Giant Planets
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Scientists Solve Venus Cloud Puzzle Using Simple Fluid Dynamics
Scientists discovered that a giant atmospheric wave on Venus behaves like a hydraulic jump seen in kitchen sinks. The process may explain the planet’s enormous sulfuric acid cloud front and its unusually fast atmospheric super rotation.
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New Study Suggests Uranus and Neptune May Contain More Rock Than Ice
New models suggest Uranus and Neptune may contain significantly more rock than ice beneath their atmospheres. The findings challenge decades of planetary science and could lead to a reclassification of the outer planets.
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James Webb Telescope Observes Distant Exoplanet That Looks Like Giant Mercury
Without an atmosphere to shield it, LHS 3844 b is bombarded by stellar radiation and micrometeorites.
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Astronomers Revisit Exoplanet HATS-75 b Using James Webb Telescope. Here's What They Found
Astronomers noted that HATS-75 b thus joins the rare population of giant planets around M-dwarfs observed with JWST.
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Why Jupiter Has Four Giant Moons While Saturn Has Just One, Study Explains
Scientists suggest the strong magnetic field of Jupiter created regions for multiple large moons to form, unlike Saturn. The findings could reshape how astronomers search for exomoons in distant planetary systems.
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'Forbidden Planet' The Size Of Jupiter That Shouldn't Exist In Theory Baffles Scientists
TOI 5205b is called a 'forbidden planet' as it defies current astronomical theories about planetary formation.
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Astronomers Capture Two Giant Planets Forming Around Young Star WISPIT 2
Astronomers have directly imaged two giant planets forming around the young star WISPIT 2. The system, just 5.4 million years old, shows rings, gaps, and active planet formation, offering a rare real-time glimpse into how solar systems like ours are born.
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Scientists Trace Rare Cosmic Outburst to a Massive Planetary Collision Around Gaia20ehk
Astronomers have reported evidence of two planets colliding around a distant Sun-like star, Gaia20ehk, located about 11,000 light-years away. The star's light output remained steady until 2016, when it exhibited three minor dimming events; by 2021, the light curve reportedly "went completely bonkers." Follow-up infrared observations revealed a burs...
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James Webb Telescope Captures Rare Infrared Footprints of Io and Ganymede Inside Jupiter’s Auroras
Jupiter produces the strongest auroras in the solar system. These features glow brightly around its poles as energetic particles crash into the giant planet's atmosphere. New observations have now revealed that Jupiter's moons can disturb this glowing display in unexpected ways. Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have identified...
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Jupiter Resumes Direct Motion This March as the Gas Giant Hits Peak Visibility for 2026 Skywatchers
Jupiter’s retrograde motion ends around March 10, 2026, when the giant planet appears to reverse direction in the sky. The effect is caused by Earth overtaking Jupiter in its orbit. The bright planet will shine in Gemini near Castor and Pollux throughout March.
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NASA Juno Mission Uncovers Subtle Geometric Shifts That Challenge Existing Models of the Jovian Interior
Scientists have refined Jupiter’s size and shape using modern radio signal observations, finding the giant planet slightly smaller and more flattened than earlier estimates. Though the difference is only a few kilometres, researchers say it greatly improves models of Jupiter’s interior, gravity, and atmospheric structure, offering deeper insigh...
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Giant Planet Jupiter Set To Come Closest To Earth This Week Offering An Unmissable Sky View
Its four largest moons can be seen with ordinary binoculars.
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Uranus and Neptune May Be Rock-Dominated Planets, Study Suggests
Uranus and Neptune may not be true ice giants after all. New research using advanced hybrid simulations suggests the distant planets could be dominated by rocky material rather than water-rich ices. The findings challenge decades of planetary models and may help explain the planets’ unusual, non-dipolar magnetic fields. Scientists say future dedi...
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Uranus and Neptune May Be Rocky Worlds Not Ice Giants, New Research Shows
A new analysis challenges decades-old assumptions about Uranus and Neptune, revealing that both planets may contain far more rock than icy materials. These findings help explain their strange magnetic fields and show that traditional "ice giant" models may be incomplete. Scientists say only dedicated future missions can uncover the true interior ma...
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James Webb Space Telescope Spots an Exoplanet Losing Its Atmosphere in a Huge Helium Stream
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have observed a massive helium cloud escaping from the super-puff exoplanet WASP-107b, marking the first direct detection of such atmospheric loss. Webb’s infrared data reveal an enormous exosphere nearly ten times the planet’s radius, with helium streaming both ahead of and behind the plane...
