Items tagged with solar system
A planetary scientist is urging NASA to send a probe to Uranus in order to learn more about the icy planet. Kathleen Mandt of Johns Hopkins University says that there is a launch window for such a probe opening in 2032, when Jupiter's alignment with Earth will provide the opportunity for a slingshot maneuver toward...
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Pluto is an icy dwarf planet that usually lies beyond the orbit of Neptune in the Kuiper Belt.
The dwarf planet is smaller than Earth's Moon, with red snow-capped mountains as tall as the Rockies.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made its historic flight through the Pluto system in 2015, providing the first close-up...
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Venus is often referred to as Earth's evil twin and NASA asked one of its scientists why that is. While the answer as to why Venus is thought of as Earth's twin may be better known, what makes our closest neighbor "evil" may not be.
Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun at a distance of around 67 million...
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Skywatchers will be able to view all the planets in our Solar System on the same night. Those wanting to get an early sneak peek can join a live broadcast by The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 later today.
December has been chock full of celestial events for skywatchers to enjoy. Those who love to admire the Moon...
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A team of astronomers has detected evidence that two exoplanets 218 light-years from Earth are "water worlds." The two planets orbit a red dwarf star in the constellation Lyra, unlike any planets in our solar system.
According to a newly published research paper, two exoplanets, which are about one and a half times...
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An international team of researchers is calling a stunning fireball from the most distant region of the Solar System a game changer. The meteor that was spotted over Alberta, Canada last year is challenging the currently favored Solar System formation models.
The Oort Cloud is a group of celestial bodies that begin...
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A group of astronomers sorted through 200,000 images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in order to look for any residual background glow in the sky. The highly-ambitious project called SKYSURF, found an extremely small amount of excess light, equivalent to the "steady glow of 10 fireflies spread across the entire...
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NASA has revamped its "Eyes on the Solar System" 3D visualization tool, making it easier to traverse the solar system in more interactive manner. Since its creation two years ago, the tool has seen many updates that include better controls, improved navigation, and new opportunities to learn about the cosmos.
As we...
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Astronomers may have discovered the youngest planet ever found in our galaxy. The planet is thought to be orbiting AS 209, a young star in the Ophiuchus constellation estimated to be just about 1.6 million years young.
Research recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters using the Atacama Large...
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A quartet of planets is about to align with the Moon and you won't need a telescope to view the heavenly event. Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn will all be visible to the naked eye.
It isn't often that the alignment of so many planets is viewable without the aid of a telescope or pair of binoculars. It tends to...
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Uranus is capable of making it rain diamonds, and that's no joke. Along with Neptune, the two planets, referred to as ice giants, have temperatures and pressures that are so excessive it causes intense physical reactions.
In order for a diamond to form, it requires a combination of events to occur, according to a new research paper released
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A 30 year journey of exploring beyond our own solar system has led to the discovery of over 5,000 exoplanets, as confirmed by NASA yesterday. The count surpassed the 5,000 milestone after the latest batch of 65 exoplanets were added to the NASA Exoplanet Archive.
While the question of whether or not we are alone in...
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A recent research paper suggests that dwarf planet Ceres may have originated at the icy edges of the solar system. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt and is vastly different than its rocky neighbors.
Ceres is classified as a dwarf planet that exists in the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and...
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Samples that were collected from the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission were received just over one year ago back here on Earth. Scientists have been busy trying to unlock some mysteries to the origin of our Solar System ever since.
Space agencies and scientists have been searching for clues to unlock the origin story of...
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The search for another planet in our solar system has came up empty for astronomers searching the skies. Astrophysicists have explored the possibility for some time and many firmly believe one does exist. Now 38-year-old data may back up what they have suspected all along.
The exploration of space has taken us far...
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