How Dense Are The Planets?
The planets of our Solar System vary considerably in terms of density, which is crucial in terms of its classification and knowing how it was formed.
Largest Rocky World Found
Astrophysicists using the Kepler Spacecraft have discovered the largest rocky planet yet: BD+20594b is 16 times as massive as Earth.
Order Of the Planets From The Sun
First the quick facts: Our Solar System has eight “official” planets which orbit the Sun. Here are the planets listed in order of their distance from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. An easy mnemonic for remembering the order is “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.” If you …
Some of the Best Pictures of the Planets in our Solar System
Our Solar System is a pretty picturesque place. Between the Sun, the Moon, and the Inner and Outer Solar System, there is no shortage of wondrous things to behold. But arguably, it is the eight planets that make up our Solar System that are the most interesting and photogenic. With their spherical discs, surface patterns …
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Prying Planets Out of The Shadows: The Gemini Planet Imager’s First Year of Light
This year marks the 20th anniversary of 51 Peg b, the first exoplanet detected around a Sun-like star. And although the number of sheer detections in the years since have been remarkable, it’s also remarkable how little we still know about these alien worlds, save for their distances from their host stars, their radii, and …
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Exciting Exoplanet News from AAS: How Rocky Worlds are Made; Oceans on Super-Earths
Astronomers from around the world gathered in Seattle today for the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Although it’s just past noon on the West Coast, the discoveries are already beginning to unfurl. Here are some of the highlights from this morning’s exoplanet session. And the keyword seems to be “water.” A Recipe for …
What is the Average Surface Temperature of the Planets in our Solar System?
It’s is no secret that Earth is the only inhabited planet in our Solar System. All the planets besides Earth lack a breathable atmosphere for terrestrial beings, but also, many of them are too hot or too cold to sustain life. A “habitable zone” which exists within every system of planets orbiting a star. Those …
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The Inner Planets of Our Solar System
Our Solar System is an immense and amazing place. Between its eight planets, 176 moons, 5 dwarf planets (possibly hundreds more), 659,212 known asteroids, and 3,296 known comets, it has wonders to sate the most demanding of curiosities. Our Solar System is made up of different regions, which are delineated based on their distance from …
‘Double Earths’ Could Be Fun Exoplanets To Hunt For — If They Exist
One big driver in the search for exoplanets is whether life can exist elsewhere in the Universe. In fact, a major goal of the Kepler space telescope is to discover an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of a star like our Sun. But what about having two Earths orbiting close to each other for …
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Hubble Finds 3 (Relatively) Dry Exoplanets, Raising Questions About Water Outside The Solar System
Surprise! Three planets believed to be good candidates for having water vapor in their atmosphere actually have much lower quantities than expected. The planets (HD 189733b, HD 209458b, and WASP-12b) are “hot Jupiters” that are orbiting very close to their parent star, at a distance where it was expected the extreme temperatures would turn water …