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:.....»»
James Webb telescope captures mind-blowing image of a spiral galaxy’s ‘skeleton’
The James Webb space telescope is one of the most powerful observatories that humankind has ever made. And with it, we’re able to get an unprecedented view of the early universe, as well as unparalleled looks at planets millions of light-years away.....»»
Big planets head start in pancake-thin nurseries
Super-thin planet nurseries have a boosted chance of forming big planets, according to a study announced this week at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 in Granada, Spain. An international team, led by Dr. Marion Villenave of NASA Jet Propul.....»»
Neptune as you’ve never seen it before, imaged by Webb telescope
The newly deployed James Webb Space Telescope has once again turned its attention to planets closer to home, capturing Neptune in a remarkable way......»»
New JWST image reveals full glory of Neptune, its moons, and rings
"It has been three decades since we last saw these faint, dusty rings." Enlarge / Webb captured seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons: Galatea, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Proteus, Larissa, and Triton. Neptune’s large and unusual moon, T.....»»
Under pressure: Solid matter takes on new behavior
Investigating how solid matter behaves at enormous pressures, such as those found in the deep interiors of giant planets, is a great experimental challenge. To help address that challenge, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers and.....»»
James Webb’s first photo of Mars reveals new data about the Red Planet
Mars is one of the closest neighboring planets to our own. As such, it has been the center of several studies and astronomical expeditions – with NASA even hoping to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. Now that we have James Webb up and running, the.....»»
It"s a planet: New evidence of baby planet in the making
Astronomers agree that planets are born in protoplanetary disks—rings of dust and gas that surround young, newborn stars. While hundreds of these disks have been spotted throughout the universe, observations of actual planetary birth and formation.....»»
Inside giant ice planets, it could be raining diamonds
The diamond rain effect is thought to occur deep within ice giants like Uranus and Neptune......»»
Watery exoplanets could be more common than we thought
A new study suggests ´exoplanets with water may be more common than previously thought, with many planets being made up of half water, half rock......»»
Inside giant ice planets it could be raining diamonds
The diamond rain effect is thought to occur deep within ice giants like Uranus and Neptune......»»
What exactly makes an exoplanet ‘habitable’?
Astronomers have been on the hunt for habitable planets outside of our own solar system for decades -- but what exactly counts as habitable?.....»»
Scientists to collaborate with Artemis missions to seek traces of extraterrestrial life
Was there ever life on the moon? What about on other planets?.....»»
Two planets orbiting nearby star discovered with TESS
Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered two new exoplanets orbiting a nearby star known as TOI-836. The newfound alien worlds were classified as a super-Earth and a mini-Neptune. The.....»»
Astronomers Reveal New Details of How Stars Devour Planets
Surprisingly, some worlds can survive being engulfed by a sunlike star when it swells to become a red giant.....»»
Library’s prized Galileo manuscript turns out to be a clever forgery
All signs point to notorious 20th-century forger. Enlarge / Annotations recording Galileo's discovery of the four moons of Jupiter, from the single-leaf manuscript in the collection of the University of Michigan. The library recently d.....»»
One exciting way to find planets: Detect the signals from their magnetospheres
Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets in recent years. Most have them have been discovered by the transit method, where an optical telescope measures the brightness of a star over time. If the star dips very slightly in brightness, it c.....»»
Which planet has the most moons? Moons of Saturn, Venus and Jupiter explained
This great big solar system has plenty of secrets to tell. Just recently, NASA's new James Webb Telescope dazzled us mere Earthlings with the first images released to date of galaxies eons in the past......»»
Brightest stars in the night sky can strip Neptune-sized planets to their rocky cores
Over the last 25 years, astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets around stars in our galaxy, but more than 99% of them orbit smaller stars—from red dwarfs to stars slightly more massive than our sun, which is considered an average-sized star......»»
New Instrument Could Spy Signs of Alien Life in Glowing Rocks
Organisms on Earth produce a wide array of durable “biofluorescent” materials. If those on other planets do, too, the Compact Color Biofinder should be able to detect them.....»»
A cosmic tango: This distant planet"s strange orbit points to a violent and chaotic past
If you close your eyes and imagine a system of planets orbiting a distant star, what do you see?.....»»