How do rogue planetary-mass objects, celestial bodies that fall between planets and stars in size,…
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.
Astronomers have discovered not one, but four tiny planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, our cosmic neighbor.…
Scientists using JWST have uncovered striking cloud formations and extreme heat contrasts on LTT 9779…
Could a giant planet between Mars and Jupiter have doomed Earth? A new study suggests…
Astronomers using a cutting-edge adaptive optics instrument, MagAO-X, have captured unprecedented images of young planets…
For centuries, the Red Planet’s signature hue has fascinated scientists, but the real reason behind…
Astronomers have long believed that the swirling disks of gas and dust that form planets…
Scientists have detected a potential exoplanet using an unusual method — tracking shifts in another…
A new world has just been found orbiting a Sun-like star only 20 light-years away,…
New research shows that Mars’ atmosphere behaves differently from Earth’s, with gravity waves, rather than…
Mars’ thick crust may have been a hidden engine of geological activity, producing granitic magmas…
Gaia, a mission designed to map stars, has accidentally become a planet hunter. Using precise…
A newly discovered super-Earth, HD 20794 d, lies in a nearby planetary system and orbits…
A groundbreaking collaboration between Michigan State University, Arizona State University, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory…
Mars may have once had a vast, ice-free ocean, according to new evidence from China’s…
LTT 9779 b, an ultra-hot Neptune, is defying expectations. With temperatures soaring to nearly 2,000°C…
A team of astronomers has uncovered the fastest planetary jetstream ever recorded, ripping across the…
Scientists have uncovered a new way rogue planetary-mass objects (PMOs) may form—not as failed stars…