Helium rains inside jovian planets
Models of how Saturn and Jupiter formed may soon take on a different look. By determining the properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures at the millions of atmospheres of pressure present in the interior of Saturn and Jupiter, physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have determined the... view more... (2009-01-27)
Astronomers use ultra-sensitive camera to measure size of planet orbiting star
A team of astronomers led by John Johnson of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy has used a new technique to measure the precise size of a planet around a distant star. They used a camera so sensitive that it could detect the passage of a moth in front of a lit window from a distance of 1,000 miles. view more (2008-12-11)
Aurorae and Volcanic Eruptions
Impressive thermal-infrared images have been obtained of the giant planet Jupiter during tests of a new detector in the ISAAC instrument on the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory (Chile). They show in particular the full extent of the northern auroral ring and part of the southern aurora. A volcanic eruption was also imaged... view more... (2001-06-07)
Radio telescope images reveal planet-forming disk orbiting twin suns
Astronomers are announcing today that a sequence of images collected with the Smithsonian's Submillimeter Array (SMA) clearly reveals the presence of a rotating molecular disk orbiting the young binary star system V4046 Sagittarii. view more (2009-06-11)
Kiwi astronomers help find icy 'Super Earth' - Life in space discovery a step closer
By designing a variant of an astronomical technique proposed by Einstein, researchers from The University of Auckland and Massey University, together with astronomers from Auckland's Stardome Observatory, have found evidence for a new icy "Super Earth". view more (2006-03-15)
How Special Is The Solar System?
On the evidence to date, our solar system could be fundamentally different from the majority of planetary systems around stars because it formed in a different way. If that is the case, Earth-like planets will be very rare. After examining the properties of the 100 or so known extrasolar planetary systems and assessing two ways in which planets... view more... (2004-08-03)
It may not be long before we see other worlds
WE MAY actually see a planet around a nearby star within the next six months. A team of British astronomers hope to achieve this feat by focusing their search on white dwarfs-dimly glowing stars at the end of their lives. Although more than 80 planets outside our Solar System have been discovered,... view more... (2002-03-06)
A Trio of Super-Earths
Today, at an international conference, a team of European astronomers announced a remarkable breakthrough in the field of extra-solar planets. Using the HARPS instrument at the ESO La Silla Observatory, they have found a triple system of super-Earths around the star HD 40307. view more (2008-06-17)
Astronomers discover two new planets, both among the hottest ever
Astronomers have discovered two new planets outside our solar system, both extremely close to their stars and thus among the hottest ever found. view more (2006-09-27)
Jupiter-like Planets Could Form Around Twin Suns
Life on a planet ruled by two suns might be a little complicated. Two sunrises, two sunsets. Twice the radiation field. view more (2009-01-06)
Scientists Model a Cornucopia of Earth-sized Planets
In the Star Wars movies fictional planets are covered with forests, oceans, deserts, and volcanoes. But new models from a team of MIT, NASA, and Carnegie scientists begin to describe an even wider range of Earth-size planets that astronomers might actually be able to find in the near future. view more (2007-09-25)
Unexpected cooling effect in Saturn's upper atmosphere
UK researchers from University College London (UCL), along with colleagues from Boston University, have found that the hotter than expected temperature of Saturn's upper atmosphere - and that of the other giant planets - is not due to the same mechanism that heats the atmosphere around the Earth's Northern Lights. view more (2007-01-29)
100th Extra-solar planet gives clues to origins of planets
British astronomers, together with Australian and American colleagues, have used the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope [AAT] in New South Wales, Australia to discover a new planet outside our Solar System - the 100th to be detected. The discovery, which is part of a search for solar systems that resemble our own, will be announced today (Tuesday) at... view more... (2002-09-16)
Missing planets attest to destructive power of stars' tides
During the last two decades, astronomers have found hundreds of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. New research indicates they might have found even more except for one thing - some planets have fallen into their stars and simply no longer exist. view more (2009-04-28)
Space Man Joins BBC Voyage Around The Solar System
A Kingston University space expert has been reaching out to the stars after lending his specialist knowledge to a major TV drama-documentary. Director of the University's Aerospace Research Centre Dr Chris Welch has been working with the makers of BBC One series, Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets, which hits our screens next month. The... view more... (2004-10-20)
It`s wet out there
TANTALISING signs of water have been found in the atmospheres of planets orbiting distant stars. If the discovery is confirmed, it will fuel speculation that the Galaxy is teeming with life. "This would be a historic discovery- the first detection of a prebiotic molecule in an extrasolar planet," says Cristiano Cosmovici of the Institute for... view more... (2002-09-20)
MIT finds young planets stay hotter longer
Hot, young planets may be easier to spot because they stay that way longer than astronomers have thought, according to new work by MIT planetary scientist Linda Elkins-Tanton. view more (2008-10-16)
NASA predicts nongreen plants on other planets
NASA scientists believe they have found a way to predict the color of plants on planets in other solar systems. view more (2007-04-11)
Wobbly planets could reveal Earth-like moons
Moons outside our Solar System with the potential to support life have just become much easier to detect, thanks to research by an astronomer at University College London (UCL). view more (2008-12-12)
Press invitation: Big bucks for Big Bang scientists
A £1.7 million science laboratory for studying one of the great mysteries of the Universe opens at the University of Sussex on May 14, 2002. The Centre for the Measurement of Particle Electric Dipole Moments has been equipped with the very latest technology to help scientists discover what happened in the aftermath of the 'Big Bang'. Ed... view more... (2002-05-07)
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