Planetary Science Institute
@psi
A private nonprofit dedicated to studying the origin, characteristics, and evolution of planetary systems and planets, including the Earth.
July 20 also marks the 50th anniversary of Viking 1, the first truly successful landing on Mars. It sent back our first close-up images of Mars' surface, shown here. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
This International Moon Day marks the 57th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first human landing on the Moon. Earlier this year the Moon captivated us all over again when Artemis II returned beautiful images like this one. (Image Credit: NASA)
It's July 18! Today is the day! Lakewood, CO! 1-5PM. Drop by our celebration of 10 years of the PSI Colorado office. Hope to see you there! 🚀 #psi_CO_10 #planetarysci buff.ly/5TuGkoM
This week's #PlanetaryPet is Bagel! PSI Research Associate Amanda Nonomura says that Bagel is a pretty decent research assistant but truth be told Bagel would rather be chasing squirrels.
Enjoy this stunning depiction of the Pride Flag envisioned with space imagery as created by Senior Scientist and Senior Education and Communication Specialist Pamela Gay. Read more on how this vibrant piece of #SciArt was created here buff.ly/YeyHBhr
#JunoCam: This image captures the northern jets on Jupiter. It was taken on April 10, 2020 at 6:37 a.m. PDT (9:37 a.m. EDT) as the Juno spacecraft performed its 26th close flyby of the planet. buff.ly/doweiXb
PSI’s Nathan Kaib uses computer simulations to understand the formation of the Kuiper Belt and what it tells us about the past orbital evolution of the giant planets. Read the full Q&A & subscribe to our newsletter to get PSI content delivered directly to your inbox! buff.ly/i5wdHXe
PSI scientists gathered and shared science results at the Asteroids, Comets & Meteors (ACM) meeting this week in Poznań, Poland. Go Team PSI!
#JUNOCam: This image captures Jupiter's mid-northern latitudes. It was taken on May 18, 2017 at 10:50 p.m. PDT (May 19, 2017 at 1:50 a.m. EDT) as the Juno spacecraft performed its 6th close flyby of the planet. buff.ly/mEhKbH8
On July 18 we're celebrating 10 years of discovery, collaboration, and exploration in Colorado! Join PSI as we mark this special milestone with planetary science presentations and demonstrations, fun science education activities, and refreshments. More info here: buff.ly/iTMydYV
Sanlyn Buxner is interested in examining issues related to scientific literacy, how to measure it, and investigating how it is changed by education. Read the full Q&A & subscribe to our newsletter, the PSI Weekly Briefing, to get PSI content delivered directly to your inbox! buff.ly/eTyTF4S
#JunoCam: This image captures Jet N3 on April 15, 2021 as the Juno spacecraft performed its 33rd close flyby of Jupiter. Note the variety of complex storm shapes and cloud tops. North is to the upper right. Credit : NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Björn Jónsson © cc nc sa buff.ly/xEWMBZw
Ashley Murphy is a PSI Postdoctoral Research Scientist whose interests include astrobiology, geology, and the instruments necessary to decipher the secrets of minerals. Her latest paper on organic molecules found on Mars is taking the internet by storm. Read more buff.ly/Ppxld8W
PSI is proud to share that Senior Scientist Pamela Gay was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater Westford Academy. Pamela shows it's possible to go from teenage space cadet to professional space scientist. Read more: buff.ly/GpOQuFx
Stay cool in Tucson this weekend! Come on by the PSI office Saturday and take in some thought-provoking art by PSI co-founder Bill Hartmann... hope to see you there!
Happy Friday! This week's #PlanetaryPet is Fable. She is sweet and cuddly unless she is on patrol of her royal domain where she barks at coyotes, off-leash dogs, and noisy children. Fable lives with PSI Senior Scientist Jamie Molaro, who ranks Fable’s barking as “top of her class.”
PSI's Jeff Morgenthaler created and oversees the Io Input/Output observatory (IoIO), a small telescope designed to study how gas from Jupiter’s moon Io moves into and out of the space around Jupiter (Jupiter’s magnetosphere). Full the story & comic: buff.ly/2fTXK2J
John Goodge is a PSI Sr Scientists interested in geology, mineralogy, & tectonics. His current research focuses on Antarctica. Read the full Q&A & subscribe to our newsletter, the PSI Weekly Briefing, to get PSI content delivered directly to your inbox! buff.ly/Vi8fVov
Happy Friday! 🪐🎨 This week's #SciArt feature is an art installation by PSI's Jamie Molaro. It depicts familiar constellations and challenges viewers to experience what the star grouping might look like from somewhere other than Earth. View installation: buff.ly/nIO90KY
#JunoCam: This collage titled "In every object, its previous forms must live on in some rudimentary way" was created by a citizen scientist. Interested in processing your own JunoCam images? Visit: buff.ly/D8xuRCP 📸: NASA / SwRI / MSSS / Jackie Branc
“Some glassy samples were fluffy and light, like popcorn. It had a really low density, it was airy, and it crumbled in my fingers....I aimed to find out what it was by trying to figure out what it used to be.” Read the full story: buff.ly/9HU9xqZ
David at Craters of the Moon geothermal field near Lake Taupo, New Zealand. Read the full Q&A and subscribe to our newsletter, the PSI Weekly Briefing, to get PSI content delivered directly to your inbox! buff.ly/vcKmjJZ
Happy Friday! 🪐 🐾 This week's #PlanetaryPet is playful Stella who is NOT going to give up her pink stuffed toy! Adorable and stubborn Stella lives and plays with PSI’s Senior Scientist Pamela Gay.
This morning, PSI's Amanda Hendrix, Roger Clark, Morgan Cable and Tom McCord snapped a picture at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
#JunoCam: This rendering of the Juno spacecraft flying over Jupiter and it's Great Red Spot was rendered using actual mission data. Interested in processing your own images? Visit: buff.ly/puVFvXq Data and image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SwRI/Kevin M. Gill Juno Model: NASA/JPL-Caltech
"I am extremely excited to be working on the science team for the first landed Artemis mission... I anticipate spending much of the next year analyzing potential landing sites & taking a deeper dive into lunar highlands regolith structure." More: buff.ly/V7DDrTp
Happy Friday! 🌌 🎨 This week's #SciArt features a painting from our art collection. This piece, Coronagraph from the Moon, was painted by PSI cofounder William K. Hartmann in 2025. A coronagraph is a device that blocks out direct light from the Sun so the corona can be studied.
#ClarkVision: The Milky Way Rises Over Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park The center of the Milky Way and the constellation of Sagittarius are on the right side of the arch, and the Constellation Cygnus is above the left side of the arch, with the red North America Nebula. By PSI's Roger Clark
#JunoCam: The many textures of Jupiter. Swipe through. This never gets old! These images were processed by citizen scientists. Interested in processing your own JunoCam images? Visit: buff.ly/iFVvCkA 📸: NASA / SwRI / MSSS / Navaneeth Krishnan / Emma Wälimäki / Björn Jónsson / Tracy Prell