A combination of cosmic processes shapes the formation of one of the most common types of planets outside of our solar system, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. The research team used data from NASA's ...
Astronomy
Mar 17, 2025
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Last year, astronomers detected the near-earth asteroid (NEA) 2024 YR4, which orbits the sun every four years and periodically crosses Earth's orbit. The nature of its orbit makes it a potentially hazardous object (PHO), ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 11, 2025
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The shape of a planet's orbit is one of its fundamental properties, along with its size and distance from its host star. Earth has a nearly circular orbit, but some planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets, have ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 5, 2025
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122
We all know that asteroids are out there, that some of them come dangerously close to Earth, and that they've struck Earth before with catastrophic consequences. The recent discovery of asteroid 2024 YR4 reminds us of the ...
Astronomy
Feb 17, 2025
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53
Ever since Isaac Newton famously talked about gravity, its dominance as a force in our solar system has been well known. It's responsible for the orbits of the planets and their satellites, but there are other forces that ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 27, 2025
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539
The ISS's orbit is slowly decaying. While it might seem a permanent fixture in the sky, the orbiting space laboratory is only about 400 km above the planet. There might not be a lot of atmosphere at that altitude. However, ...
Space Exploration
Jan 21, 2025
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72
Hot Jupiters are giant planets initially known to orbit alone close to their star. During their migration towards their star, these planets were thought to accrete or eject any other planets present. However, this paradigm ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 15, 2025
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51
As part of the agency's efforts to enable broader use of space, NASA has released its final goals and objectives for low Earth orbit, defining the long-term approach toward advancing microgravity science, technology, and ...
Space Exploration
Dec 17, 2024
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51
The orbits of the planets around the sun have been the source for many a scientific debate. Their current orbital properties are well understood but the planetary orbits have evolved and changed since the formation of the ...
Astronomy
Dec 11, 2024
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64
Space Station trajectory data is now available to the public! This data, called an ephemeris, is generated by the ISS Trajectory Operations and Planning Officer (TOPO) flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at NASA's ...
Space Exploration
Dec 6, 2024
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