Planetary Formation

Arrokoth is Covered in Bizarre Mounds

When New Horizons flew past Arrokoth in 2019, it revealed close-up images of this enigmatic Kuiper Belt Object for the…

6 months ago

Hundreds of Free-Floating Planets Found in the Orion Nebula

It appears that rogue planets – free floating worlds that aren’t gravitationally bound to a parent star – might be…

6 months ago

This Exoplanet is Probably a Solid Ball of Metal

We can't understand nature without understanding its range. That's apparent in exoplanet science and in our theories of planetary formation.…

6 months ago

JWST Sees Newly Forming Planets Swimming in Water

One big question about Earth’s formation is, where did all the water come from? New data from the James Webb…

8 months ago

Some Star Systems Create a Planet Sandwich

A recent study presented at the National Astronomy Meeting 2023 (NAM2023) examines a newly discovered planetary formation theory that challenges…

9 months ago

JWST Looks at the Atmosphere of a Stormy, Steamy Mini-Neptune

Just because there's no Mini-Neptune in our Solar System doesn't mean they're not common. They appear to be widespread throughout…

11 months ago

Planets Might Protect their Water Until their Star Settles Down

Creating rocky planets is a messy, dangerous, hot business. Planetesimals accrete together, which creates heat and pressure on the newborn…

1 year ago

TESS Shows That Even Small Stars Can Host Giant Planets

Can low-mass stars play host to giant, Jupiter-sized planets? Theories of planet formation suggest that it's highly unlikely. But a…

1 year ago

Watch a Baby Planet Carve Out a Home for Itself

Astronomers have detected a small, compact source embedded in a gap in the disk surrounding a young star. They believe…

1 year ago

How Growing Giant Planets Fight for Food

A new study has shown that in order to grow more than one giant planet in the same solar system,…

1 year ago