Mar. 17, 2025 — A combination of cosmic processes shapes the formation of one of the most common types of planets outside of our solar system ... a compelling new model for the formation ...

This model of solar system formation is known as the nebular hypothesis. The solar system is structured in a roughly flat plane called the ecliptic, with most planets orbiting the sun in the same ...

The Oort cloud — the mysterious shell of icy objects at the edge of the solar system — might sport a pair of spiral arms that ...

The Oort cloud is traditionally thought of as a vast shell of perhaps trillions of icy objects encasing our solar system ...

Astronomers have found new evidence that a mysterious ninth planet may be hiding at the edge of the solar system - rewriting what we know about the cosmos again. An international team from Taiwan ...

Circinus West is a cold, dense cloud of gas and dust that stretches out for 180 light-years, around 60 times the size of our solar system. Nebulas like this are so dense that light cannot pass ...

When kids are asked for their favorite topics in science, astronomy (along with dinosaurs) is always high on the list. As a "gateway" to science education, astronomy is essential to the curriculum ...

Our solar system consists of four small, rocky, inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and four large, gaseous, outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune).