Planetary Science Institute

Planetary Science Institute Subscribe: https://mailchi.mp/psi/weeklybriefing It is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, where it was founded in 1972.

The Planetary Science Institute is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to studying the origin, characteristics & evolution of Earth, our Solar System, & planetary systems around other stars. The Planetary Science Institute is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to solar system exploration. PSI scientists are involved in numerous NASA and international missions, the

study of Mars and other planets, the Moon, asteroids, comets, interplanetary dust, impact physics, the origin of the solar system, extra-solar planet formation, dynamics, the rise of life, and other areas of research. They conduct fieldwork in North America, Australia and Africa. They also are actively involved in science education and public outreach through school programs, children’s books, popular science books and art. PSI scientists are based in 20 states and the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

We are opening today, May 30 from 11am-3pm if you’d like to come by and see the William K. Hartmann Art Collection! Lear...
05/30/2026

We are opening today, May 30 from 11am-3pm if you’d like to come by and see the William K. Hartmann Art Collection! Learn more about the collection and pricing at the link in our bio.

Happy Friday! 🪐 🐾 This week’s is the award-winning 10-year-old Jax, a Belgian Malinois who cleared the field in ONE we...
05/29/2026

Happy Friday! 🪐 🐾

This week’s is the award-winning 10-year-old Jax, a Belgian Malinois who cleared the field in ONE weekend to win all of these awards in Estes Park, CO. Jax is a high-ranking scent detection dog with the National Association of Canine Canine Scent Work (NACSW) Summit title. Jax lives with PSI Senior Scientist Robert Tokar.

Monty Python encourages us to "Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving // And revolving at 900mph...
05/28/2026

Monty Python encourages us to "Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving // And revolving at 900mph."

At the same time, the Moon is traveling round and round at 2,288mph on a not-round orbit that yo-yos the Moon from 225,700 mi to 251,970 mi away, causing it to appear to vary up & down about 10% in size.

Tomorrow, these motions line up to give us a 2nd full Moon of May at 4:10am PDT and the Moon is farthest from Earth at 10:33am PDT. Put together, we have a **Blue Micromoon**.

Which is just a cool excuse to get you to think about the Moon. You're welcome.

(Unless you regularly compare the size of the Moon to the size of your thumb at arm's length, you won't notice any difference. But isn't it cool to know this is happening?)

Image Credit: Lon&Queta https://buff.ly/VzGH7J6

Stewart, a University of Edinburgh graduate student, presented a talk titled “Amino Acid-Clay Interactions on Mars-Relev...
05/28/2026

Stewart, a University of Edinburgh graduate student, presented a talk titled “Amino Acid-Clay Interactions on Mars-Relevant Minerals: Insights from Molecular Simulations.” Her research focuses on the role of mineral surfaces – particularly clays – in the formation and preservation of proto-proteins using molecular dynamics simulations.

The Pierazzo International Student Travel Award was begun by PSI in memory of Senior Scientist Betty Pierazzo to support and encourage graduate students to build international collaborations and relationships in planetary science.

Interested in supporting student collaborations through the Pierazzo Award? Learn more here: https://buff.ly/59DfCJs

: Four Jupiters, created by a citizen scientists with the username Klotz-41Interested in processing your own JunoCam im...
05/27/2026

: Four Jupiters, created by a citizen scientists with the username Klotz-41

Interested in processing your own JunoCam images and even making some ? Visit: https://buff.ly/GjvZn5u

📸: NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Klotz-41

❓ When did you know that you wanted to pursue science as a career? 🎙️ My parents always strongly encouraged my interest ...
05/25/2026

❓ When did you know that you wanted to pursue science as a career?
🎙️ My parents always strongly encouraged my interest in science. I remember one specific night when they pulled my brother and me out of bed to go for a walk, so that we could watch for meteors from the nearest open space (Schneider Park, in Akron, OH). It was cold, and I was tired, but I was fascinated by staring up into the sky waiting to see streaks of light. That was the first time that I remember thinking that I could study the sky for a living—I felt like there were so many exciting things out there and so much that we still had to learn.

Read the full Q&A and subscribe to our newsletter to get more PSI content delivered directly to your inbox! https://buff.ly/MjgqQCA

Happy Friday! Today's features more art than science! PSI is headquartered in Tucson, AZ, a place known for its specta...
05/22/2026

Happy Friday! Today's features more art than science! PSI is headquartered in Tucson, AZ, a place known for its spectacular sunsets. This photo by PSI laboratory technician Neil Pearson captures our iconic saguaros in stark relief against a golden and copper-tinted sky.

: Jupiter's bouquetThis is a false-color image of Jupiter's northern circumpolar cyclones.Want to process your own Juno...
05/20/2026

: Jupiter's bouquet

This is a false-color image of Jupiter's northern circumpolar cyclones.

Want to process your own JunoCam images? Visit: https://buff.ly/kDgvG5g

📸: NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Navaneeth Krishnan

Save the date! If you haven't already stopped by to see the Hartmann Collection, you'll have another chance! When: May 3...
05/20/2026

Save the date! If you haven't already stopped by to see the Hartmann Collection, you'll have another chance!

When: May 30, 11am-3pmWhere: 1700 E. Fort Lowell Rd. Tucson, AZ 85719 (Just west of Campbell)
Learn more: https://buff.ly/euhuGks

Southern Africa is home to the nation-sprawling Square Kilometre Array, and the South African Astronomical Observatory (...
05/19/2026

Southern Africa is home to the nation-sprawling Square Kilometre Array, and the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) with its numerous telescopes, including the massive, 9.2-meter South African Large Telescope (SALT). Sickafoose uses the SAAO telescopes for her research into dwarf planets and minor bodies in the outer Solar System. Also, through her collaboration with SAAO and funding from the National Science Foundation, she is able to take Solar System science into South African classrooms far from the big cities with museums and universities.

Most recently, two high schools in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa hosted Sickafoose and SAAO Education Professional Officer Buzani Khumalo. The first visit was to Qhayiya Secondary School in the Zwelihle suburb of Hermanus, where roughly 40 grade-eight students had an interactive lecture about classifications of bodies in the Solar System. The second visit was to Hawston Secondary School in Hawston, where roughly 40 grade-nine students learned about the sizes, scales and interactions of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The activities and presentations were based on those developed by U.S.-based PSI Senior Education and Communication Specialists Sanlyn Buxner and Larry Lebofsky.

Sickafoose and Buxner, along with U.S.-based PSI Senior Research Associate Mark Lewis, are collaborators on the NSF grant supporting this visit. Sickafoose and Lewis are working to understand ring systems around small bodies in our Solar System, such as those recently discovered around Chariklo, Haumea, Quaoar and possibly Chiron. Buxner brings to the team expertise in communicating science to youth and teachers.

Together, this PSI team is getting more science into classrooms in the United States and South Africa, including planetary science content that supports overall learning in math and science and promotes international collaborations.

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1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106
Tucson, AZ
85719

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