Collection 04 October 2016

Advances in Planetary Science

Planetary science has long enjoyed an important role in Nature history.

Nature has published many important advances since the beginning of space exploration, from a seminal series of papers on Giotto observations of comet Halley, to the detection of the first Kuiper belt object, the presentation of the Grand Tack theory and the first results of the Huygens probe that landed on Titan in 2005, just to name a few.

This collection aims to highlight just a few of the discoveries in planetology published by Nature Research in the past three years. Five different journals contribute to this collection (Nature, Nature Geoscience, Nature Physics, Nature Chemistry and Nature Communications), demonstrating the widespread interest and the great diversity of themes presented in our pages.

Nature Astronomy, a new member of the Nature family set to launch in January 2017, welcomes planetary science as an important part of its scope and will be the latest addition to this great tradition.

This collection is formed by six main sections, each dedicated to a different theme or target: Comparative planetology, Mars' surface flows, Dwarf planets, Comets-asteroids, Moons, and Gas giant planets. The sections contain a small set of manuscripts illustrating the Nature output in the various fields. Different types of publications are represented, from standard Articles and Letters, to the various other formats, including News & Views, Commentaries and Reviews, which the Nature journals propose to the scientific community as companion pieces for a more in-depth analysis and discussion on the published original research.

Articles on the Research and Comment pages are freely available to access for a limited time.

The Pluto image in the header is from NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI.

Growing the gas-giant planets by the gradual accumulation of pebbles

Gas-giant planets are widely thought to form from solid ‘cores’ of roughly ten Earth masses; simulations now show that such cores can be produced from ‘pebbles’ (centimetre-to-metre-sized objects) provided that the pebbles form sufficiently slowly, leading to the formation of one to four gas giants in agreement with the observed structure of the Solar System.
- Harold F. Levison
- Katherine A. Kretke
- Martin J. Duncan
Letter19 Aug 2015 Nature
A ring system detected around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo

Observations of a stellar occultation by (10199) Chariklo, a minor body that orbits the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, reveal that it has a ring system, a property previously observed only for the four giant planets of the Solar System.
- F. Braga-Ribas
- B. Sicardy
- D. G. Lambas
Letter26 Mar 2014 Nature
An observed correlation between plume activity and tidal stresses on Enceladus

The plume at the south pole of Enceladus is several times brighter when that moon is near the apocentre of its eccentric orbit around Saturn than when it is near its orbital pericentre, showing that more material appears to be escaping from beneath Enceladus’ surface at times when models predict its fissures should be under tension.
- M. M. Hedman
- C. M. Gosmeyer
- M. R. Showalter
Letter31 Jul 2013 Nature
Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars

Transient streaks that appear seasonally on Martian slopes are consistent with brine flows, but evidence of water or salts has been lacking. Analysis of spectral data reveals hydrated salts associated with the streaks, confirming a briny origin.
- Lujendra Ojha
- Mary Beth Wilhelm
- Matt Chojnacki
Letter28 Sep 2015 Nature Geoscience

Advances in Planetary Science

Planetary science has long enjoyed an important role in Nature history.

Growing the gas-giant planets by the gradual accumulation of pebbles

A ring system detected around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo

An observed correlation between plume activity and tidal stresses on Enceladus

Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars

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