Articles tagged with Planetary Astronomy
Astronomers detect a double sunset on the newly discovered Kepler-16b, a planet similar to Saturn in size and mass. The planet orbits two smaller, cooler stars and is estimated to be around -100°C due to its distance from its parent bodies.
Astronomers have detected a planet orbiting a rapidly spinning pulsar, dubbed PSR J1719-1438. The discovery suggests that the planet is composed primarily of carbon and oxygen, likely forming a diamond-like material due to its high density.
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken anniversary pictures of Neptune, revealing high-altitude clouds in the northern and southern hemispheres composed of methane ice crystals. The images also show that cloud activity is shifting to the northern hemisphere, with seasons lasting about 40 years.
Kepler's first four months of data reveal evidence for over 1,200 planetary candidates, with 408 residing in systems containing two or more planets. These multi-planet systems are characterized by flat orbits, tilted less than 1 degree, and lack Jupiter-sized gas giants.
Dr. William R. Ward has made fundamental contributions to understanding how planets and satellites form and dynamically evolve, including the giant impact theory of lunar formation and Mars' polar axis oscillations
Bennett's team found 10 free-floating planets roughly the mass of Jupiter, suggesting planetary systems often become unstable, ejecting planets from their orbits. The discovery confirms that free-floating planets exist and are quite common, estimated to be twice as many as stars.
Astronomers discover densest solid planet 55 Cancri e, with a diameter 60% larger than Earth, orbiting its star every 17 hours. The planet's immense density makes it unlikely to have an atmosphere at surface temperatures of up to 2,700 degrees Celsius.
The Kepler-11 system features five inner planets with masses between 2.3 and 13.5 times that of Earth, orbiting within 50 days, and a sixth planet with an orbital period of 118 days. The planets' densities suggest they may be mostly water or hydrogen-helium gases, defying expectations for small hot planets.
The Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) PS1 telescope has discovered ten Kuiper Belt residents, ranging in size from 180 to 300 miles, and is expected to find a whole range of objects including dwarf planets and comets.
The newly discovered fourth planet (HR 8799e) orbits a bright star called HR 8799, which lies some 129 light years from Earth and is faintly visible to the naked eye. The mass of the HR 8799 planetary system is much greater than our own.
Astronomers have discovered a fourth giant planet in the HR8799 system, which is approximately seven times the mass of Jupiter. The system, consisting of four giant planets and two asteroid belts, is young compared to our solar system and may be on the verge of falling apart due to gravitational interactions.
Astronomers have discovered a planet from another galaxy orbiting a star that has entered our Milky Way, providing the first confirmed detection of an extragalactic exoplanet. The planet, HIP 13044 b, was detected using high-resolution spectrograph FEROS attached to the MPG/ESO telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory.
According to a University of California, Berkeley study, nearly one in four sun-like stars could have Earth-size planets. The researchers found increasing numbers of smaller planets, down to super-Earths, about three times the mass of Earth.
A new way to weigh planets has been developed using radio signals from small spinning stars called pulsars, providing an independent check on previous results. The measurements of planet masses made this new way could feed into data needed for future space missions.
New work by astrophysicist David Kipping reveals that astronomers can calculate a star's mass using its orbiting planet and moon. By measuring the size of the planet and moon relative to the star and their orbital periods, scientists can use Kepler's Laws of Motion to determine the density of the star.
Using new optics technology developed at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, astronomers have obtained images of a planet on a closer orbit around its parent star than any other extrasolar planet previously found. The discovery enables scientists to search for planets closer to the star than has been previously possible.
Astronomer Joel Kastner finds evidence that a variable star in the Pisces constellation is a one billion-year-old red giant that has swallowed a companion star, forming an orbiting disk that may contain second-generation planets. The star's extreme properties and X-ray production rate point to its advanced age.
Researchers have found potassium in the atmosphere of a giant planet, HD 80606 b, using narrow-band transit spectrophotometry. The discovery supports previous computer models and demonstrates the value of this observational technique for characterizing planets that might support life.
A team of astronomers from the University of Florida has discovered two Saturn-sized planets and a possible third planet with an Earth-like size orbiting a distant star. The discovery was made using a new method of confirming planets called transit timing variation, which allows for more efficient confirmation of planetary systems.
