Rocky Planet
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Mercury Has Shrunk by Several Kilometers Over Billions of Years, Scientists Report
Mercury’s surface reveals it has been shrinking for billions of years due to cooling and faulting. A new study estimates the planet’s radius has contracted by 2.7–5.6 kilometers, offering the most precise figures yet. The findings sharpen understanding of Mercury’s thermal evolution and could help scientists apply the same techniques to tec...
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Habitable Zone Explained: The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ Where Life-Friendly Planets May Exist
The habitable zone, or “Goldilocks zone”, is the region around a star where conditions allow liquid water to exist. Varying with star type, this zone is key in the search for life. Earth’s location in the Sun’s habitable zone has made life possible, and astronomers seek similar rocky exoplanets in other systems to explore the possibility of...
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Doomed Exoplanet TOI-2109b Spirals Toward Its Star with Three Possible Fates
The gas giant TOI-2109b, over five times Jupiter’s mass, is spiraling closer to its star in a rare planetary death spiral. With a 16-hour orbit and blistering heat, the exoplanet could either plunge into its host star, be torn apart by tidal forces, or evolve into a rocky super-Earth through photoevaporation. NASA’s TESS and ESA’s Cheops data...
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Chandra Spots Distant Baby Planet Losing Its Atmosphere Under Intense X-ray Assault
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured a rare glimpse of TOI 1227 b, a young, Jupiter-sized exoplanet losing its atmosphere under intense stellar radiation. Just 8 million years old, the planet is shrinking rapidly as X-rays strip away its mass. Scientists warn it may become a barren rocky core in about a billion years.
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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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Did Something Hit Saturn? Astronomers Investigate Possible Impact Flash
Unlike rocky planets where asteroid impacts leave visible craters, gas giants like Saturn have outer layers of hydrogen and helium that can absorb impacts without obvious traces.
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Meteorite From Outer Solar System Challenges Planet Formation Timeline in Early Solar System
A meteorite from the outer solar system may upend long-held beliefs about planetary formation. New research shows rocky planets like Earth may have formed at the same time as those beyond Jupiter. The findings challenge previous models and suggest a more synchronised origin for rocky worlds across the solar system, with major implications for plane...
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James Webb Telescope Spots Planet Formation in Harshest Known Galactic Environments
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that planets can form in extreme radiation zones. A protoplanetary disk called XUE 1, exposed to intense ultraviolet light, still shows signs of water and potential for rocky planet formation. The findings challenge old assumptions and broaden the possible regions where Earth-like planets may emerge.
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Earth’s Mantle Could Be Harbouring Ocean of Magma Formed Billions of Years Ago, Claims Study
The study conducted by Boukaré and published on March 26 in the Journal Nature suggests that this molten layer at the core-mantle boundary of the Earth formed the internal thermal structure of the planet and tectonic plates. This may still influence the geochemical process of the Earth today. Further, it suggests a similar magma ocean existence on...
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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Discovers a Large Number of Unique Rock Samples on Jezero Crater’s Rim
NASA's Perseverance rover is exploring the Martian rim of Jezero Crater, a crater filled with rocky outcrops. The mission has cored five rocks, performed up-close analysis of seven rocks, and analysed another 83 from afar using a laser. The diversity of rocks found has exceeded expectations, with tons of fragmented once-molten rocks and formerly un...
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Two New Exoplanets Found Orbiting a Star in Draco Constellation
Astronomers have identified two exoplanets, TOI-1453 b and TOI-1453 c, orbiting a star 250 light-years away in Draco. The planets, a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune, were detected using NASA’s TESS satellite and the HARPS-N spectrograph. TOI-1453 b is a rocky planet orbiting close to its star, while TOI-1453 c is twice Earth’s size and may have a...
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NASA's Perseverance Rover Ascends Jezero Crater, Exploring Mars' Ancient Terrain
NASA’s Perseverance rover has initiated a critical new mission on Mars, beginning its ascent to the summit of Jezero Crater after three and half years of exploring its floor. This six-wheeled rover aims to reach the crater’s rim, which rises 1,000 feet above the Martian surface. The climb presents significant challenges, with Perseverance navig...
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Rocky Exoplanets May Be Holding Water in Deep Molten Iron Cores, Reveals Research
Recent research has shifted our understanding of water distribution on rocky exoplanets. The study reveals that up to 95 percent of a planet’s water could be sequestered deep within its molten iron core, challenging previous assumptions about water-rich worlds. This finding raises the possibility that much more water is hidden within the planet, ...
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Warming Climate Affecting Snowfall, Raising Risk Of Summer Droughts: Study
The team, led by researchers from the University of Bristol, UK, found that as the planet warms, snowy regions in the Rocky Mountains of North America, the Alps in Europe, along with those in northern Europe, are thawing prematurely.
