Articles tagged with Planetary Astronomy
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.
Astronomers used powerful telescopes to detect giant Jupiter-like planets in the outer regions of nearby solar systems, but found none beyond 5 astronomical units from their stars. The survey, which was conducted over three years, aimed to determine what the average planetary system looks like and whether ours is typical.
Astronomers have discovered a young star with an elliptical ring that is likely caused by the presence of an undiscovered Neptune-sized planet. The ring is offset by 1.4 billion miles, more than 15 times the distance from Earth to the Sun.
Astronomers have discovered a massive transiting planet, TrES-3, with a 31-hour year, orbiting its parent star about 1,500 light-years away. The planet is twice the mass of Jupiter and one of the planets with the shortest known periods.
Researchers have found a massive exoplanet, XO-3b, which orbits its star in less than four days and is 13 times the mass of Jupiter. The planet's unusual characteristics, including its elliptical orbit and size, raise questions about its classification as a brown dwarf.
The California and Carnegie Planet Search team has reported 28 new exoplanets, increasing the total number of known exoplanets to 236. The new discoveries include seven confirmed brown dwarfs, which are failed stars that can be more massive than Jupiter-sized planets.
A team of astronomers has measured the temperature variation across the surface of a giant gas planet, Upsilon Andromeda b, for the first time. The study reveals that the planet's hot side reaches temperatures of 2,550 degrees Fahrenheit, while its dark side is frigid.
UCF, UCLA astronomers have made the first direct observation of distinct day and night temperatures on a planet orbiting another star. The team used NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to measure infrared light emitted by the planet upsilon Andromedae b at five points around its orbit.
Astronomers confirm two exoplanets using ESO's Very Large Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope data. The discoveries provide strong evidence for at least 6 billion Jupiter-sized planets in the Milky Way, including five new ultra-short-period planet types.
Two new planets have been discovered by astronomers, both extremely close to their stars and estimated to be around 3,272 degrees Fahrenheit. The discovery is made possible by the transit method, which detects slight dimming of starlight as planets pass in front of their stars.
The IAU defined a planet as a celestial body in orbit around the Sun with sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium. The new definition includes our solar system's eight recognized planets and a distinct class of dwarf planets, including Pluto.
The IAU draft definition of a planet, which includes eight classical planets, three new 'plutons,' and Ceres, has been reached after two years of work. The definition states that a planet must be in orbit around a star and have sufficient mass to assume a hydrostatic equilibrium shape.
Researchers found four 'planemos' with dusty disks that could evolve into miniature planetary systems. The discovery challenges the traditional view of what constitutes a planet.
Three tiny companions orbiting HD 69830 have been discovered by astronomers using the ESO's HARPS instrument. The newly found planets have minimum masses between 10 and 18 times the mass of Earth, with one located in the habitable zone.
Researchers have devised a method to catch the early stages of gas-giant core accretion, suggesting that young intermediate-sized cores could be a clear indicator of core accretion. The existence of these cores would likely yield gas-giant planets in as little as 1,000 years around small, gravitationally weak stars.
Astronomers have discovered an eclipsing pair of brown dwarfs in the Orion Nebula, providing the first direct measurement of their mass, size, and surface temperature. This discovery sheds light on the dynamic processes that produce stars and helps estimate the masses of faint objects.
Margaret Turnbull has shortlisted five stars for radio signal detection and five for direct imaging of Earth-like planets. Her criteria include age, metallicity, and residency on the main sequence, favoring Sun-like stars with stable orbits.
Astronomers have found a small planet with a mass about five times that of Earth, orbiting a small star near the center of the galaxy. The discovery suggests there are many other small planets in habitable zones, where temperatures are moderate enough for liquid water to appear on their surfaces.
The discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb provides strong evidence that low-mass planets, potentially supporting life, are more common than Jupiter-like gas giants. Researchers hope the gravitational microlensing technique will reveal more habitable worlds in the Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomers have detected a rocky, icy planet about five-and-a-half times the mass of Earth, located over 20,000 light years away. The discovery was made possible by gravitational microlensing, which may lead to finding smaller planets in habitable zones around stars.
Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting a 600-million-year-old star using the Exoplanet Tracker, a faster and cheaper instrument. The new method allows for more efficient search of distant stars, potentially uncovering planets capable of supporting life.
A team of astronomers has discovered a hot Jupiter planet in a triple star system, challenging conventional theories of planetary formation. The discovery suggests that it is possible for planets to form around the host star and then be captured by a binary system, explaining the unusual configuration of the HD 188753 system.
