Search results for Trans Neptunian Object

Astrobiology Sep 26, 2023

Why build megastructures? Just move planets around to make habitable worlds

In 1960, Freeman Dyson proposed how advanced civilizations could create megastructures that enclosed their system, allowing them to harness all of their star's energy and multiplying the habitable space they could occupy. ...

Planetary Sciences Sep 14, 2023

Whether Saturn's rings are young or old, its moons may be as ancient as the planet itself

Saturn is best known for two things: its iconic ring structures and its large system of natural satellites. Currently, 146 moons and moonlets have been discovered orbiting the ringed giant, 24 of which are regular satellites. ...

Astronomy Sep 1, 2023

Japanese astrophysicists suggest possibility of hidden planet in the Kuiper Belt

A pair of astrophysicists, one with Kindai University, the other the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, both in Japan, have found possible evidence of an Earth-like planet residing in the Kuiper Belt. In their paper ...

Astronomy Jul 7, 2023

Asteroid named after Portuguese astrophysicist

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named an asteroid after Pedro Machado, astrophysicist at Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA), at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal). ...

Astronomy Jun 15, 2023

There could still be a ninth planet in our solar system. Here's why

,We all used to think there were nine planets. But in 2006, the solar system was left with only eight planets, when Pluto was no longer classified as such. But is it still possible there is a planet out there beyond Neptune—possibly ...

Astronomy Mar 28, 2023

Redness of Neptunian asteroids sheds light on early solar system

Asteroids sharing their orbits with the planet Neptune have been observed to exist in a broad spectrum of red color, implying the existence of two populations of asteroids in the region, according to a new study by an international ...

Astronomy Feb 8, 2023

A new ring system discovered in our solar system

Scientists have discovered a new ring system around a dwarf planet on the edge of the solar system. The ring system orbits much further out than is typical for other ring systems, calling into question current theories of ...

Space Exploration Sep 14, 2022

Flying to (hypothetical) Planet 9: Why visit it, how could we get there and would it surprise us like Pluto?

In a recent study submitted to Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, an international team of researchers discuss the various mission design options for reaching a hypothetical Planet 9, also known as "Planet X," which state-of-the-art ...

Astronomy Aug 1, 2022

Stellar flybys leave a permanent mark on newly forming planetary systems

What do UX Tauri, RW Aurigae, AS 205, Z CMajoris, and FU Orionis have in common? They're young stellar systems with disks where planets could form. It appears those disks were disturbed by stellar flybys or other close encounters ...

Astronomy Apr 21, 2022

Pluto's orbit is surprisingly unstable

In 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the fabled "Ninth Planet" (or "Planet X") while working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. The existence of this body had been predicted previously based on perturbations ...

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