Dwarf Planets
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TRAPPIST-1e Methane Signal Likely False, Webb Data Suggests Airless Planet
The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, located about 39 light-years from Earth, hosts seven rocky worlds orbiting a cool red dwarf star. While several of these Earth-sized planets lie in the star’s habitable zone, new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest their atmospheres may be too thin to support life. Earlier hints of methane aro...
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Astronomers Detect "Super-Earth" Just 18 Light-Years Away In Habitable Zone
Researchers at UC Irvine and their partners published their study in The Astronomical Journal.
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Astronomers Spot First Coronal Mass Ejection from a Distant Star, Raising Questions About Planetary Habitability
Astronomers detected the first coronal mass ejection from a distant star, revealing that powerful stellar eruptions may strip atmospheres from nearby planets, affecting exoplanet habitability and the search for life.
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Newly Found ‘Super-Earth’ GJ 251 c Could Be One of the Most Promising Worlds for Alien Life
A new super-Earth, GJ 251 c, has been found orbiting a nearby red dwarf star within its habitable zone. About four times Earth’s mass, it may host liquid water. Detected via the radial-velocity method using Penn State’s Habitable Zone Planet Finder, it’s a prime target in the search for life.
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White Dwarf Gobbles Up Nitrogen-Rich Ices of Pluto-Like World
Astronomers have observed a white dwarf, a highly compact stellar ember, that appears to have gobbled up an icy world akin to dwarf planet Pluto, a finding with implications regarding the likelihood of habitable planets beyond our solar system
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Hubble Spots White Dwarf Devouring Icy Pluto-Like Planet 260 Light-Years Away
Using Hubble’s ultraviolet spectrograph, scientists detected carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, and abundant oxygen falling onto a white dwarf 260 light-years away, evidence of an icy planetesimal being torn apart. The find shows volatile worlds can persist into a star’s final stages, offering a preview of the Sun’s distant fate.
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NASA Data Shows Pluto’s Equator Is Lined with Towering Methane Ice Spires
New research based on New Horizons’ decade-old data has uncovered extensive bladed terrain made of methane ice on Pluto. These towering spires, arranged in spaced-out, parallel rows, are likely shaped by seasonal condensation and sublimation cycles. While the terrain spans over half the planet’s midsection, five times the width of continental U...
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Exoplanet 35 Light-Years Away Offers Hope for Life Beyond Earth
The exoplanet has a minimum mass 2.8 times that of Earth and has been categorised as a super-Earth.
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Young Exoplanet Spotted Shedding Atmosphere Under Stellar Radiation
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope have captured a dramatic cosmic event: a baby exoplanet, TOI 1227 b, is being stripped of its atmosphere by powerful X-rays from its host star. Only 8 million years old and orbiting a red dwarf, this Jupiter-sized planet is losing gas at a rate equal to Earth’s entire atmosphere every ...
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Astronomers Capture Planet Birth Around Baby Sun Outside Solar System
Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system.
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When The Sun Dies: What It Means For Earth
The eventual death of the Sun might prompt humanity to search for new homes in other star systems.
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Rare Jupiter-Sized Planet Discovered Using Phenomenon First Predicted by Einstein
AT2021uey b orbits a small and dim M dwarf star and completes its orbit every 4,170 days.
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JWST Reveals Pluto’s Haze Cools Atmosphere, Paints Charon’s Poles Red
Pluto's thin haze of organic particles, confirmed by JWST’s mid-infrared observations, plays a crucial role in both cooling its mesosphere and launching methane into space. This methane escapes Pluto’s gravity, landing on Charon’s poles where radiation transforms it into reddish tholins. The study highlights how Pluto’s haze shapes not only...
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Discovery Of Small Star Giving Birth To Huge Planet Leaves Scientists Puzzled
TOI-6894 is roughly 240 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo and is the smallest-known star to host a large planet.
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New Dwarf Planet Discovery Challenges Planet Nine Hypothesis
The discovery of a potential dwarf planet, 2017 OF201, in the farthest reaches of the solar system is reshaping our understanding of space. With a highly elongated orbit and large size, it contradicts the Planet Nine hypothesis, which predicted orbital clustering among distant objects. This finding not only questions the existence of a ninth planet...
