For decades, planet formation existed mostly in theory and simulations. Now, astronomers have captured direct evidence ...

In the swirling clouds of gas and dust that surround newborn stars, planets begin to form. These planet-forming disks are rich with clues about how worlds like Earth come to be. Until now, scientists ...

Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form ...

Korean researchers have uncovered the secret to how planets and comets could form far from a star — considered a mystery until now — by finding the key in a substance named crystalline silicates as ...

Stars and planets are inextricably linked. They form together and stars shape the fate of planets. Stars create the dusty protoplanetary disks that give birth to planets of all kinds. And when a star ...

Astronomers using ALMA have discovered that planet-forming discs are not flat and serene but subtly warped, reshaping our understanding of how planets form. These slight tilts, similar to those seen ...

Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source ...

Most planet-forming disks have warps that can lead to planets on inclined orbits, which could explain where the tilt of Earth's orbit came from. When you purchase through links on our site, we may ...

CONFIDENCE IN HAPPENING YESTERDAY. NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY ASTRONOMER RECENTLY SAW SOMETHING UNUSUAL DURING HIS RESEARCH OF SPACE, AND IT COULD HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW PLANETS FORM. VLADIMIR LYRA ...

How did a planet this big form around a star this small? An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the University of Liège and collaborators in UK, Chile, the USA, and Europe, ...