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:.....»»
Venus and Jupiter to get hearts racing with celestial "kiss"
Early risers are in for a celestial treat this weekend when four planets in our solar system align in the sky, culminating in a "romantic" display between Venus and Jupiter......»»
New experiment gives insight into the chaotic behavior of flows in planets
Flows in planets like Earth are characterized by many features, such as rotation and the difference in temperature between the hot core and the cold surface. These flows have very large dimensions and it is very hard to investigate them. To study the.....»»
Small but mighty: Harnessing the power of algae to capture carbon
As a University of Arizona professor of astronomy and planetary sciences who studies planets orbiting other stars, Daniel Apai spends much of his time thinking about what makes worlds habitable......»»
Future of Earth"s defense is ground-based planetary radar
Powerful radar systems have played a major role in the study of planets, moons, asteroids, and other objects in our Solar System for several decades, and now have a "unique role" to play in planetary defense—"providing protection to the nations of.....»»
Webb telescope"s cool view on how stars, planets form
The ongoing success of the multi-instrument optics alignment for NASA's Webb telescope's near-infrared instruments has moved the attention of the commissioning team to chill as we carefully monitor the cooling of the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) do.....»»
Check out NASA’s skywatching tips for April
NASA is back with its regular update on what to look out for in that vast open window above our heads. This month four particular planets take center stage......»»
When worlds collide: Studying impact craters to uncover the secrets of the solar system
While for humans the constants might be death and taxes, for planets the constants are gravity and collisions......»»
NASA Has Now Confirmed More Than 5,000 Planets Outside Our Solar System
NASA has now confirmed that more than 5,000 planets exist outside our solar system, which is "just a fraction" of the likely hundreds of billions in our galaxy.NASA has now confirmed that more than 5,000 planets exist outside our solar system, which.....»»
Could the asteroid Ryugu be a remnant of an extinct comet?
Asteroids hold many clues about the formation and evolution of planets and their satellites. Understanding their history can, therefore, reveal much about our solar system. While observations made from a distance using electromagnetic waves and teles.....»»
Distant NASA spacecraft snaps stunning images of Jupiter and its moons
NASA's Juno spacecraft has zipped around the gas giant Jupiter dozens of times. On its recent 39th orbit, the spacecraft captured fascinating footage of the planet's swirling clouds and two of its large moons: the intensely volcanic Io and ice-blanke.....»»
NASA Confirms 5,000 Exoplanets
NASA JPL announced a cosmic milestone with the confirmed discovery of over 5,000 exoplanets (planets located outside our solar system). CNET reports: A new batch of 65 planets joined the NASA Exoplanet Archive on Monday, triggering a celebratory mood.....»»
Researchers Discover a New (intermediate and Tetragonal) Form of Ice
Researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas were trying to understand how water might behave under the high pressures inside distant planets. But along the way the team discovered a new form of ice, reports Phys.org, "redefining the propertie.....»»
See Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa in this stunning Juno image
NASA has released a stunning image of the planet Jupiter, captured by its Juno mission and processed by a citizen scientist......»»
How NASA"s Roman telescope could help find Earth-like planets by surveying space dust
A team of scientists found NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to measure a specific kind of space dust littered throughout dozens of nearby planetary systems' habitable zones, or the regions around stars where temperatures are mild.....»»
Among thousands of known exoplanets, astronomers flag three that are actually stars
The first worlds beyond our solar system were discovered three decades ago. Since then, close to 5,000 exoplanets have been confirmed in our galaxy. Astronomers have detected another 5,000 planetary candidates—objects that might be planets but have.....»»
Still searching for Planet 9
The solar system has eight planets. In 2006, astronomers reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet, the same class that contains Eris, Sedna, Quaoar, Ceres and perhaps many more solar system small bodies. These are defined approximately as bodies that orb.....»»
Why Werner Herzog Thinks Human Space Colonization "Will Inevitably Fail"
Last Exit: Space is a new documentary on Discovery+ exploring the possibility of humans colonizing planets beyond Earth, reports Ars Technica.. "Since it is produced and narrated by Werner Herzog and written and directed by his son Rudolph, however,.....»»
How would an Earth-like planet look in Alpha Centauri?
Researchers can model the compositions of rocky planets in far-flung systems. Enlarge / Artist's impression of what an Earth-like planet might look like in a nearby star system. (credit: ESO/L. Calçada) We now know that our n.....»»
"Seafloor fertilizer factory" helped breathe life into Earth
Scientists reveal a new part of the recipe for complex life on planets, and it involves the onset of a microbial fertilizer factory on the Earth's seafloor roughly 2.6 billion years ago......»»
The start of the birth of planets in a binary star system observed
Astronomers have observed primordial material that may be giving birth to three planetary systems around a binary star in unprecedented detail......»»