Like Earth, most planetary bodies circle their star in stable, detached orbits. These companionable systems can suddenly change when a planet comes too close to its star. In such a close encounter, a star can pull the planet ...
A nearby star system with two suns could potentially support an Earth-sized planet in a region where liquid water could exist, according to a new paper examining the dynamics of the system.
NASA has selected a Planetary Science Institute–led proposal to investigate whether a potentially large underground cave extends beyond the opening of a lunar pit. Such a cave may one day provide a safe haven for astronauts ...
On Earth, most of us rarely have to think about the signals that keep our internal clocks aligned. The sun rises, daylight changes, darkness arrives and morning comes again.
Human activity and climate change are putting growing pressure on water resources, disrupting the predictability of the water cycle and changing the availability and quality of freshwater. IIASA researchers and partners have ...
In the early history of our solar system, scientists theorize that a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant Earth, vaporizing massive amounts of rock and blasting it into space. Some of that material coalesced ...
Since its introduction in 2000, the concept of the Anthropocene—the idea that human activities are the major driver of Earth systems—has become highly influential throughout society, including in culture, science and law. ...
Four and a half billion years ago, Earth and Mars were born in the rotating cloud of gas and dust that would eventually become our solar system. Yet exactly how the planets formed remains one of the most disputed questions ...
This summer, exoplanet science—the study of planets orbiting stars beyond our sun—took a big step forward. Reports of helium gas escaping from the atmosphere of LHS 1140b propelled this exoplanet from the pages of scientific ...
New research led by the University of Michigan is helping set the stage for future observatories to characterize rocky planets outside our solar system, planets that could prove life isn't confined to Earth. The new research ...
