Category Astronomy/Space

Planet 9 was most likely stolen by our sun 4.5 billion years ago. Credit: Image courtesy of Lund University

Through a computer-simulated study, astronomers at Lund University in Sweden show that it is highly likely that the so-called Planet 9 is an exoplanet. This would make it the first exoplanet to be discovered inside our own solar system. The theory is that our sun, in its youth some 4.5B yrs ago, stole Planet 9 from its original star.

“It is almost ironic that while astronomers often find exoplanets hundreds of light years away in other solar systems, there’s probably one hiding in our own backyard,” says Alexander Mustill, astronomer at Lund University. Stars are born in clusters and often pass by one another...

The movement of asteroid Phaethon imaged on Dec. 25, 2010 with the 37 cm F14 Cassegrain telescope of Winer Observatory, Sonoita (MPC 857) by Marco Langbroek. The image is a stack of 4 images of 150s exposure each, spaced 15 minutes apart. Image credit: Marco Langbroek

Discovered in 1983, the near-Earth asteroid Phaethon is an intriguing object, primarily due to its unusual orbit. Recently, an international team has conducted a detailed study of this unique space rock, deriving a shape model that characterizes the orbit, spin state, and thermophysical parameters of the asteroid.

Phaethon is an Apollo asteroid, though it is also suspected to be a member of the Pallas family of asteroids. It approaches the sun more closely than any other named asteroid—its perihelion is only 0...

This illustration shows a promising new technique for locating water on the Moon. Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) that penetrate the lunar surface, when encountering a layer with material containing hydrogen atoms (like water), trigger the ejection of protons (red spheres) that can be detected by the appropriate instrumentation in an orbiting satellite. Credit: Schwadron et al. 2016

Prior to Apollo missions to the moon, scientists speculated that volatiles – including water – may have accumulated in permanently shaded regions at the poles. Then the Apollo era brought the return of lunar samples, enabling real measurements: They found none of the water-bearing minerals common on Earth. Over the past 10 years, however, several developments have reinvigorated the discussion...

Rendering of a possible alien Exo-planet. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. (Stock image) Credit: © mode_list / Fotolia

New research has revealed fewer than predicted planets may be capable of harboring life because their atmospheres keep them too hot. When looking for planets that could harbor life, scientists look for planets in the ‘habitable zones’ around their stars – at the right distance from the stars to allow water to exist in liquid form. Traditionally, this search has focused on looking for planets orbiting stars like our Sun, in a similar way to Earth.

However, recent research has turned to small planets orbiting very close to stars called M dwarfs, or red dwarfs, which are much smaller and dimmer than the Sun...