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TRAPPIST-1e Methane Signal Likely False, Webb Data Suggests Airless Planet
The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, located about 39 light-years from Earth, hosts seven rocky worlds orbiting a cool red dwarf star. While several of these Earth-sized planets lie in the star’s habitable zone, new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest their atmospheres may be too thin to support life. Earlier hints of methane aro...
-
Astronomers Detect "Super-Earth" Just 18 Light-Years Away In Habitable Zone
Researchers at UC Irvine and their partners published their study in The Astronomical Journal.
-
Astronomers Spot First Coronal Mass Ejection from a Distant Star, Raising Questions About Planetary Habitability
Astronomers detected the first coronal mass ejection from a distant star, revealing that powerful stellar eruptions may strip atmospheres from nearby planets, affecting exoplanet habitability and the search for life.
-
Newly Found ‘Super-Earth’ GJ 251 c Could Be One of the Most Promising Worlds for Alien Life
A new super-Earth, GJ 251 c, has been found orbiting a nearby red dwarf star within its habitable zone. About four times Earth’s mass, it may host liquid water. Detected via the radial-velocity method using Penn State’s Habitable Zone Planet Finder, it’s a prime target in the search for life.
-
White Dwarf Gobbles Up Nitrogen-Rich Ices of Pluto-Like World
Astronomers have observed a white dwarf, a highly compact stellar ember, that appears to have gobbled up an icy world akin to dwarf planet Pluto, a finding with implications regarding the likelihood of habitable planets beyond our solar system
-
Hubble Spots White Dwarf Devouring Icy Pluto-Like Planet 260 Light-Years Away
Using Hubble’s ultraviolet spectrograph, scientists detected carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, and abundant oxygen falling onto a white dwarf 260 light-years away, evidence of an icy planetesimal being torn apart. The find shows volatile worlds can persist into a star’s final stages, offering a preview of the Sun’s distant fate.
-
NASA Data Shows Pluto’s Equator Is Lined with Towering Methane Ice Spires
New research based on New Horizons’ decade-old data has uncovered extensive bladed terrain made of methane ice on Pluto. These towering spires, arranged in spaced-out, parallel rows, are likely shaped by seasonal condensation and sublimation cycles. While the terrain spans over half the planet’s midsection, five times the width of continental U...
-
Exoplanet 35 Light-Years Away Offers Hope for Life Beyond Earth
The exoplanet has a minimum mass 2.8 times that of Earth and has been categorised as a super-Earth.
-
Young Exoplanet Spotted Shedding Atmosphere Under Stellar Radiation
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope have captured a dramatic cosmic event: a baby exoplanet, TOI 1227 b, is being stripped of its atmosphere by powerful X-rays from its host star. Only 8 million years old and orbiting a red dwarf, this Jupiter-sized planet is losing gas at a rate equal to Earth’s entire atmosphere every ...
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Astronomers Capture Planet Birth Around Baby Sun Outside Solar System
Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system.
-
When The Sun Dies: What It Means For Earth
The eventual death of the Sun might prompt humanity to search for new homes in other star systems.
-
Rare Jupiter-Sized Planet Discovered Using Phenomenon First Predicted by Einstein
AT2021uey b orbits a small and dim M dwarf star and completes its orbit every 4,170 days.
-
JWST Reveals Pluto’s Haze Cools Atmosphere, Paints Charon’s Poles Red
Pluto's thin haze of organic particles, confirmed by JWST’s mid-infrared observations, plays a crucial role in both cooling its mesosphere and launching methane into space. This methane escapes Pluto’s gravity, landing on Charon’s poles where radiation transforms it into reddish tholins. The study highlights how Pluto’s haze shapes not only...
-
Discovery Of Small Star Giving Birth To Huge Planet Leaves Scientists Puzzled
TOI-6894 is roughly 240 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo and is the smallest-known star to host a large planet.
-
New Dwarf Planet Discovery Challenges Planet Nine Hypothesis
The discovery of a potential dwarf planet, 2017 OF201, in the farthest reaches of the solar system is reshaping our understanding of space. With a highly elongated orbit and large size, it contradicts the Planet Nine hypothesis, which predicted orbital clustering among distant objects. This finding not only questions the existence of a ninth planet...
