Three elder sisters of the Sun with planets
An international team led by Prof. Dr. habil. Andrzej Niedzielski, an astronomer from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun (Poland), has discovered yet another three extrasolar planets. These planets revolve around the stars that can be called.....»»
Newborn gas planets may be surprisingly flat, says new research
A new planet starts its life in a rotating circle of gas and dust, a cradle known as a protostellar disk. My colleagues and I have used computer simulations to show that newborn gas planets in these disks are likely to have surprisingly flattened sha.....»»
Newly discovered bacterial defense system functions as self-destruct button
Wageningen researchers have discovered a molecular self-destruct mechanism in a bacterium living on seaweed. With this mechanism the bacteria sacrifice themselves when they are infected, thus protecting their brothers and sisters from infections. By.....»»
Spot the king of planets: Observe Jupiter
Jupiter is our solar system's undisputed king of the planets. Jupiter is bright and easy to spot from our vantage point on Earth, helped by its massive size and banded, reflective cloud tops. Jupiter even possesses moons the size of planets: Ganymede.....»»
Scientists find evidence of geothermal activity within icy dwarf planets
A team co-led by Southwest Research Institute found evidence for hydrothermal or metamorphic activity within the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake, located in the Kuiper Belt. Methane detected on their surfaces has the tell-tale signs of warm or ev.....»»
Passing stars altered orbital evolution of Earth and other planets, astronomers find
Stars that pass by our solar system have altered the long-term orbital evolution of planets, including Earth, and, by extension, modified our climate......»»
Astronomers discover Jupiter-sized objects drawn into each other"s orbit
In our most basic understanding of our solar system, planets are drawn into the orbit of our massive star, the sun. But what happens to planet-sized objects that don't have a star? A team of astronomers studying Jupiter-mass binary objects (JuMBOs) i.....»»
Hubble detects celestial "string of pearls" star clusters in galaxy collisions
When spectacular cosmic events such as galaxy collisions occur, it sets off a reaction to form new stars, and possibly new planets that otherwise would not have formed. The gravitational pull that forces the collisions between these galaxies creates.....»»
Did the Galileo mission find life on Earth?
In the fall of 1989, the Galileo spacecraft was launched into space, bound for Jupiter and its family of moons. Given the great distance to the king of planets, Galileo had to take a roundabout tour through the inner solar system, making a flyby of V.....»»
Simulations provide potential explanation for mysterious gap in size distribution of super-Earths
Ordinarily, planets in evolved planetary systems, such as the solar system, follow stable orbits around their central star. However, many indications suggest that some planets might depart from their birthplaces during their early evolution by migrat.....»»
Hubble traces "string of pearls" star clusters in galaxy collisions
Contrary to what you might think, galaxy collisions do not destroy stars. In fact, the rough-and-tumble dynamics trigger new generations of stars and presumably accompanying planets......»»
Newly discovered carbon monoxide-runaway gap can help identify habitable exoplanets
The search for habitable exoplanets involves looking for planets with similar conditions to the Earth, such as liquid water, a suitable temperature range and atmospheric conditions. One crucial factor is the planet's position in the habitable zone, t.....»»
Studying lake deposits in Idaho could give scientists insight into ancient traces of life on Mars
Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? If so, how do scientists search for and identify it? Finding life beyond Earth is extremely difficult, partly because other planets are so far away and partly because we are not sure what to look for......»»
New research finds that young planets are flattened structures rather than spherical
Astrophysicists from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have found that planets have flattened shapes like smarties just after they form rather than being spherical as previously thought......»»
The 5 best telescopes for viewing planets and galaxies in 2024
Of all the objects that you can view through a telescope, some of the most stunning to behold are the planets in our solar system, and the galaxies that lie far beyond it. But if you want to see more distant and fainter objects, you’ll need a d.....»»
Orbital resonance: The striking gravitational dance done by planets with aligning orbits
Planets orbit their parent stars while separated by enormous distances—in our solar system, planets are like grains of sand in a region the size of a football field. The time that planets take to orbit their suns have no specific relationship to ea.....»»
Neptune-like exoplanets can be cloudy or clear: New findings suggest the reason why
The study of "exoplanets," the sci-fi-sounding name for all planets in the cosmos beyond our own solar system, is a fairly new field. Mainly, exoplanet researchers like those in the ExoLab at the University of Kansas use data from space-borne telesco.....»»
Mars helicopter Ingenuity has ended its mission, paving the way for more flying vehicles on other planets, moons
It is difficult to emphasize the significance of the milestone surpassed by Nasa's Mars helicopter, Ingenuity......»»
The 60 best space photos of all time from Nasa, Hubble, and more
From distant galaxies to stunning portraits of planets close to home, there's nothing like an image of space to blow your mind. Here are 60 of our favorites......»»
Gravity helps show strong force strength in the proton
The power of gravity is writ large across our visible universe. It can be seen in the lock step of moons as they circle planets; in wandering comets pulled off-course by massive stars; and in the swirl of gigantic galaxies. These awesome displays sho.....»»
Simulations show that exoplanets heated at deeper depths by their host stars display markedly different weather patterns
For many years, most astrophysical models assumed that planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets, are heated at similar depths by their host stars (i.e., stars like the sun around which planetary systems are formed). Analyses of recent obs.....»»