A team of scientists has developed a method to correct the irregularities in pulsar spin rates, enabling them to serve as more accurate clocks. This breakthrough could help detect gravitational waves, which are believed to exist but have yet to be directly observed.
For the first time, a team of astronomers successfully studied a Kuiper Belt object during a stellar occultation, providing data to determine its size and albedo. The surface of the object is highly reflective, similar to snow and ice, suggesting it may be composed of water-ice particles.
A team of astronomers suggests that many comets, including Halley and Hale-Bopp, could be from other star systems. The researchers propose that the Sun captured these icy bodies during its birth in a dense gas cloud.
Researchers used a technique called spectro-astrometry to observe protoplanetary disks in great detail, distinguishing between gas and dust distributions. They discovered that hydrogen gas is incorporated into the star through accretion, which can occur violently or smoothly, depending on the star's magnetic field.
Researchers from the University of the Basque Country and American scientists publish first results of a study on the impact of a large-sized celestial body on Jupiter last July. The impact created a massive ash cloud of around 5,000 km in size, with surrounding halo effects.
The University of California, Berkeley team's paper published in Science won the 2009 Newcomb Cleveland Prize for outstanding contributions to the field. The award recognizes the first visible-light picture of an extrasolar planet and its potential to change our view of how planets originate.
Drake Deming, a Senior Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, has won the prestigious Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize for his pioneering work detecting thermal infrared emission from transiting extrasolar planets using the Spitzer Space Telescope. The prize recognizes Deming's outstanding research contribution to astronomy and astr...
Astronomers from Caltech and other institutions have detected an extrasolar planet, HD 156668b, with a mass just four times that of Earth. The discovery highlights the potential for finding Earth-mass planets in the habitable zone, making it a promising lead in the search for life beyond our solar system.
CoRoT-7 b is a rocky planet circling a star 480 light years from Earth, with temperatures above 4,000 degrees F on its surface and potentially hosting multiple volcanoes due to its close orbit. Its extreme volcanic activity makes it unlikely to harbor life.
An international team of scientists has made the first direct observation of a planet-like object orbiting a star similar to the sun. The object, GJ 758 B, is estimated to be 10-40 times as massive as Jupiter and orbits its star at a distance of approximately 300 trillion miles.
Dr. Rolf-Peter Kudritzki, University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy director, has been awarded the Karl Schwarzschild Prize for his contributions to galaxy research. The prize recognizes his work on studying very bright stars in distant galaxies to understand their chemical composition and distance.
A team led by John Debes at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center finds that a star's motion through interstellar gas can account for warped debris disks around stars. The fine dust particles are affected by the drag force from the gas, causing them to change their trajectory and creating unusual shapes.
Astronomers observe Jupiter's new scar, a dark bruise about the size of the Pacific Ocean. The impact is believed to have been caused by a comet or asteroid, with reflective particles propelled high into the stratosphere.
Astronomers have found evidence of planet destruction caused by a star's tides, with some planets falling into their parent stars. The research uses computer models and observations to show that the tidal forces can misshape the star's surface, leading to the planet's demise.
Researchers observed the intense heating of HD 80606b as it swung close to its star, providing clues to its atmospheric properties. The data enabled the creation of realistic images of the planet using computer simulations.
A new study found that gas giants like Jupiter must form extremely fast, in less than 5 million years, or they won't form at all. This rapid growth spurt is necessary because the material from which they formed probably disappeared within a few million years.
A team of UBC researchers found that a mysterious force known as dark energy is responsible for the acceleration of the Universe, contradicting a theory that suggested the Earth was near the center of a giant void. The study used data from various sources, including the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite.
Researchers used a new technique to measure the precise size of WASP-10b, a planet thought to have an unusually large diameter. The team's use of the OPTIC camera resulted in a finding that the planet is one of the densest known, rather than bloated.
A team of astronomers discovered a new planet closely orbiting the giant star HD 102272, nearly six times the mass of Jupiter. The planet's location near the star raises questions about how aging stars influence nearby planets.
A team of astronomers has discovered three planets in orbit around the young star HR 8799, using advanced computer processing techniques to separate them from the star's light. The planets are found to possess complex atmospheres with dusty clouds partially trapping and re-radiating escaping heat.
The discovery reveals the planet's massive size and potential for a vast ring system. The images taken with Hubble Space Telescope provide direct proof of the planet's existence and orbit around star Fomalhaut.
