Star Wars protagonist Luke Skywalker's childhood might have been slightly less harsh if he'd grown up on a more temperate Tatooine—like the ones identified in a new study.
Astronomy
Feb 22, 2024
0
19
Astrophysicists studying a popular exoplanet in its star's habitable zone have found that electric currents in the planet's upper atmosphere could create sufficient heating to expand the atmosphere enough that it leaves the ...
Ordinarily, planets in evolved planetary systems, such as the solar system, follow stable orbits around their central star. However, many indications suggest that some planets might depart from their birthplaces during their ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 9, 2024
0
972
Trappist-1 is a fascinating exoplanetary system. Seven worlds orbiting a red dwarf star just 40 light-years away. All of the worlds are similar to Earth in mass and size, and three or four of them are potentially habitable. ...
Astrobiology
Feb 5, 2024
1
61
Planets orbit their parent stars while separated by enormous distances—in our solar system, planets are like grains of sand in a region the size of a football field. The time that planets take to orbit their suns have no ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 3, 2024
1
89
In a system with two known planets, astronomers spotted something new: A small object transiting across the sun-sized star. This turned out to be another planet, which was extra hot and Earth-sized.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 11, 2024
0
42
Once upon a cosmic time, scientists assumed that stars apply an eternal magnetic brake, causing an endless slowdown of their rotation. With new observations and sophisticated methods, they have now peeked into a star's magnetic ...
Astronomy
Jan 10, 2024
1
170
A recent study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters investigates the potential existence of Mars-sized free-floating planets (FFPs)—also known as rogue planets, starless planets, and wandering planets—that could ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 2, 2024
0
178
A team of astrophysicists led by Lauren Weiss, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Notre Dame, created the first-ever catalog of small, Earth-like planets with Jupiter-like ...
Astrobiology
Dec 19, 2023
0
133
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is already making great strides in helping us to unravel the mysteries of the universe. Earlier this year, hundreds of rogue planets were discovered in the Orion Nebula. The real surprise ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 18, 2023
0
35
