Items tagged with planets

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected water vapor in a planetary system that could help scientists answer the question of how Earth got its water. This is the first time that water has been detected in the terrestrial region of a protoplanetary disk known to host two or more protoplanets. The new... Read more...
Stargazers will be able to view a rare alignment of five planets in the night sky Saturday morning. Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune, and Saturn will all be visible just before sunrise. While planets aligning in the starry night sky are not unusual, having five of them perfectly align at the same time is a rarer... Read more...
Heads up! On March 28th, five planets will be putting on a rare celestial show in a parade of planets, with guest appearances by the moon and start cluster Messier 35. Tuesday March 28th will see Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, and Venus (plus Earth, if you want to include Terra Firma) lined up for an infrequent... Read more...
With 2022 coming to a close, sky-watchers will have a few celestial light shows to look forward to. This year will close out with the Full Cold Moon, the Geminid Meteor Shower, and more cosmic events. On December 7th, the Sun's light will fully light up the Moon for the final time this year. This full Moon is... Read more...
A new study by researchers at UC Riverside created detailed models on data from the solar system as it appears in modern day, as well alternatives to the solar system with a slightly different orbital path. One alternative solar system appeared to be effective in making Earth more habitable, by simply making Jupiter's... Read more...
NASA has revamped its "Eyes on the Solar System" 3D visualization tool, making it easier to traverse the solar system in more interactive manner. Since its creation two years ago, the tool has seen many updates that include better controls, improved navigation, and new opportunities to learn about the cosmos. As we... Read more...
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover is preparing to make its way to a site that "enchanted" the space agency's science team when the rover first visited the site back in April of this year. But first, the team will be trying to figure out what two pieces of foreign object debris (FOD) found on one of the rover's coring... Read more...
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a white dwarf star that is cannibalizing debris from the system's inner and outer reaches. It is the first time researchers have found a white dwarf star that is feeding off both rocky-metallic and icy material, the ingredients of planets. Astronomers used archival data... Read more...
Skywatchers are in for a treat this month, as five planets will align in the early morning sky. In addition to the five planets, the Moon will be joining the party at the end of the month. April provided amateur astronomers with the opportunity to see four planets aligned in the early morning sky without the need... Read more...
A quartet of planets is about to align with the Moon and you won't need a telescope to view the heavenly event. Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn will all be visible to the naked eye. It isn't often that the alignment of so many planets is viewable without the aid of a telescope or pair of binoculars. It tends to... Read more...