For decades, planet formation existed mostly in theory and simulations. Now, astronomers have captured direct evidence ...

In the swirling clouds of gas and dust that surround newborn stars, planets begin to form. These planet-forming disks are rich with clues about how worlds like Earth come to be. Until now, scientists ...

Korean researchers have uncovered the secret to how planets and comets could form far from a star — considered a mystery until now — by finding the key in a substance named crystalline silicates as ...

Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form ...

Astronomers using ALMA have discovered that planet-forming discs are not flat and serene but subtly warped, reshaping our understanding of how planets form. These slight tilts, similar to those seen ...

Stars and planets are inextricably linked. They form together and stars shape the fate of planets. Stars create the dusty protoplanetary disks that give birth to planets of all kinds. And when a star ...

CONFIDENCE IN HAPPENING YESTERDAY. NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY ASTRONOMER RECENTLY SAW SOMETHING UNUSUAL DURING HIS RESEARCH OF SPACE, AND IT COULD HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW PLANETS FORM. VLADIMIR LYRA ...

Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source ...