Planetary Formation
Spotted: Asteroids ‘Smashing Themselves To Smithereens’ 1,200 Light-Years Away
When a crop of dust spread forth from the star NGC 2547-1D8 during 2012 observations, scientists quickly sprang into action.…
Tonight’s Moon-Mars-Saturn Trio Recalls Time of Terror
Check it out. Look southwest at dusk tonight and you'll see three of the solar system's coolest personalities gathering for…
Spin! Exoplanet’s Day Finishes Blazing Fast Compared To Earth
Between the time you got to work this morning and the time you leave today -- assuming an eight-hour work…
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…