Planetary Formation
Surprise! Asteroid Hosts A Two-Ring Circus Above Its Surface
Rings are a tough phenomenon to spot. As late as 1977, astronomers thought that the only thing in the solar…
- Astronomy
- Extrasolar Planets
- Observing
- Orion
- Planetary Formation
- Solar System
- Stars
- Stellar Evolution
- supernova
“Death Stars” Caught Blasting Proto-Planets
It’s a tough old universe out there. A young star has lots to worry about, as massive stars just beginning…
Giant Planet May Be Lurking In ‘Poisonous’ Gas Around Beta Pictoris
A Saturn-mass planet might be lurking in the debris surrounding Beta Pictoris, new measurements of a debris field around the…
Young Planets Migrated In Double-Star Systems, Model Shows
Binary star systems are downright dangerous due to their complex gravitational interactions that can easily grind a planet to pieces.…
Surprise! Fomalhaut’s Kid Sister Has a Debris Disk Too
The bright star Fomalhaut hosts a spectacular debris disk: a dusty circling plane of small objects where planets form. At…
Some Planet-like Kuiper Belt Objects Don’t Play “Nice”
The Kuiper belt — the region beyond the orbit of Neptune inhabited by a number of small bodies of rock…
This Exoplanet Is Turning Planetary Formation Scenarios Upside Down
What the heck is that giant exoplanet doing so far away from its star? Astronomers are still trying to figure…
Baby Free-Floating Planet Found Alone, Away From A Star
The planetary world keeps getting stranger. Scientists have found free-floating planets -- drifting alone, away from stars -- before. But…
‘Diamond’ Super-Earth’s Makeup Called Into Question In New Study
A precious planet? Don't think so fast, a new study says. The so-called "diamond super-Earth", 55 Cancri e, may actually…
Mercury’s Resonant Rotation ‘Should Be Common’ In Alien Planets
Three to two. That's the ratio of the time it takes Mercury to go around the sun (88 days) in…