Solar System
Even Eris and Makemake Could Have Geothermal Activity
Astronomers have found evidence of geothermal activity across the Solar System, from planets like Mars, icy moons like Europa and…
There’s One Last Place Planet 9 Could Be Hiding
A recently submitted study to The Astronomical Journal continues to search for the elusive Planet Nine (also called Planet X),…
Passing Stars Changed the Orbits of Planets in the Solar System
We're light-years away from the closest stars, but in the billions of years of history in the Milky Way, our…
Exploring the Solar System with Swarms of Microprobes
It's satisfying to sit back and take stock of all the places in the Solar System that we've explored. The…
Planetesimals Are Buffeted by Wind in their Nebula, Throwing Debris into Space
Before planets form around a young star, the protosolar disk is populated with innumerable planetesimals. Over time, these planetesimals combine…
Three Iron Rings Around A Star Show Where Planets are Forming
Researchers using the ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) have found three iron rings around a young star about 500…
Voyager 1 Has Another Problem With its Computer System
For more than 46 years, the Voyager 1 probe has been traveling through space. On August 25th, 2012, it became…
NASA's Interstellar Mapping Probe Prepares for a 2025 Launch
Engineers at NASA have completed an important milestone in developing the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft. It's now…
It Doesn’t Take Much to Get Tilted Planets
Chinese and Indian astronomers were the first to measure Earth's axial tilt accurately, and they did it about 3,000 years…
What Would Happen to Earth if a Rogue Star Came Too Close?
Stars are gravitationally fastened to their galaxies and move in concert with their surroundings. But sometimes, something breaks the bond.…