action of water and ice, in some cases creating cracks, ridges, mountains and plains. New research sheds light on how melting ice – and boiling oceans – can contribute to such diverse surface features.
November 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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We have exciting news! We've launched our annual campaign! Learn more about us by reading our '24 annual report, highlighted in this week's newsletter: buff.ly/l4KhPmt

If you like what you see, please consider subscribing & making a donation! buff.ly/fym6Lts

Thank you from all of us at PSI! 🪐🌵🌌
November 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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#SciArt: This week’s featured art is a dramatic digital image by PSI Research Scientist Peter Buhler. He was inspired to create this after being stranded in a snowstorm for a few hours along the Rim of the World Highway (near Big Bear).
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
psi.edu
Our PSI Annual Campaign is on! You can help us on our journey to pursue cutting-edge Solar System research and to share science with our communities by making a year-end pledge: buff.ly/MINpmxp
November 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
psi.edu
#JunoCam: A false color and sharpened image of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io.

Interested in processing your own JunoCam images? Visit: buff.ly/koWEI1e

📸: NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Johnathan Brackett
November 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
psi.edu
Are you a PhD student interested in attending a planetary science-related conference or workshop? Each year, the Planetary Science Institute bestows two awards:

For more information, go to: buff.ly/ragzh93
November 18, 2025 at 7:36 PM
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❓ What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
🎙️I have two young children and a full-time job. What's spare time? If I do have a moment, I love anything outside - particularly running and cycling. Read Carly's Q&A + subscribe to our newsletter: buff.ly/8ieyPmw
November 17, 2025 at 7:02 PM
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buff.ly/kd5FRGI
The US government shutdown is over: what’s next for scientists
Government researchers are heading back to work, but questions about the size of research-budget cuts will extend into next year.
www.nature.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
psi.edu
Happy Friday! 🪐 🐾

This week's #planetarypet is Grant, who loves riding shotgun alongside PSI's Aileen Yingst. Here he has planted himself in the car to make sure the family doesn’t leave without him - wherever they are going.
November 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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PSI in the News: buff.ly/IP9xMb4
Earth always has more moons than you think
Astronomers recently detected a stray quasi-moon in our planet’s orbit, but it's hardly the first stowaway to hang out around Earth.
www.nationalgeographic.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:01 PM
psi.edu
PSI's Pamela Gay caught this beautiful image of the aurora from her home in Illinois! The northern lights were seen as far south as Florida and were caused by coronal mass ejections, solar storms that spew particles, energy, magnetic fields and material into the Solar System.
November 13, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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#JunoCam: Participatory scientist Navaneeth Krishnan S created this hypnotic image by stitching together multiple false color images of Jupiter's northern circumpolar cyclone.

Interested in processing your own JunoCam images? Visit: buff.ly/koWEI1e

📸: NASA/JPL/SwRI/MSSS/Navaneeth Krishnan S
November 12, 2025 at 4:05 PM
psi.edu
PSI in the News:
Heat leaking from Saturn's ocean moon Enceladus bolsters its case as an abode for life
Heat leaking from Saturn's ocean moon Enceladus bolsters its case as an abode for life
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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During the week of Nov. 3, six comet experts converged in Tucson, Ariz. for the first international Belton Symposium, hosted by the Planetary Science Institute.

Read the full story and learn more about the man who inspired it: buff.ly/ofoKyQA
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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PSI's Carly Howett was part of the team of researchers who made this discovery.

Read the full story: buff.ly/KESQKzr
November 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
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#SciArt: PSI Senior Scientist Darby Dyar made this quilt in 2018 for her friends and colleagues, Molly McCanta and Brad Thomson.
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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PSI in the News: buff.ly/ARpqwrB
Webb telescope may be closing in on another Earth near Proxima Centauri
Scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to check if another Earth-sized planet orbits Proxima Centauri, our nearest star.
www.earth.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:38 PM
psi.edu
#ClarkVision: On an early evening in May, the Milky Way and the constellation of Orion set in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, making a stunning rainbow nightscape.
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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#JunoCam: Participatory scientist Todd Goodwin processed this zoomed-in image of a Jovian storm to resemble the Eye of Sauron.

Interested in processing your own JunoCam images? Visit: buff.ly/6qYZkpo

📸: NASA/JPL/SwRI/MSSS/Todd Goodwin
November 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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PSI in the News: buff.ly/AxcQVoO
This comet has given researchers from Arizona insights into how solar systems are made
Researchers rarely get a glimpse of an interstellar object up close like 3I-ATLAS, so they have jumped on the opportunity to learn about its composition, which can reveal how planet systems are made.
www.kjzz.org
November 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM
psi.edu
PSI Senior Scientist Darby Dyar was presented the Roebling Medal at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), held this month in San Antonio, Texas. Read about the award, get to know Darby, and subscribe to our newsletter: buff.ly/odYnpPI
November 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
psi.edu
Happy Friday, and Happy Halloween! 🎃 🪐 🐾

This week's #PlanetaryPet is Marshmellow, Dan Berman's unusual thinking cap!
October 31, 2025 at 3:32 PM
psi.edu
PSI in the News:
Can we find water ice on the moon? Only if we know where to look, scientists say
Can we find water ice on the moon? Only if we know where to look, scientists say
buff.ly
October 30, 2025 at 4:02 PM
psi.edu
Thanks to all who came to our Spooky Star Party last night! We had a blast sharing some of the cool things we do here!

See the full gallery: buff.ly/adGQi9I

📸: PSI/Alan Fischer
October 29, 2025 at 10:34 PM