How the solar system got its 'Great Divide,' and why it matters for life on Earth
Scientists, including those from the University of Colorado Boulder, have finally scaled the solar system's equivalent of the Rocky Mountain range.
Scientists, including those from the University of Colorado Boulder, have finally scaled the solar system's equivalent of the Rocky Mountain range.
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2020
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Earth is doomed—but not for 5 billion years. Our planet will be roasted as our sun expands and becomes a red giant, but the exoplanet WASP-12b, located 600 light-years away in the constellation Auriga, has less than a thousandth ...
Astronomy
Jan 8, 2020
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It may be that life is lurking out there on other planets. But stuck here on Earth, how can we ever know for sure? A good place to start is by looking for the compounds on other worlds that are known to be the key ingredients ...
Astronomy
Nov 25, 2019
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161
An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new "warm Jupiter" alien world transiting a main sequence late F-type star on an eccentric orbit. The newfound exoplanet, designated TOI-677 b, is about 20 percent ...
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. In terms of mass, Jupiter dwarfs the other planets. If you were to gather all the other planets together into a single mass, Jupiter would still be 2.5 times more massive. ...
Astronomy
Nov 19, 2019
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As planetary systems evolve, gravitational interactions between planets can fling some of them into eccentric elliptical orbits around the host star, or even out of the system altogether. Smaller planets should be more susceptible ...
Astronomy
Oct 30, 2019
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NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter has successfully executed a 10.5-hour propulsive maneuver—extraordinarily long by mission standards. The goal of the burn, as its known, will keep the solar-powered spacecraft out of what ...
Space Exploration
Oct 3, 2019
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What is the difference between a planet-satellite system as we have with the Earth and moon, versus a binary planet—two planets orbiting each other in a cosmic do-si-do?
Astronomy
Oct 3, 2019
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138
In the past decade, thousands of planets have been discovered beyond our solar system. These planets have provided astronomers with the opportunity to study planetary systems that defy our preconcieved notions. This includes ...
Astronomy
Oct 3, 2019
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Analysis of a bright flash in Jupiter's atmosphere observed by an amateur astronomer in August 2019 has revealed that the likely cause was a small asteroid with a density typical of stony-iron meteors. The impact is estimated ...
Space Exploration
Sep 17, 2019
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93