Planetary Formation
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Scientists Discover High-Density Rocky Planet in LHS 1903 System That Defies Conventional Formation Models
ESA’s CHEOPS mission has uncovered a surprising rocky planet at the outer edge of the LHS 1903 system. Located 116 light-years away, the discovery defies expectations that outer planets are gas giants. Scientists say the finding offers rare evidence that planets can form in gas-depleted environments, challenging current planetary formation models...
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Astronomers Discover "Inside-Out" Planetary System With Rocky World Beyond Gas Planets, Challenging Formation Theories
Since the 1990s, scientists have discovered approximately 6,100 planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets.
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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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Unique Inside-Out Planetary System Reveals Unexpected Rocky World on the Outer Edge
Astronomers have discovered a rare inside-out planetary system around LHS 1903, where a rocky planet exists beyond gas giants. Using ESA’s CHEOPS telescope, researchers found evidence that planets formed one after another in a gas-depleted environment, challenging long-standing theories about how planetary systems form and evolve across the galax...
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SPHEREx Captures Dramatic Outburst of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA’s SPHEREx telescope captured a dramatic outburst from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS after its close solar flyby in October 2025. Infrared observations in December revealed water vapor, carbon dioxide, methanol, methane, and cyanide erupting from the comet’s nucleus. Scientists say the chemical makeup suggests formation in a relatively warm e...
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New ALMA Images Reveal Complex Rings Left Behind by Planet Formation
Astronomers used ALMA to capture unprecedented images of young exoplanetary systems. The ARKS survey mapped 24 debris disks, revealing rings, gaps and collisions that trace planetary evolution. These snapshots expose chaotic transitional stages, helping scientists understand how newborn planets mature into stable systems like our own Solar System t...
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Rubin Observatory Discovers Fastest-Spinning Large Asteroid Ever Seen
Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered asteroid 2025 MN45, the fastest-spinning large asteroid ever recorded. About 710 metres wide, the object completes one full rotation every 1.88 minutes—far quicker than any asteroid of similar size. The finding emerged from an early survey that detected nearly 2,000 new asteroids, in...
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Astronomers Successfully Weigh a Starless ‘Rogue Planet’ Drifting Through the Milky Way
Astronomers have precisely measured the mass of a rogue planet wandering through the Milky Way using a rare gravitational microlensing event. By combining observations from ground-based telescopes across three continents with data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, researchers determined the planet’s distance and found it to be about the mass of Satur...
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Hubble Observations Turn Exoplanet Into Dust; Reveal Rare Double Asteroid Impact in Nearby System
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that a vanished exoplanet near the star Fomalhaut was never a planet at all. Scientists discovered two rare, violent collisions between asteroid-sized bodies, producing glowing debris clouds that briefly mimicked planets. The findings offer a rare glimpse into how planetary systems evolve and how mislead...
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The Most Exciting Exoplanet Discoveries of 2025: Know the Strange Worlds Scientists Have Found
Astronomers marked a milestone year as confirmed exoplanets surpassed 6,000 in 2025. Discoveries ranged from planets orbiting two suns to worlds losing their atmospheres or forming in real time. The findings reshaped ideas about how planets form, survive, and evolve across the Milky Way.
-
Scientists Discover High-Density Rocky Planet in LHS 1903 System That Defies Conventional Formation Models
ESA’s CHEOPS mission has uncovered a surprising rocky planet at the outer edge of the LHS 1903 system. Located 116 light-years away, the discovery defies expectations that outer planets are gas giants. Scientists say the finding offers rare evidence that planets can form in gas-depleted environments, challenging current planetary formation models...
-
Astronomers Discover "Inside-Out" Planetary System With Rocky World Beyond Gas Planets, Challenging Formation Theories
Since the 1990s, scientists have discovered approximately 6,100 planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets.
-
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...
-
Unique Inside-Out Planetary System Reveals Unexpected Rocky World on the Outer Edge
Astronomers have discovered a rare inside-out planetary system around LHS 1903, where a rocky planet exists beyond gas giants. Using ESA’s CHEOPS telescope, researchers found evidence that planets formed one after another in a gas-depleted environment, challenging long-standing theories about how planetary systems form and evolve across the galax...
-
SPHEREx Captures Dramatic Outburst of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA’s SPHEREx telescope captured a dramatic outburst from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS after its close solar flyby in October 2025. Infrared observations in December revealed water vapor, carbon dioxide, methanol, methane, and cyanide erupting from the comet’s nucleus. Scientists say the chemical makeup suggests formation in a relatively warm e...
-
New ALMA Images Reveal Complex Rings Left Behind by Planet Formation
Astronomers used ALMA to capture unprecedented images of young exoplanetary systems. The ARKS survey mapped 24 debris disks, revealing rings, gaps and collisions that trace planetary evolution. These snapshots expose chaotic transitional stages, helping scientists understand how newborn planets mature into stable systems like our own Solar System t...
-
Rubin Observatory Discovers Fastest-Spinning Large Asteroid Ever Seen
Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered asteroid 2025 MN45, the fastest-spinning large asteroid ever recorded. About 710 metres wide, the object completes one full rotation every 1.88 minutes—far quicker than any asteroid of similar size. The finding emerged from an early survey that detected nearly 2,000 new asteroids, in...
-
Astronomers Successfully Weigh a Starless ‘Rogue Planet’ Drifting Through the Milky Way
Astronomers have precisely measured the mass of a rogue planet wandering through the Milky Way using a rare gravitational microlensing event. By combining observations from ground-based telescopes across three continents with data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, researchers determined the planet’s distance and found it to be about the mass of Satur...
-
Hubble Observations Turn Exoplanet Into Dust; Reveal Rare Double Asteroid Impact in Nearby System
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that a vanished exoplanet near the star Fomalhaut was never a planet at all. Scientists discovered two rare, violent collisions between asteroid-sized bodies, producing glowing debris clouds that briefly mimicked planets. The findings offer a rare glimpse into how planetary systems evolve and how mislead...
-
The Most Exciting Exoplanet Discoveries of 2025: Know the Strange Worlds Scientists Have Found
Astronomers marked a milestone year as confirmed exoplanets surpassed 6,000 in 2025. Discoveries ranged from planets orbiting two suns to worlds losing their atmospheres or forming in real time. The findings reshaped ideas about how planets form, survive, and evolve across the Milky Way.
