Search results for Planetary Systems

Planetary Sciences 1 hour ago

Planetary collisions may help young worlds hold on to their atmospheres

A new study lets some of the air out of a long-held theory that growing, rocky planets will lose their atmosphere if they smash into a large object in space.

Astronomy 5 hours ago

Enormous 'Cat's Tail' tells of cosmic collision 63 light-years away

Sixty-three light-years from Earth, in the small, faint constellation known as Pictor (which is Latin for "painter"), there lies a strange structure that has puzzled astronomers for the last two years. Nicknamed the "Cat's ...

Space Exploration 23 hours ago

Could next-gen artificial intelligence help map out future space outposts?

Planning a successful trip can be challenging, especially when your destination is in outer space. Even before liftoff, space missions require extraordinary amounts of scientific preparation and data analysis to succeed, ...

Planetary Sciences Oct 28, 2026

Supersonic waves could explain the strange orbits of hot Jupiters and Neptunes

Using advanced new simulations, a team of astronomers in the U.S. has developed a promising new theory for how giant, gaseous exoplanets migrate into stiflingly close orbits around their host stars. Led by J. J. Zanazzi at ...

Astronomy Oct 27, 2026

Double debris disk orbiting a dead star hints at our solar system's future

Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have found a rare disk of debris around a dead star that provides a glimpse of what may happen to our solar system. Unlike in similar ...

Space Exploration Oct 27, 2026

First light: Hera resolves two asteroids instead of one

The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft for planetary defense has resolved its two target asteroids separately for the first time, revealing the binary nature of the Didymos system, currently some 197 million km (122 ...

Space Exploration Oct 27, 2026

Perseverance offers clues to protect crews from ultrafine Mars dust

Over 1,645 Martian days, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover measured the fine and ultrafine Martian dust particles found clinging to samples of spacesuit materials that are carried aboard the rover, including particles small ...

Astrobiology Oct 27, 2026

Earth may have formed much of its water as the planet grew

Earth may have produced much of its water during the planet's formation, as rocky pebbles reacted with the hydrogen-rich atmosphere surrounding the young planet, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience. The ...

Planetary Sciences Oct 23, 2026

Pedal to the metal: NASA's Psyche heads toward asteroid belt

With a successful Mars gravity assist in its rearview mirror, NASA's Psyche spacecraft has fired up its thrusters and is accelerating toward the metal-rich asteroid of the same name. During the first leg of its journey, following ...

Planetary Sciences Oct 22, 2026

Are 'mega-Earths' real? Stellar activity may explain these oversized rocky worlds

A new study suggests that some of the heaviest rocky planets ever reported may not be as heavy as they look. These so-called 'mega-Earths,' rocky planets weighing more than about 10 Earths, could be an illusion created by ...

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