Planet

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TRAPPIST planets may be habitable in weirder ways than we thought

Michael Irving April 18, 2019

TRAPPIST-1 is one the most fascinating planetary systems discovered so far. Now, two new studies have looked at the habitability of these planets, with a focus on radiation from the star and tides caused by the other planets. Strangely enough, these factors could help make them more liveable.

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Odd orbits shed light on identity of objects that are half-star, half-planet

Michael Irving April 11, 2019

Strange celestial objects known as brown dwarfs could be classed as either the largest possible planets or the smallest possible stars. Now astronomers from Heidelberg University have found evidence of brown dwarfs forming like planets, as opposed to stars.

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UV-drenched exoplanets might still host life after all

Michael Irving April 10, 2019

Unfortunately, some of the most likely candidates for life on exoplanets are bathed in apparently-lethal levels of radiation – but a new study from Cornell University says that might not be a problem. Case in point: Earth.

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Interstellar objects like 'Oumuamua could kickstart planet formation

David Szondy April 8, 2019

According to a new study, interstellar wanderers like 'Oumuamua may speed up the formation of planets in the gas clouds of newly-formed protostars by acting as seeds that help accelerate the creation of new planets.

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Planetary core orbiting dying star echoes the twilight of our solar system

Anthony Wood April 4, 2019

Scientists have discovered what they believe to be the dense, metallic remains of a planet surviving closer to the core of a dying star than had previously been thought possible. The discovery offers a tantalizing glimpse into what may become of our home solar system billions of years in the future.

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Astronomers spot a new planetary system forming nearby

Michael Irving March 17, 2019

Roughly 4.6 billion years ago, all the planets in our solar system began to form in a huge disk of dust and gas that swirled around the Sun. Now astronomers have spotted the same kind of thing happening around a nearby young star, which could give us a better understanding of planet formation.

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NASA lab brews up alien atmospheres here on Earth

Michael Irving March 14, 2019

Earth’s pleasant, life-giving atmosphere is turning out to be somewhat of an oddity. To get a better understanding of exoplanets, a team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has recreated one of these alien atmospheres in the lab.

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NASA lab brews up alien atmospheres here on Earth

Michael Irving March 14, 2019

Earth’s pleasant, life-giving atmosphere is turning out to be somewhat of an oddity. To get a better understanding of exoplanets, a team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has recreated one of these alien atmospheres in the lab.

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Far out new dwarf planet is the most distant known object in the solar system

Michael Irving December 17, 2018

Astronomers are welcoming the newest and most distant object in the solar system – a dwarf planet orbiting more than 100 times further from the Sun than Earth. And because its discoverers aren’t the most creative bunch, it’s been dubbed “Farout.”

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Hubble spots "hot Neptune" exoplanet that's evaporating at a record rate

Michael Irving December 13, 2018

A type of world dubbed a "hot Neptune" has been conspicuously few and far between in terms of exoplanet discoveries, but a new observation may explain why. Hubble has now spotted a hot Neptune named GJ 3470b that’s vanishing at a record rate.

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