Tag: Planetary Formation
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Webb Unveils a Hazy Exoplanet That Refuses to Be a Twin
Overview: A Starry Twin With a Twist When astronomers first spotted a world that appeared to be a nearly perfect twin of a known exoplanet, expectations ran high. But the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and researchers from the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx) at Université de Montréal revealed a more complex truth:…
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Mercury: The Planet That Shouldn’t Exist
Mercury: A World That Defies Expectations Mercury, the innermost planet of our solar system, sits in a paradox. It is tiny, rocky, and scorched by the Sun’s rays, yet it preserves secrets that challenge our most basic theories of planet formation. From its extreme temperatures to its unusually high density, Mercury asks hard questions of…
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Leaning into the Extraordinary: A Lemon-Shaped Exoplanet Revealed by James Webb
Introduction: A Planet That Defies Expectations In the vastness of the cosmos, a new discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has gripped the imagination of scientists and space enthusiasts alike: a planet that appears to be shaped like a lemon. This unusual, lemon-shaped exoplanet is not only remarkable for its form but also…
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Hubble Captures Asteroid Collisions Around Nearby Star Fomalhaut
A Historic Look at a Distant Debris Disk In a landmark observation, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has documented direct evidence of catastrophic asteroid-like collisions in a nearby planetary system. The star, Fomalhaut, is a well-known bright beacon about 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus. For decades, astronomers have studied the debris disk surrounding…
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Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Turns Green Near Earth, Revealing Its Cosmic Origins
Green Glow Signals New Clues About Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS As interstellar traveler 3I/ATLAS makes its approach toward our solar system, astronomers report a striking transformation: the comet has begun to emit a distinct green hue. The change, observed as the body sheds ice and dust under the Sun’s warmth, provides scientists with a rare glimpse…
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Theia and the Moon: Early Neighbors in the Solar System
Did Theia Start as a Nearby Planet? Rethinking the Moon’s Birth For decades, scientists have told a dramatic tale: a colossal asteroid-like body named Theia collided with young Earth, smashing and mixing to birth the Moon. This violent event, believed to have occurred about 4.5 billion years ago, has been the centerpiece of our understanding…
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Were Theia and Earth Neighbors Before the Moon? Rewriting Our Origins
Introduction: A New Twist on an Ancient Tale For decades, the giant-impact hypothesis has explained how the Moon formed: a colossal collision between young Earth and a Mars-sized body named Theia, followed by a chaotic merger that left Earth with a shiny lunar companion. But recent studies are nudging scientists to rethink a crucial piece…
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Is There a Planet Nine Beyond Neptune? Mapping the Solar System’s Hidden Worlds
Beyond Neptune: The Quest for Planet Nine For generations, Neptune has stood as the outer boundary of the familiar planetary lineup. Yet modern astronomy has shifted that boundary outward, toward a potential ninth planet that may lurk far beyond the orbit of Neptune. The idea, born from patterns in the orbits of distant objects, suggests…
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Rogue Planet Eats Like a Star: A Galactic Anomaly Unveiled
Introduction: A Planet That Breaks the Mold Astronomers have spotted a so-called rogue planet that behaves almost like a newborn star, gulping gas and dust at an extraordinary rate. This runaway planet, roaming interstellar space without a parent sun, is redefining what scientists thought possible for worlds that float freely through the void. What Makes…
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Rogue Planet Glutton: A Runaway World Eating Gas Like a Star
Introduction: A Planet That Breaks the Rules In a surprising twist to our understanding of planetary physics, astronomers have identified a rogue planet that behaves more like a star than a typical world. Unlike the planets in our solar system, which orbit stars or drift in quiet solitude, this runaway planet appears to be devouring…