Researchers have captured the first-ever images of three giant planets orbiting the star HR 8799. The planets, each about ten times the mass of Jupiter, have complex atmospheres with dusty clouds that trap and re-radiate heat.
A new MIT study suggests that young, hot planets like Earth could stay hotter for millions of years, making them detectable by current telescopes. This extended molten surface would increase the brightness of the planet in infrared light, reducing the contrast with its star and allowing for easier detection.
A two-hour observation using Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) system revealed changes in Jupiter's smog-like haze over the past three years, likely due to a planet-wide upheaval. The images show a major alteration in the brightness of the equatorial haze, indicating an increase in haze or its movement to higher altitudes.
The new calibration system uses a Nobel Prize-winning technology to create an extremely precise 'ruler' for spectrographs. This will enable astronomers to accurately measure the velocities of stars and galaxies, search for planets around other stars, and study the expansion of the Universe.
Scientists have developed a record-breaking ultrafast laser that can aid in the search for Earthlike planets. The new laser offers high speed, short pulses, and high average power, making it ideal for boosting the sensitivity of astronomical tools.
An international team of astronomers has found 10 new 'extra solar' planets using a robotic camera technique that will revolutionize scientific understanding of how planets form. The newly discovered planets have masses between half the size of Jupiter to eight times its size, including exotic worlds with extremely close orbits.
Researchers at the University of Rochester found that planets or low-mass stars orbiting dying stars create breathtaking objects in the sky. The study explores how these companions shape planetary nebulae through spiral waves and magnetic fields, producing striking shapes like the Dumbbell Nebula.
The discovery of the double planet system provides crucial evidence for the presence of multiple planet systems similar to our own solar system. The findings suggest that if OGLE-2006-BLG-109L is typical, it is possible that other systems have Jupiter- and Saturn-sized planets.
The team used four telescopes to capture the length and breadth of Mercury's tail, which can extend up to 1.5 million miles from the planet. This new record sets a new domain for understanding Mercury's influence within the Solar System.
Researchers found tholins in the disk of red dust around HR 4796A, a eight-million-year-old star with planets forming. The presence of these complex molecules suggests that basic building blocks of life may be common in planetary systems.
A team of astronomers has figured out what alien astronomers might see when studying Earth using current and future telescopes. They found that a great deal of information about a planet can be gleaned from its brightness and color changes over time, revealing its rotation rate and weather systems.
Astronomers at the University of Illinois have discovered a stellar cradle where planets and moons are believed to form. Located 800 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, the object is an enormous flow of shocked molecular hydrogen gas erupting from a young protostar's magnetic poles.
The discovery of a fifth planet around 55 Cancri is significant due to its habitable zone, where water could exist as a liquid. The planet's size and orbit suggest it may be rocky, with a potential for life.
Scientists have discovered a huge belt of warm dust swirling around the distant star, which is just slightly more massive than our sun. The conditions are suitable for forming rocky planets, and the material mix is reminiscent of lava flows on Earth.
Astronomers have discovered 'embryonic planets' forming in nearby star systems using new Hubble Space Telescope imagery. These small, Pluto-sized bodies are thought to be the first stage of planet formation and may hold the key to understanding how our own planet came to be.
A team of scientists from MIT, NASA, and Carnegie Institution created models for 14 different types of solid planets that might exist in our galaxy. The models predict a planet's diameter for a given composition and mass, revealing surprising similarities in how gravity compresses planets of varying materials.
The Hercules Dwarf Galaxy, a tiny companion to the Milky Way, has been found to have an exceptional flat shape, unlike any other known galaxy. The galaxy's shape is likely due to its close proximity to the Milky Way and the gravitational forces that disrupt it.
Astronomers found a low-mass companion to a rapidly spinning pulsar, which orbits the neutron star every 54.7 minutes at an average distance of 230,000 miles. The system is thought to have formed billions of years ago and is now accreting mass from the companion, causing an outburst.
Researchers found a planet orbiting a star near its end of life, providing insights into the potential fate of our own planet. The discovery suggests that planetary systems can survive the sun's expansion and helium flash, but larger planets may still be vulnerable.
The discovery of a planet orbiting a giant red star provides insight into the potential fate of our solar system as it evolves into a red-giant star. The planet, located 300 light years from Earth, circles its star every 360 days and offers astronomers a unique opportunity to study the effects of red-giant stars on planetary systems.