Astronomers have discovered 139 new “minor planets” in our solar system, beyond the orbit of Neptune. These small objects could provide clues as to whether the mysterious Planet Nine, a hypothesized planet orbiting our sun which has not been directly observed, does really exist. The minor planets were discovered using data from the Dark Energy […]
Tag: planets
Upcoming mission to Jupiter images the planet’s moons from here on Earth
Jupiter system captured in JUICE NavCam test (annotated) Airbus Defence and Space Jupiter has an abundance of moons, and astronomers continue to spot new ones and to make unexpected findings about the ones we’ve already seen. An upcoming mission from the European Space Agency, called the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, hasn’t even left […]
Dead planets give off ghostly radio waves which we should be able to detect
An artist’s impression of a white dwarf sitting in the center of the remnant of a planetary system. Mark A. Garlick /space-art.co.uk/University of Warwick Dead planets orbiting dead stars can give off ghostly radio wave emissions that are detectable from Earth, allowing us to track planets even billions of years after their stars have run […]
NASA’s TESS satellite discovered three new planets right next-door
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, affectionately called TESS, discovered three new worlds during its latest exploration. The exoplanets are the smallest, nearest known to date and orbit a star that’s just 73 light-years away, which is pretty much just around the corner in cosmic terms, NASA and MIT announced Monday. The star furthermost away also […]
Astronomers discover two rogue planets that do not orbit a star
Astronomers from Warsaw University in Poland have identified two “rogue planets” in our galaxy that do not orbit around a star. Unlike the vast majority of discovered planets, these rogue planets drift through space alone with no sun to shine on them. Debate has raged in astronomical circles for years as to whether rogue planets […]
Laika: Forget historic tragedy, this first space dog saves alien planets
[embedded content] Trailer for Laika The story of Laika—the first pup launched into space—has been documented everywhere from Ars Technica to Arcade Fire songs. This decidedly tragic tale starts with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev wanting to press his country’s perceived space advantage over the United States after the USSR’s Sputnik had beaten US efforts into […]