Star Wars Tatooine Planet May Be Common

Medicine & Technology Mar 31, 2015

One of the most iconic scenes ever filmed for Star Wars occurred when Luke walked outside his boyhood home on the rocky, desert planet of Tatooine and looked up at the two suns setting. Now, scientists believe that these Earth-like worlds with two suns in their sky may actually be more common than originally thought, throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.

Researchers Fly Kites on Earth to Study Mars

Mar 17, 2015

Using an unconventional research method, scientists are seeking to learn more about about Mars by flying a kite here on Earth. The method allows researchers to get a new look at geological features here at home that learn what they could reveal with the hopes of being able to identity similarities with what they see when examining the surface of Mars and potentially other planets and moons as well.

Astronomers Discover Planet in Multiple Star System

Mar 05, 2015

Astronomers have discovered a new planet located in a system with three stars and another planet located in a system with not one, not two, not three, but four stars in the system.

Jupiter and Its Moons Set to Put on Astronomical Show

Mar 03, 2015

In February, Mars and Venus put on quite a show in the skies above. Determined not to be outdone, Jupiter, the fifth and largest planet in our solar system, will put on a show of its own along with its moons during the month of March.

Comet Awakes As It Approaches the Sun

Jan 23, 2015

Do you remember that comet we landed on last year? It seems this comet has unexpectedly become more active showing signs of "waking up" as it zooms towards the sun at almost 47,800 miles per hour.

Could More Dwarf Planets Lie Beyond Pluto

Jan 20, 2015

According to calculations by scientists at the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Cambridge, not one, but at least two dwarf planets must exist beyond Pluto in order to explain the orbital behavior of extreme trans-Neptunian objects.

New Planets Hiding In the Shadow of Pluto

Jan 18, 2015

While space agencies and astronomers alike have found that the outer fringes of our very own solar system holds small asteroids and chunks of ice, as opposed to life, it turns out that our investigation of the relatively small solar system is far from over. In fact, a pair of new studies published just this week reveal that we may be adding new members to the roster as at least two new planets larger than Earth are likely hiding beyond Pluto.

New Study Reveals Prospective Planets Just Beyond Pluto—And There May Be More Than One

Jan 17, 2015

Though Pluto may have been demoted from the title of planet to “dwarf planet”, NASA’s newest mission New Horizons which plans a flyby next summer has sparked new interest in the farthest depths of our very own solar system. And it appears that we may not just stop there. According to a new study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers believe that even closer than our Oort cloud we may find at least two more planets circling our Sun far beyond Pluto’s vast expanses.

Up and Ready for Business—NASA’s New Horizons Probe Wakes 2.9 Billion Miles Away

Dec 09, 2014

It was a message from 2.9 billion miles away, yet NASA researchers heard it loud and clear. Early this Saturday, Dec. 6, researchers from NASA confirmed that the New Horizons Orbiter spacecraft had awakened from its hibernation state, and was ready begin the climax of its nine-year trip to Pluto.

What the Taurus Constellation Can Teach Us About Our Solar System’s Birth

Nov 07, 2014

There are creationist theories, Big Bang theories, and even more temporarily defined hypotheses about how the planets of our solar system came to be, but modern research has yet to find conclusive empirical evidence to show us exactly how our solar system’s birth happened, 4.5 billion years ago. That is, until now!