SPACE EXPLORATION HAS OPENED a fascinating window on our region of the universe. Images from faraway missions show us that the bright dots wandering in the sky are actually complex and individual worlds, beautiful to the eye but often with environments of stark and dangerous extremes. Through the years, spacecraft cameras and instruments of increasing capability have revealed landscapes of stunning diversity. Within our solar system alone, we find colossal giants, rocky worlds with deep canyons and tall mountains, small icy globes at the far edge, and a great ball of gas with spectacular, intricate rings. Farther afield, planets called Super Earths and Hot Jupiters orbit stars other than our own.
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