We thought we understood how big rocky planets can get. But most of our understanding of planetary formation and solar system development has come from direct observation of our own solar system. We simply couldn't see any ...
Astronomy
Feb 11, 2016
0
53
For countless generations, human beings have looked out at the night sky and wondered if they were alone in the universe. With the discovery of other planets in our solar system, the true extent of the Milky Way galaxy, and ...
Astronomy
May 25, 2015
0
271
NASA's Kepler spacecraft began hunting for planets outside our solar system on May 12, 2009. From the trove of data collected, we have learned that planets are common, that most sun-like stars have at least one planet and ...
Astronomy
May 13, 2015
0
21
Astronomers believe that hidden deep within the wealth of data collected by NASA's Kepler mission are minuscule signatures confirming the presence of exomoons. With such a promising discovery on the horizon, researchers are ...
Astronomy
Sep 27, 2013
2
0
There is only one planet we know of, so far, that is drenched with life. That planet is Earth, as you may have guessed, and it has all the right conditions for critters to thrive on its surface. Do other planets beyond our ...
Astronomy
Jul 18, 2013
0
0
Crippled in space, the Kepler spacecraft's planet-hunting days are likely over. But its discoveries may be yet to come.
Astronomy
May 29, 2013
1
0
(Phys.org)—NASA's Kepler mission Monday announced the discovery of 461 new planet candidates. Four of the potential new planets are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in their sun's "habitable zone," the region ...
Astronomy
Jan 8, 2013
1
0
The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., is releasing 12 additional months worth of planet-searching data meticulously collected by one of the most prolific planet-hunting endeavors ever conceived, NASA's ...
Astronomy
Oct 29, 2012
0
0
(Phys.org)—Despite being infamously demoted from its status as a major planet, Pluto (and its largest companion Charon) recently posed as a surrogate extrasolar planetary system to help astronomers produce exceptionally ...
Astronomy
Sep 26, 2012
2
0
With NASA’s tight budget, there were concerns that some of the agency’s most successful astrophysics missions might not be able to continue. Anxieties were rampant about one mission in particular, the very fruitful ...
Space Exploration
Apr 4, 2012
3
0