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Mercury Has Shrunk by Several Kilometers Over Billions of Years, Scientists Report
Mercury’s surface reveals it has been shrinking for billions of years due to cooling and faulting. A new study estimates the planet’s radius has contracted by 2.7–5.6 kilometers, offering the most precise figures yet. The findings sharpen understanding of Mercury’s thermal evolution and could help scientists apply the same techniques to tec...
-
Habitable Zone Explained: The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ Where Life-Friendly Planets May Exist
The habitable zone, or “Goldilocks zone”, is the region around a star where conditions allow liquid water to exist. Varying with star type, this zone is key in the search for life. Earth’s location in the Sun’s habitable zone has made life possible, and astronomers seek similar rocky exoplanets in other systems to explore the possibility of...
-
Doomed Exoplanet TOI-2109b Spirals Toward Its Star with Three Possible Fates
The gas giant TOI-2109b, over five times Jupiter’s mass, is spiraling closer to its star in a rare planetary death spiral. With a 16-hour orbit and blistering heat, the exoplanet could either plunge into its host star, be torn apart by tidal forces, or evolve into a rocky super-Earth through photoevaporation. NASA’s TESS and ESA’s Cheops data...
-
Chandra Spots Distant Baby Planet Losing Its Atmosphere Under Intense X-ray Assault
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured a rare glimpse of TOI 1227 b, a young, Jupiter-sized exoplanet losing its atmosphere under intense stellar radiation. Just 8 million years old, the planet is shrinking rapidly as X-rays strip away its mass. Scientists warn it may become a barren rocky core in about a billion years.
-
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 ...
-
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.
-
Did Something Hit Saturn? Astronomers Investigate Possible Impact Flash
Unlike rocky planets where asteroid impacts leave visible craters, gas giants like Saturn have outer layers of hydrogen and helium that can absorb impacts without obvious traces.
-
Meteorite From Outer Solar System Challenges Planet Formation Timeline in Early Solar System
A meteorite from the outer solar system may upend long-held beliefs about planetary formation. New research shows rocky planets like Earth may have formed at the same time as those beyond Jupiter. The findings challenge previous models and suggest a more synchronised origin for rocky worlds across the solar system, with major implications for plane...
-
James Webb Telescope Spots Planet Formation in Harshest Known Galactic Environments
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that planets can form in extreme radiation zones. A protoplanetary disk called XUE 1, exposed to intense ultraviolet light, still shows signs of water and potential for rocky planet formation. The findings challenge old assumptions and broaden the possible regions where Earth-like planets may emerge.
-
Earth’s Mantle Could Be Harbouring Ocean of Magma Formed Billions of Years Ago, Claims Study
The study conducted by Boukaré and published on March 26 in the Journal Nature suggests that this molten layer at the core-mantle boundary of the Earth formed the internal thermal structure of the planet and tectonic plates. This may still influence the geochemical process of the Earth today. Further, it suggests a similar magma ocean existence on...
-
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Discovers a Large Number of Unique Rock Samples on Jezero Crater’s Rim
NASA's Perseverance rover is exploring the Martian rim of Jezero Crater, a crater filled with rocky outcrops. The mission has cored five rocks, performed up-close analysis of seven rocks, and analysed another 83 from afar using a laser. The diversity of rocks found has exceeded expectations, with tons of fragmented once-molten rocks and formerly un...
-
Two New Exoplanets Found Orbiting a Star in Draco Constellation
Astronomers have identified two exoplanets, TOI-1453 b and TOI-1453 c, orbiting a star 250 light-years away in Draco. The planets, a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune, were detected using NASA’s TESS satellite and the HARPS-N spectrograph. TOI-1453 b is a rocky planet orbiting close to its star, while TOI-1453 c is twice Earth’s size and may have a...
-
NASA's Perseverance Rover Ascends Jezero Crater, Exploring Mars' Ancient Terrain
NASA’s Perseverance rover has initiated a critical new mission on Mars, beginning its ascent to the summit of Jezero Crater after three and half years of exploring its floor. This six-wheeled rover aims to reach the crater’s rim, which rises 1,000 feet above the Martian surface. The climb presents significant challenges, with Perseverance navig...
-
Rocky Exoplanets May Be Holding Water in Deep Molten Iron Cores, Reveals Research
Recent research has shifted our understanding of water distribution on rocky exoplanets. The study reveals that up to 95 percent of a planet’s water could be sequestered deep within its molten iron core, challenging previous assumptions about water-rich worlds. This finding raises the possibility that much more water is hidden within the planet, ...
-
Warming Climate Affecting Snowfall, Raising Risk Of Summer Droughts: Study
The team, led by researchers from the University of Bristol, UK, found that as the planet warms, snowy regions in the Rocky Mountains of North America, the Alps in Europe, along with those in northern Europe, are thawing prematurely.