A team of astronomers investigated six young brown dwarfs and found that dust particles in their circumstellar discs stuck together, forming larger clumps of olivine. This material is also found in comets and normal stars, suggesting a similar growth process in planet formation
Astronomers have found two young stars with 'gaps' in their disks that resemble the gaps between Jupiter and Uranus in our solar system. The discovery challenges existing theories of giant-planet formation and provides a unique window into how our own solar system came to be.
Researchers have developed a new method to detect Earth-like planets by analyzing the chemistry of silicate vapor and steam-rich atmospheres. The approach uses thermochemical equilibrium calculations to identify the presence of silicon monoxide gas, which is expected to be distinct at high temperatures during the planet's formation.
The newly discovered planet, orbiting Gliese 876, is the smallest and first rocky terrestrial planet found around a normal star. Its surface temperature may be too hot for life as we know it due to its close proximity to the star.
Astronomers have detected a planet in a solar system 15,000 light years from Earth, one of the most distant ever discovered. The discovery was made possible by a technique called gravitational microlensing, which involves monitoring the brightness of a star as a massive object in space passes in front of it.
Researchers have found a young planet that is smaller than expected and orbits its parent star at the same distance as our own Neptune. The discovery was made using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and challenges current understanding of planetary formation, leading to a re-examination of existing theories.
Astronomers have discovered the nearest and youngest star with a visible disk of dust that may be a nursery for planets. The dim red dwarf star AU Mic is about half the mass of the sun but only 12 million years old, and its dusty debris disk stretches around 210 astronomical units from the central star.
Research by Debra Fischer and Jeff Valenti found a correlation between star metal abundance and planet formation, with metal-rich stars having a 20% chance of harboring planets. The data suggest that a threshold metallicity exists, favoring the formation of planetary systems in stars with higher initial metal content.
A team of British, Australian and American astronomers have discovered a planet similar to Jupiter in orbit around a nearby star, 3.3 times further from its star than Earth is from the Sun. The system's long-term precision allows for the detection of true analogues to our Solar System, advancing the search for systems like our own.
Astronomers have discovered seven planet-forming disks, extending up to 100 times larger than previously seen disks, around infant stars in the constellations Orion and Perseus. These discoveries suggest that planets may form at much greater distances from stars, making them easier to detect.
The National Virtual Observatory (NVO) has confirmed the discovery of a new brown dwarf, one of only 200 known to science. This breakthrough came from a computerized search of millions of astronomical objects in two separate databases, showcasing the potential of NVO to uncover new findings quickly.
The Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy has determined the sizes of four of the largest and most distant minor planets in our solar system. The diameters range between 700 and 1200 km, providing new insights into the Kuiper belt's structure and potential origin of planetary systems.
The discovery of a companion planet to Tau1 Gruis star with a relatively long-period orbit and mass similar to Jupiter sheds new light on the formation of giant planets. Researchers found that most giant planets likely form at Jupiter-like distances from their host stars.
The discovery of a Jupiter-like planet and the smallest known planet outside the solar system offers hope for finding life beyond Earth. The newly found planet orbits 55 Cancri at nearly the same distance as Jupiter orbits our sun, making it a near analog to our own solar system.
Alexander Wolszczan, discoverer of the first extra-solar planets, has been featured on a Polish postage stamp celebrating the past millennium. His discovery in 1992 using the Arecibo radiotelescope suggested that planets might be plentiful throughout the universe.
The discovery provides the first evidence that planets at earthlike distances can survive the evolution of their host star into a giant. The planet orbits iota Draconis, an old star with a radius 13 times that of the sun, and has an elliptical orbit that takes 1.5 years to complete.
Researchers John Debes and Steinn Sigurdsson predict unstable planets will collide, creating 'reborn' planets around white dwarfs. This process could create heavy bombardment of material into inner planetary systems, explaining phenomena like dusty white dwarfs and metal-polluted atmospheres.
Researchers at the University of Illinois and Wisconsin detected a Y-shaped ionized gas filament near the Big Dipper, believed to be produced by radiation from a white dwarf or low-luminosity source. The object's properties differ from other examples, making it difficult to identify its origin.
A team of astronomers has discovered a new molecule, nitrogen sulfide, in comets, which may offer insights into the formation of the early solar system. The compound's presence in comets suggests that it could have originated from the material that formed the planets.
Detailed studies of 12 stars with Jupiter-mass planets show concentrations of heavy elements two to three times greater than in the sun. The discovery supports the theory that stars born in heavy-element-enriched clouds are more likely to harbor giant planets.
Astronomers have discovered large numbers of previously unknown stars in the Virgo Cluster using dying green stars as tools. The findings suggest that at least 22% of Virgo's light is coming from these hidden stars, and could affect estimates of universe mass.
The images taken by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft reveal a cratered surface and porous composition of asteroid 253 Mathilde. Scientists were surprised to find large craters packed tightly on the relatively small surface, indicating that large objects can strike without destroying it.