Planetary Formation Archives

Artist's impression of a Mars-sized object crashing into the Earth, starting the process that eventually created our Moon. Credit: Joe Tucciarone

Scientists Propose a New Kind of Planet: A Smashed Up Torus of Hot Vaporized Rock

24 May , 2017 by Evan Gough

Under the right conditions, two colliding rocky bodies might form a temporary structure called a ‘synestia’. This rotating mass of partially vaporized rock would might only last a hundred years or so.

Finally, the Missing Link in Planetary Formation!

28 Feb , 2017 by Matt Williams

A new study by an international team of scientists may be the “missing link” in our understanding of how planets form from debris disks.

Juno Snaps Final View of Jovian System Ahead of ‘Independence Day’ Orbital Insertion Fireworks Tonight – Watch Live

4 Jul , 2016 by Ken Kremer

After a nearly 5 year odyssey across the solar system, NASA’s solar powered Juno orbiter is all set to ignite its main engine late tonight and set off a powerful charge of do-or-die fireworks on America’s ‘Independence Day’ required to place the probe into orbit around Jupiter – the ‘King of the Planets.’

This image shows the moons of our Solar System's four icy dwarf planets. Pluto and Haumea have been considered as cousin planets because it's thought that their moons were formed in collisions. A new study focussed on Haumea's moons raises some interesting questions. Image: D. Ragozzine (FIT)/NASA/JHU/SwRI

Haumean Moons Deepen The Dwarf Planet Mystery

17 May , 2016 by Evan Gough

Pluto and Haumea have long been thought of as cousins. But a new study highlights Haumea’s lack of small, icy moons, and has astronomers puzzled.

A new paper says that a Super-Earth may have formed in our Solar System and been swallowed by the Sun. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser

Our Sun May Have Eaten A Super Earth For Breakfast

20 Apr , 2016 by Evan Gough

A Super-Earth may have formed in our Solar System’s earlier days, and then been destroyed by the Sun.

A Star With A Disk Of Water Ice? Meet HD 100546

8 Apr , 2016 by Evan Gough

Water ice in a disk surrounding a star might seem out of place, but the ice might be essential to the formation of gaseous planets.

ALMA Captures Never-Before-Seen Details of Protoplanetary Disk

1 Apr , 2016 by Bob King

ALMA, a network of radio telescopes, creates the most detailed images ever of a solar system forming around a nearby star.

The million-year-old star HL Tau and its protoplanetary disk. Image: Carrasco-Gonzalez et. al.; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF

VLA Shows Early Stages Of Planet Formation In Unprecedented Detail

18 Mar , 2016 by Evan Gough

Astronomers have captured the earliest image yet of the formation of planets around a young star.

Does Antarctica Have A Hidden Layer Of Meteorites Below Its Surface?

22 Feb , 2016 by Bob King

A team of University of Manchester researchers proposes an intriguing answer to the puzzle of why we’ve found precious few iron meteorites among the thousands of meteorites recovered from the ice sheets of Antarctica.

An illustration of a large, rocky planet similar to the recently discovered BD+20594b. Image: JPL-Caltech/NASA

Largest Rocky World Found

10 Feb , 2016 by Evan Gough

Astrophysicists using the Kepler Spacecraft have discovered the largest rocky planet yet: BD+20594b is 16 times as massive as Earth.

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