By amassing in high-density regions, dust grains avoid drifting toward the star they are orbiting.…
Browsing: Planets
Planets are celestial bodies that orbit stars, formed from the gas and dust of young solar systems. They come in a wide variety—from rocky worlds like Earth and Mars to gas giants like Jupiter and ice giants like Neptune. Studying planets helps scientists understand how solar systems form and evolve, including the conditions that might support life. This field includes both planets in our own solar system and exoplanets, planets orbiting stars beyond the Sun, discovered by powerful telescopes and space missions. This page features the latest research and discoveries about planets, their atmospheres, surfaces, and potential habitability.
March Equinox Welcomes ‘Astronomical’ Spring Did you know our planet has two types of seasons?…
What Is an Atmosphere? An atmosphere is a layer (or several layers) of gas that…
Evidence suggests surface minerals of outer main-belt asteroids, proposed to have sourced building blocks of…
Researchers propose that Earth’s early habitability was due to unusual rocks that rapidly sequestered carbon…
The Solar System has eight planets. In 2006, astronomers reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet,…
Kepler-16b, a planet orbiting two stars, was detected using a ground-based telescope, demonstrating a new…
Discovery could have revolutionary implications for how we think about the dynamics of exoplanet interiors.…
During its first operating cycle, the James Webb Space Telescope will set its sights on…
Researchers detected the circumbinary planet Kepler-16b using ground-based radial velocity methods, challenging existing theories on…
A new dating method applied to the Chelyabinsk meteorite reveals two key asteroid collisions, offering…
Researchers find salt deposits in an impact crater on the dwarf planet. The third-largest crater…
The Curiosity rover took a picture of something pretty enticing this week on the surface…
Study proves ground-based telescopes can search for planets with two suns. Astronomers have used a…
New observations reveal that Venus’ winds speed up by 150 km/h at higher altitudes, likely…
Five years ago, astronomers revealed a spectacular collection of other worlds: the TRAPPIST-1 system. Newspapers…
The James Webb Space Telescope offers the potential to detect exoplanet biosignatures and technosignatures like…
The planet’s night side likely hosts iron clouds, titanium rain, and winds that dwarf Earth’s…