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Scientists Solve Venus Cloud Puzzle Using Simple Fluid Dynamics
Scientists discovered that a giant atmospheric wave on Venus behaves like a hydraulic jump seen in kitchen sinks. The process may explain the planet’s enormous sulfuric acid cloud front and its unusually fast atmospheric super rotation.
-
New Study Suggests Uranus and Neptune May Contain More Rock Than Ice
New models suggest Uranus and Neptune may contain significantly more rock than ice beneath their atmospheres. The findings challenge decades of planetary science and could lead to a reclassification of the outer planets.
-
James Webb Telescope Observes Distant Exoplanet That Looks Like Giant Mercury
Without an atmosphere to shield it, LHS 3844 b is bombarded by stellar radiation and micrometeorites.
-
Astronomers Revisit Exoplanet HATS-75 b Using James Webb Telescope. Here's What They Found
Astronomers noted that HATS-75 b thus joins the rare population of giant planets around M-dwarfs observed with JWST.
-
Why Jupiter Has Four Giant Moons While Saturn Has Just One, Study Explains
Scientists suggest the strong magnetic field of Jupiter created regions for multiple large moons to form, unlike Saturn. The findings could reshape how astronomers search for exomoons in distant planetary systems.
-
'Forbidden Planet' The Size Of Jupiter That Shouldn't Exist In Theory Baffles Scientists
TOI 5205b is called a 'forbidden planet' as it defies current astronomical theories about planetary formation.
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Astronomers Capture Two Giant Planets Forming Around Young Star WISPIT 2
Astronomers have directly imaged two giant planets forming around the young star WISPIT 2. The system, just 5.4 million years old, shows rings, gaps, and active planet formation, offering a rare real-time glimpse into how solar systems like ours are born.
-
Scientists Trace Rare Cosmic Outburst to a Massive Planetary Collision Around Gaia20ehk
Astronomers have reported evidence of two planets colliding around a distant Sun-like star, Gaia20ehk, located about 11,000 light-years away. The star's light output remained steady until 2016, when it exhibited three minor dimming events; by 2021, the light curve reportedly "went completely bonkers." Follow-up infrared observations revealed a burs...
-
James Webb Telescope Captures Rare Infrared Footprints of Io and Ganymede Inside Jupiter’s Auroras
Jupiter produces the strongest auroras in the solar system. These features glow brightly around its poles as energetic particles crash into the giant planet's atmosphere. New observations have now revealed that Jupiter's moons can disturb this glowing display in unexpected ways. Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have identified...
-
Jupiter Resumes Direct Motion This March as the Gas Giant Hits Peak Visibility for 2026 Skywatchers
Jupiter’s retrograde motion ends around March 10, 2026, when the giant planet appears to reverse direction in the sky. The effect is caused by Earth overtaking Jupiter in its orbit. The bright planet will shine in Gemini near Castor and Pollux throughout March.
-
NASA Juno Mission Uncovers Subtle Geometric Shifts That Challenge Existing Models of the Jovian Interior
Scientists have refined Jupiter’s size and shape using modern radio signal observations, finding the giant planet slightly smaller and more flattened than earlier estimates. Though the difference is only a few kilometres, researchers say it greatly improves models of Jupiter’s interior, gravity, and atmospheric structure, offering deeper insigh...
-
Giant Planet Jupiter Set To Come Closest To Earth This Week Offering An Unmissable Sky View
Its four largest moons can be seen with ordinary binoculars.
-
Uranus and Neptune May Be Rock-Dominated Planets, Study Suggests
Uranus and Neptune may not be true ice giants after all. New research using advanced hybrid simulations suggests the distant planets could be dominated by rocky material rather than water-rich ices. The findings challenge decades of planetary models and may help explain the planets’ unusual, non-dipolar magnetic fields. Scientists say future dedi...
-
Uranus and Neptune May Be Rocky Worlds Not Ice Giants, New Research Shows
A new analysis challenges decades-old assumptions about Uranus and Neptune, revealing that both planets may contain far more rock than icy materials. These findings help explain their strange magnetic fields and show that traditional "ice giant" models may be incomplete. Scientists say only dedicated future missions can uncover the true interior ma...
-
James Webb Space Telescope Spots an Exoplanet Losing Its Atmosphere in a Huge Helium Stream
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have observed a massive helium cloud escaping from the super-puff exoplanet WASP-107b, marking the first direct detection of such atmospheric loss. Webb’s infrared data reveal an enormous exosphere nearly ten times the planet’s radius, with helium streaming both ahead of and behind the plane...
