Moons are planets too
What makes a planet a planet? The answer turns out to be rather contentious. The official definition of a planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is that a planet must satisfy three conditions:.....»»
In a research first, team uses precision astrometry to discover new exoplanet outside Earth"s solar system
An international research team led by UTSA Associate Professor of Astrophysics Thayne Currie has made a breakthrough in accelerating the search for new planets......»»
Launch of Europe"s JUICE spacecraft postponed to Friday (Update)
The launch of the European Space Agency's JUICE mission to Jupiter's icy moons was postponed on Thursday for 24 hours due to bad weather, according to contractor Arianespace......»»
JWST reveals the chemistry of disks around young stars where rocky planets form
Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have taken a first look at their data that probe the chemistry of the regions of disks around young stars where rocky planets form. Already at that stage, the data reveal the disks to be chemica.....»»
Launch of Europe’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer delayed by 24 hours
The launch of the European Space Agency's JUICE mission to the icy moons of Jupiter has been delayed by 24 hours due to weather conditions......»»
Chemical reactions on the early Earth may have formed its ocean
Conditions that favor water may be common in the formation of rocky planets. Enlarge (credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring) Water has made the Earth the planet that it is—a planet known for its blue oce.....»»
What the JUICE spacecraft is hoping to learn about Jupiter’s icy moons
Tomorrow sees the launch of the JUICE spacecraft, which will travel to the Jupiter system to investigate whether the moons there could be potentially habitable......»»
Search for alien life extends to Jupiter"s icy moons
Could vast, long-hidden oceans be teeming with alien life in our very own Solar System?.....»»
How to watch JUICE launch for Jupiter’s icy moons
The European Space Agency is making final preparations for the launch of an advanced spacecraft that will explore the icy moons of Jupiter......»»
Making Calculus With LEGO
Isaac Newton developed calculus back in the mid-1600s as a tool to explain physical phenomena, in particular the motions of planets. As it turned out, it was also a way to encode how things move and change more generally, from economies to popu.....»»
How to watch Juice launch for Jupiter’s icy moons
The European Space Agency is making final preparations for the launch of an advanced spacecraft that will explore the icy moons of Jupiter......»»
Old survey data could be hiding undiscovered rogue planets
A group of scientists has discovered what they believe to be rogue planets hidden in data captured between 2006 and 2014. The new planets are … The post Old survey data could be hiding undiscovered rogue planets appeared first on BGR......»»
New Mars research review tells story of the red planet"s atmosphere evolution
Mars is one of the most studied planets in our solar system, second only to Earth. Signs point to the red planet once existing as a habitable world like our own, mustering intense fascination from scientists to understand the history of Mars' environ.....»»
Webb Telescope confirms nearby rocky planet has no significant atmosphere
A close look at one of TRAPPIST-1's planets shows it's bare and baking. Enlarge / An illustration of what the inner portion of the TRAPPIST-1 system might look like. (credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI), T. P. Greene (NAS.....»»
How Webb"s coronagraphs reveal exoplanets in the infrared
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has many different observing modes to study planets orbiting other stars, known as exoplanets. One way in particular is that Webb can directly detect some of these planets. Directly detecting planets around other sta.....»»
Two of Uranus’ moons could host oceans, new research suggests
Researchers looked through almost 40-year-old data from the NASA Voyager 2 mission and found something unexpected......»»
Planets on parade: 5 will be lined up in night sky this week
Keep an eye to the sky this week for a chance to see a planetary hangout......»»
Hubble sees the changing seasons on Jupiter and Uranus
Our planet isn't the only place in the solar system with dramatic weather changes - Hubble recently captured seasonal changes to two of the outer planets......»»
Hubble monitors changing weather and seasons of Jupiter and Uranus
Ever since its launch in 1990, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been an interplanetary weather observer, keeping an eye on the largely gaseous outer planets and their ever-changing atmospheres. NASA spacecraft missions to the outer planets have give.....»»
5 planets will parade across the sky in rare astronomical event, while skyscraper-sized asteroid flies by Earth
More than half the solar system's planets will align Monday in a rarely seen spectacle, arcing across a corner of the night sky......»»
Tidally locked exoplanets could be habitable in the ‘terminator zone’
There are exoplanets where one side is always in sunlight and the other is always dark. But a particular region of these planets could be habitable......»»