Jupiter's rocky core bigger and icier, model predicts
Jupiter has a rocky core that is more than twice as large as previously thought, according to computer calculations by a University of California, Berkeley, geophysicist who simulated conditions inside the planet on the scale of individual hydrogen and helium atoms. view more (2008-11-26)
No rest on the way to the most mysterious of Saturn`s moons
After an adventurous 7-year long tour among the planets, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft will arrive at Saturn in July 2004. Once there, Cassini will parachute the Huygens probe to Saturn`s biggest satellite, Titan. Titan is thought to have an atmosphere similar to the primitive Earth. However, both the probe and the Cassini-Huygens team are not in... view more... (2002-08-28)
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)
Extreme Winds Rule Exoplanet's Weather
Supersonic winds more than six times faster than those on Jupiter are blasting through the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized planet 60 light years away, say scientists who've analyzed results from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. view more (2007-05-10)
Galileo's notebooks may reveal secrets of new planet
Galileo knew he had discovered a new planet in 1613, 234 years before its official discovery date, according to a new theory by a University of Melbourne physicist. view more (2009-07-09)
A Brown Dwarf Joins the Jet-Set
Jets of matter have been discovered around a very low mass 'failed star', mimicking a process seen in young stars. This suggests that these 'brown dwarfs' form in a similar manner to normal stars but also that outflows are driven out by objects as massive as hundreds of millions of solar masses down to Jupiter-sized objects. view more (2007-05-24)
Jupiter`s Electric Aurora
The planet Jupiter has spectacular rings of auroras around each pole but until now scientists have not been able to explain how they form. All auroras are caused by energetic charged particles crashing into the top of the atmosphere and making it glow. In the Earth's auroras, these particles come from the Sun in a flow of charged particles known... view more... (2002-03-26)
Unique gathering of spacecraft yields new views, clues on Jupiter's magnetosphere
A space probe carrying British-designed and operated instruments has helped scientists to understand the magnetosphere surrounding Jupiter better than ever before. view more (2002-02-26)
Jupiter and Saturn full of liquid metal helium
A strange, metal brew lies buried deep within Jupiter and Saturn, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and in London. view more (2008-08-07)
Gas giants jump into planet formation early
Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show that gas giants either form within the first 10 million years of a sun-like star's life, or not at all. view more (2007-01-09)
Next-generation adaptive optics produces sharper Jupiter images
A two-hour observation of Jupiter using an improved technique to remove atmospheric blur has produced the sharpest whole-planet picture ever taken from the ground, according to astronomers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). view more (2008-10-03)
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)
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)
Hubble, Keck images show continued turbulence in Jupiter's atmosphere
Increased turbulence and storms first observed on Jupiter more than two years ago are still raging, according to astronomers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, who snapped high-resolution pictures of the planet earlier this month. view more (2008-05-23)
Computer models suggest planetary and extrasolar planet atmospheres
The world is abuzz with the discovery of an extrasolar, Earth-like planet around the star Gliese 581 that is relatively close to our Earth at 20 light years away in the constellation Libra. view more (2007-06-20)
Binary asteroid in Jupiter's orbit may be icy comets from solar system's infancy
Astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, working with colleagues in France and at the Keck Telescope in Hawaii, have calculated the density of a known binary asteroid system that shares Jupiter's orbit, and concluded that Patroclus and its companion probably are composed mostly of water ice covered by a patina of dirt. view more (2006-02-02)
Pluto-Bound New Horizons Sees Changes in Jupiter System
The voyage of NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft through the Jupiter system earlier this year provided a bird's-eye view of a dynamic planet that has changed since the last close-up looks by NASA spacecraft. view more (2007-10-10)
Interstellar Weather Report: Day and Night Temps Measured on an Extrasolar Planet
For the first time, astronomers have measured the day and night temperatures of a planet outside our solar system. The team, which includes Sara Seager of Carnegie's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, revealed that a giant Jupiter-like gas planet orbiting very close to its star is blisteringly hot on one side, and frigid on the other. view more (2006-10-13)
Learning to trade in carbon dioxide
"You have to be well prepared to enter the emissions trading arena. Otherwise you'll run the same financial risks as on a conventional stock exchange," declares Franzjosef Schafhausen of the German ministry for the environment, who heads the working group on the national climate change program. Poor awareness of the implications of... view more... (2003-12-01)
Scientists snap images of first brown dwarf in planetary system
Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered and directly imaged a small brown dwarf star, 50 times the mass of Jupiter, orbiting with a planet around a Sun-like star. view more (2006-09-19)
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