An historic impression could have briefly made Umbriel cryovolcanic. Uranus’ darkish, closely cratered moon Umbriel has lengthy been thought-about geologically inactive. However a brand new examine suggests it could have skilled a interval of cryovolcanic exercise — maybe the results of an enormous impression. Adeene Denton, lead writer on the examine, joins this week’s Planetary Radio to debate the findings and what it means for the Uranus system. Pictured: A mosaic of photographs of Uranus and several other of its moons. Picture credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Make amends for The Planetary Society E book Membership. On Thursday, March 5, guide membership members shall be joined by Sir Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, for a dwell digital dialogue of his guide “The Launch of Rocket Lab.” And final week, the E book Membership Version of Planetary Radio featured a dialog with Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts about his newest batch of youngsters’ books about house.

What’s a planetary alignment? This month, stargazers have loved a parade of planets within the evening sky. Our information to planetary alignments explains why these line-ups occur, the completely different sorts you may hear about, and take pleasure in them.