There’s something orbiting the sun, way, way beyond the distant realm of Pluto.
A team of astronomers recently spotted the farthest-known object in the solar system using a telescope atop Hawaii’s lofty Mauna Kea, and announced the discovery on…
Category: Solar System
Scientists think they’ve found a moon orbiting a world outside the solar system
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For the first time, astronomers think they’ve found solid evidence of a moon orbiting a planet outside of our solar system.
And it’s a doozy.
The exoplanet, named Kepler-1625b, is 8,000 light-years away and thought to be many times more massive than Jupiter, much larger than any world in our own solar system. The moon orbiting it is about the size of Neptune.
If confirmed, this will be the first time a moon has been found outside of the solar system, according to a new study detailing the finding in the journal Science Advances.
“It is an exciting reminder of how little we really know about distant planetary systems and the great spirit of discovery exoplanetary science embodies,” study co-author Alex Teachey said of the discovery in a statement. Read more…
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View More Scientists think they’ve found a moon orbiting a world outside the solar systemNewly-discovered world on the edge of the solar system could lead us to Planet X
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A newfound object nicknamed “The Goblin” lurking in the far reaches of our solar system could be yet another clue that points us toward the discovery of the theoretical Planet X, or Planet 9 — a large world thought to exist well beyond Pluto’s orbit.
A new study, submitted to the Astronomical Journal, details the discovery of the new object, officially named 2015 TG387, which takes about 40,000 years to make a full orbit of the sun.
The possible world joins the ranks of other relatively small objects in its part of space.
And lead author of the study Scott Sheppard believes there are thousands of these extremely distant objects with elongated orbits around the sun. Read more…
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View More Newly-discovered world on the edge of the solar system could lead us to Planet XThis solar system AR toy proves that you don’t need to be an astronaut to explore space
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Becoming an astronaut is tough. First, you need a degree in engineering, math, or science, and have at least three years of field experience. Second, you have to pass an incredibly demanding physical examination.
SEE ALSO: This Kickstarter project lets you experience the majesty of Earth in the palm of your hands
And even if you do get selected, you have to undergo training which involves squeezing yourself into tiny simulators and gaining fluency in Russian. Oh, and once you finally get to go on a deep-space mission, you also have to trust the universe not to let you end up like Matt Damon in The Martian. (We know, that was fiction — but still.) Read more…
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Scientists discover 10 never-before-seen moons orbiting Jupiter, and one’s an oddball
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Jupiter is a huge planet with a ridiculous number of moons.
And now, thanks to new research, that number just became even more ridiculous.
Scientists have discovered 10 never-before-seen moons of Jupiter in 2017 and confirmed two others that had already been seen, bringing the total number of known moons circling the gas giant planet to 79, more than any other planet in the solar system.
How exactly did these moons evade detection for so long? Well, it’s not as if they’re large and bright like some of Jupiter’s other moons, for instance, Europa or Ganymede. Read more…
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View More Scientists discover 10 never-before-seen moons orbiting Jupiter, and one’s an oddballCould planets orbiting Alpha Centauri harbor life? NASA findings suggest it’s possible
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It looks like our next door stellar neighbors might not be so bad for life after all.
NASA’s Chandra space telescope has revealed that any planets circling Alpha Centauri, which is located about 4 light-years from Earth, could be a more friendly place for life than we initially thought.
Scientists have always held Alpha Centauri is one of our best chances for finding life beyond the solar system, but the three-star system was believed to be so inundated with harmful X-ray radiation that hopes for habitability around any yet-to-be-found planets were dim.
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View More Could planets orbiting Alpha Centauri harbor life? NASA findings suggest it’s possibleWatch space dust shoot around a comet as it tumbles through our solar system
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The Rosetta spacecraft chased down the nearly three-mile-long Churyumov–Gerasimenko comet in 2014. It then spent almost two years capturing detailed images of the comet’s dust-ridden surface.
The images are publicly available, which allowed Twitter user landru79 to compile a brilliant animation of images shot over a 25-minute period. Taken together, it gives us an idea of what it’s like on that rapidly spinning, oddly-shaped ball of dust and ice.
“This is the well familiar environment in which Rosetta observed for nearly two years — lots of dust flying around!” Matt Taylor, a European Space Agency (ESA) project scientist for the Rosetta mission, said over email. Read more…
More about Space, Solar System, Comets, European Space Agency, and Rosetta Mission
View More Watch space dust shoot around a comet as it tumbles through our solar systemWatch space dust shoot around a comet as it tumbles through our solar system
The Rosetta spacecraft chased down the nearly three-mile-long Churyumov–Gerasimenko comet in 2014. It then spent almost two years capturing detailed images of the comet’s dust-ridden surface.
The images are publicly available, which allowed Twitter user landru79 to compile a brilliant animation of images shot over a 25-minute period. Taken together, it gives us an idea of what it’s like on that rapidly spinning, oddly-shaped ball of dust and ice.
“This is the well familiar environment in which Rosetta observed for nearly two years — lots of dust flying around!” Matt Taylor, a European Space Agency (ESA) project scientist for the Rosetta mission, said over email. Read more…
More about Space, Solar System, Comets, European Space Agency, and Rosetta Mission
View More Watch space dust shoot around a comet as it tumbles through our solar systemPluto’s largest moon just got a bunch of nerdy names for its craters, mountains
Space nerds and science fiction fans, rejoice! Some of the craters, mountains, and other features of Pluto’s largest moon Charon just got official names, and they’re nerdy as hell.
From a mountain named after Stanley Kubrick to a crater named f…
Elon Musk’s outer space Tesla will overshoot Mars and land somewhere in the asteroid belt
After spending six hours orbiting Earth, Elon Musk’s outer space Tesla rocketed deeper into space.
SpaceX originally planned for the vehicle to land in a solar system orbit that would at times bring the Roadster near Mars, but it appears the Tesla wi…
Elon Musk’s outer space Tesla will overshoot Mars and land somewhere in the asteroid belt
After spending six hours orbiting Earth, Elon Musk’s outer space Tesla rocketed deeper into space.
SpaceX originally planned for the vehicle to land in a solar system orbit that would at times bring the Roadster near Mars, but it appears the Tesla wi…