A rocky planet that might have aliens on it has been found, close enough that we could travel there.
The new world is just slightly bigger than Earth and sits about four light years away, orbiting Proxima Centauri. That star is the nearest one to our solar system.
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Every Friday, we’ll offer a Trilobite talking point to help you bring a bit more science to your weekend conversations.
Earth is old. The sun is old. But do you know what may be even older than both? Water.
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Astronomers have spotted a Jupiter-like planet that could hold the answer to how our solar system was formed.
The planet 51 Eridani b is roughly twice the size of Jupiter and young by planetary standards, at 20 million years old. At 800 degrees Fahrenheit, the planet’s surface is still glowing with heat from its creation and offers clues about how it was formed, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday.
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A salty ocean is lurking beneath the surface of Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have found.
The ocean on Ganymede—which is buried under a thick crust of ice—could actually harbor more water than all of Earth’s surface water combined, according to NASA officials. Scientists think the ocean is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) thick, 10 times the depth of Earth’s oceans, NASA added. The new Hubble Space Telescope finding could also help scientists learn more about the plethora of potentially watery worlds that exist in the solar system and beyond.
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The Solar System has at least two more planets waiting to be discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto, Spanish and British astronomers say.
The official list of planets in our star system runs to eight, with gas giant Neptune the outermost.
Beyond Neptune, Pluto was relegated to the status of “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, although it is still championed by some as the most distant planet from the Sun.
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