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:.....»»
Astronomers scan 800 pulsars to see if any of them have planets
Astronomers discovered the first exoplanets in 1992. They found a pair of them orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12 about 2,300 light-years from the Sun. Two years later they discovered the third planet in the system......»»
New astrobiology research predicts life "as we don"t know it"
The search for alien life has been restricted to using life on Earth as the reference, essentially looking for "life as we know it" beyond Earth. For astrobiologists looking for life on other planets, there are simply no tools for predicting the feat.....»»
Are We Prepared for Contamination Between Worlds?
Slashdot reader Tangential shares what he describes as "an interesting article on Gizmodo discussing how we could easily contaminate other planets/moons as we explore them." "Based on our recently demonstrated vulnerability to locally evolved bacte.....»»
NASA’s Roman telescope could spot Earth-like planets
James Webb might be grabbing all the headlines right now, but NASA has big plans for another space-based telescope too: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope......»»
Microscopic view on asteroid collisions could help us understand planet formation
A new way of dating collisions between asteroids and planetary bodies throughout our Solar System's history could help scientists reconstruct how and when planets were born......»»
Day of discovery: 7 Earth-size planets
Newspapers around the world printed the discovery on their front pages: Astronomers had found that a red dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1 was home to a close-knit family of seven Earth-size planets. NASA announced the system Feb. 22, 2017......»»
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune: Why our next visit to the giant planets will be so important, and just as difficult
The giant planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—are some of the most awe-inspiring in our solar system, and have great importance for space research and our comprehension of the greater universe......»»
Pair of brown dwarfs orbit each other 12 billion miles apart
Astronomers have spotted a pair of brown dwarfs, which are objects in between planets and stars, which have the widest separation found to date......»»
New insights into the formation of brown dwarfs
Brown dwarfs are strange celestial bodies, occupying a kind of intermediate position between stars and planets. Astrophysicists sometimes call them "failed stars" because they have insufficient mass to burn hydrogen in their cores and shine like star.....»»
First quadruple asteroid system detected
A trio of researchers from the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, Université de Lyon and Sorbonne Université, respectively, has made the first sighting of a quadruple asteroid system—an asteroid with three moons orbiting around.....»»
Using epsilon machines to assist in the search for alien life
A team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology and Sony Computer Science Laboratories has begun to search for life on other planets using a tool that analyzes statistical complexity. In their paper published in the journal Nature A.....»»
A Third World May Be Orbiting Around Our Closest Neighboring Star
Our nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri, may be harboring an extensive solar system, as scientists believe they've found a third planet orbiting it. From a report: It's a find that re-emphasizes just how commonplace planets outside our Solar S.....»»
It"s time for Disney"s Star Wars shows to move away from desert planets
Disney's Obi-Wan Kenobi series marks the third live-action Star Wars show in a row that's set primarily on Tatooine, and we're over it......»»
Antarctica as testing site ahead of mission to icy moons
Scientists have deployed a network of seismometers onto Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf in an experiment that will test the instrument's ability to operate on icy moons in the solar system......»»
Final moments of planetary remnants seen for first time
The moment that debris from destroyed planets impacts the surface of a white dwarf star has been observed for the first time by astronomers at the University of Warwick......»»
Mini-Neptunes and Super-Earths: How puffy planets could be the missing link
When astronomers look at planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets, often they have only minimal information they can use to classify them. Two key factors they often do know are the planets’ size and their mass, from which they can d.....»»
Puffy planets lose atmospheres, become super-Earths
Astronomers have identified two different cases of "mini-Neptune" planets that are losing their puffy atmospheres and likely transforming into super-Earths. Radiation from the planets' stars is stripping away their atmospheres, driving hot gas to esc.....»»
Warps drive disruptions in planet formation in young solar systems
A new study from the University of Warwick demonstrates the impact of passing stars, misaligned binary stars and passing gas clouds on the formation of planets in early star systems......»»
Even dying stars can still give birth to planets
Planets are usually not much older than the stars around which they revolve. Take the sun: It was born 4.6 billion years ago, and not long after that, Earth developed. But KU Leuven astronomers have discovered that a completely different scenario is.....»»
Moons may yield clues to what makes planets habitable
Earth's moon is vitally important in making Earth the planet we know today: The moon controls the length of the day and ocean tides, which affect the biological cycles of lifeforms on our planet. The moon also contributes to Earth's climate by stabil.....»»