Planetary Formation
What's Inside Uranus and Neptune? A New Way to Find Out
Uranus and Neptune are "ice giants," containing chemicals like methane and ammonia, but compressed under intense pressure. This is just…
Webb Scans Vega for Planets
To northern sky watchers, Vega is a familiar sight in the summer sky. It’s one of the brightest stars in…
ALMA Detects Hallmark “Wiggle” of Gravitational Instability in Planet-Forming Disk
According to Nebula Theory, stars and their systems of planets form when a massive cloud of gas and dust (a…
A New Model Explains How Gas and Ice Giant Planets Can Form Rapidly
The most widely recognized explanation for planet formation is the accretion theory. It states that small particles in a protoplanetary…
Sulphur Makes A Surprise Appearance in this Exoplanet’s Atmosphere
At our current level of knowledge, many exoplanet findings take us by surprise. The only atmospheric chemistry we can see…
Webb Sees Asteroids Collide in Another Star System
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to make amazing discoveries. This time in the constellation of Pictor where, in…
JWST Uses “Interferometry Mode” to Reveal Two Protoplanets Around a Young Star
The JWST is flexing its muscles with its interferometry mode. Researchers used it to study a well-known extrasolar system called…
Where Are All These Rogue Planets Coming From?
There's a population of planets that drifts through space untethered to any stars. They're called rogue planets or free-floating planets…
Webb Joins the Hunt for Protoplanets
We can't understand what we can't clearly see. That fact plagues scientists who study how planets form. Planet formation happens…
In a Distant Solar System, the JWST Sees the End of Planet Formation
Every time a star forms, it represents an explosion of possibilities. Not for the star itself; its fate is governed…