Protoplanetary disks are the birthplaces of planets, but few discoveries have stretched scientific expectations like IRAS ...

Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones further away? – Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky A cloud of collapsing gas created our Sun, the first thing to form in ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the ...

Astronomers believe they have uncovered evidence of a previously unknown ninth planet lurking in the not-too-distant reaches of the solar system. This hypothetical world, dubbed "Planet Y," could be ...

The Sun is orbited by eight planets, at least five dwarf planets, tens of thousands of asteroids, and around three trillion comets and icy bodies. Although not all objects of the solar system are as ...

The star system V1298 Tau reveals that many planets begin as large, low-density worlds that slowly shrink and shed their ...

Studying the orbits of thousands of exoplanets shows that large planets tend to have elliptical orbits, while smaller planets tend to have more circular orbits. This split coincides with several other ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Christopher Palma, Penn State and Lucas Brefka, Penn State (THE CONVERSATION) ...