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When we talk about amazing geological features, we often limit ourselves to those on Earth. But as a geologist, I think that’s crazy – there are so many structures on other worlds that can excite and inspire, and that can put processes on our own planet into perspective. Here, in no particular order, are the five geological structures in the solar system (excluding Earth) that most impress me. The grandest canyon I left out the solar system’s biggest volcano,Olympus Monson Mars, so I could include that planet’s most spectacular canyon,Valles Marineris....

The long-simmering space rivalry between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos is heating up. Bezos’s aerospace firm, Blue Origin, turned up the temperature on Monday, by filing a protest against NASA’s choice of Musk’s SpaceX for a mission to the Moon. Earlier this month, NASA awarded SpaceX a$2.9 billion contractto build a lunar lander. Blue Origin and defense contractor Duentics had also submitted proposals for the project. NASA had been expected to choose two of the three firms, to ensure they had a backup and a healthy dose of competition....

Space telescopes are great — so why do we still build ground-based ones? Riding the wave (or not) This twinkling poses problems, however, for astronomers striving for steady images. Our atmosphere also poses an additional hurdle for astronomers, as it filters out many wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation coming from theSunand beyond. The spectrum of electromagnetic radiation encompasses a wide range of frequencies — not just the visible colors with which we are most familiar....

For most people, getting to the stars is nothing more than a dream. On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito achieved that lifelong goal – but he wasn’t a typical astronaut. Tito, a wealthy businessman,paid US$20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuzspacecraft to be the first tourist to visit the International Space Station. Onlyseven people have followed suitin the 20 years since, but that number is poised to double in the next 12 months alone....

We like to nerd out here atThe Next Web, which often means keeping up with black holes, interstellar space travel, extraterrestrial life and NASA shuttle launches. Which is why I’m excited that one of my favorite sites, Space.com, just got a shiny new update. The site’s re-design includes better graphics and the addition of a suite of social sharing and community tools. Their social media campaign integrates theirTwitterandFacebookpage and encourages users to play space trivia games, engage with astronauts and keep up with space events....