Category Astronomy/Space

Atmospheric gases recede from a “hot Jupiter,” which is a Jupiter-size, egg-shaped planet that orbits close to its own sun, in this artistic rendering. Cornell astronomers have developed a new mathematical model for determining temperatures on different parts of exoplanets, rather than averaging a planet’s temperature. Matthew Fondeur/Cornell University

After spotting a curious pattern in scientific papers – they described exoplanets as being cooler than expected – Cornell University astronomers have improved a mathematical model to accurately gauge the temperatures of planets from solar systems hundreds of light-years away.

This new model allows scientists to gather data on an exoplanet’s molecular chemistry and gain insight on the cosmos’ planetary beginnings, according to research...

Engineers are suggesting a new way to explore the sky: tiny aircraft that weigh about as much as a fruit fly and have no moving parts. These flyers are plates of ‘nanocardboard,’ which levitate when bright light is shone on them...

Findings may change fundamental thinking about star system formation, dynamics. University of California, Irvine astronomers and others have shown that clusters of supernovas can cause the birth of scattered, eccentrically orbiting suns in outer stellar halos, upending commonly held notions of how star systems have formed and evolved over billions of years.

Hyper-realistic, cosmologically self-consistent computer simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments 2 project enabled the scientists ...

2I/Borisov likely formed in extremely cold environment, high amounts of CO show. A galactic visitor entered our solar system last year — interstellar comet 2I/Borisov...