Still, science being science, we needed proof—and we got it in 1992, when two astronomers found two planets orbiting a pulsar ...

In the distant future—about six billion or seven billion years hence—the sun will start to die, swelling up into a bloated red giant. In a span of several hundred million years it will blow away its ...

Astronomers can estimate ages for stars outside the Solar System, but not planets. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. This article ...

When astronomers search for planets that could host liquid water on their surface, they start by looking at a star's habitable zone. Water is a key ingredient for life, and on a planet too close to ...

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected two alien planets orbiting white dwarfs, the collapsed husks of once-mighty stars. The discovery offers a hint of what our solar system will look like after ...

For centuries, astronomers have sought to understand the formation and evolution of the solar system and the dynamics that govern it. In particular, there is the long-standing question of whether or ...

Small celestial bodies, like comets or dwarf planets, can sometimes have bizarre shapes — just look at ‘Oumuamua, the interstellar visitor whose strange, elongated form sparked endless theories as it ...

Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones further away? – Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky A cloud of collapsing gas created our Sun, the first thing to form in ...

Some stars are lonely behemoths, with no surrounding planets or asteroids, while others sport a skirt of attendant planetary bodies. New research published this week in The Astrophysical Journal ...

A team of researchers has demonstrated a new way in which sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets could produce a great deal of water.

SEATTLE — Luke Skywalker’s home planet in Star Wars is the stuff of science fiction. But Tatooine-like planets in orbit around pairs of stars might be our best bet in the search for habitable planets ...

When the skies darken during the total solar eclipse on April 8, colors will change, and some stars and planets will be visible in the daytime. Here's what to look for, and where. When you purchase ...