The thermal structure of hot gas giant exoplanet atmospheres is likely to be inverted for the hottest planets, a class of planets known as ultra-hot Jupiters. This is the conclusion from astrophysicists based at the University ...
Astronomy
Aug 6, 2020
0
107
NASA's Lucy mission, led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has achieved an important milestone by passing its System Integration Review and clearing the way for spacecraft assembly. This NASA Discovery Program class ...
Space Exploration
Aug 3, 2020
0
384
We often think of asteroids and comets as distinct types of small bodies, but astronomers have discovered an increasing number of "crossovers." These objects initially appear to be asteroids, and later develop activity, such ...
Space Exploration
May 21, 2020
17
292
The weather forecast for the giant, super-hot Jupiter-size planet WASP-79b is steamy humidity, scattered clouds, iron rain, and yellow skies.
Astronomy
Apr 30, 2020
2
129
Our solar system has a king. The planet Jupiter, named for the most powerful god in the Greek pantheon, has bossed around the other planets through its gravitational influence. With twice the mass of Saturn, and 300 times ...
Astronomy
Apr 29, 2020
0
3433
After spotting a curious pattern in scientific papers—they described exoplanets as being cooler than expected—Cornell University astronomers have improved a mathematical model to accurately gauge the temperatures of planets ...
Astronomy
Apr 23, 2020
0
262
Astronomers from the University of Warwick have observed an exoplanet orbiting a star in just over 18 hours, the shortest orbital period ever observed for a planet of its type.
Astronomy
Feb 20, 2020
12
2443
NASA's Juno mission has provided its first science results on the amount of water in Jupiter's atmosphere. Published recently in the journal Nature Astronomy, the Juno results estimate that at the equator, water makes up ...
Astronomy
Feb 19, 2020
3
1315
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
0
47
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
0
138
