Solar System
Latest about Solar System
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Potential discovery of a dozen objects beyond Pluto could reveal a new section of the solar system we never knew about
By Harry Baker published
Astronomers may have detected a dozen large objects lurking beyond the Kuiper Belt at the edge of our solar system, suggesting there could be another equally massive, "second Kuiper Belt" hiding beyond the orbit of Pluto.
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Green comet Nishimura survives its superheated slingshot around the sun. Will we get another chance to see it?
By Harry Baker published
Comet Nishimura, which was only discovered in August, has survived its closest approach to the sun and will brighten over the next week. But is it still visible from Earth?
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NASA is hunting for life outside the solar system. Here's how.
By Robert Lea published
"We aren’t going to see little green men but rather spectral signatures of these key chemicals, or what we call biosignatures."
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How many planets are in the universe?
By Briley Lewis published
We currently know of 5,502 planets beyond the solar system, but we've only found the tiniest fraction of the planets astronomers think lie elsewhere in the universe.
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Crystal-studded space rock found in the Sahara may rewrite the history of the early solar system
By Evgenii Krestianinov published
The rocks were found in May 2020 in the Erg Chech sand sea, in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria.
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New 'potentially interstellar' comet will be visible to the naked eye next month before leaving our solar system forever
By Harry Baker published
Comet Nishimura has a hyperbolic orbit, which suggests that it may have come from outside the solar system and will likely be catapulted into interstellar space after slingshotting around the sun.
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Why Venus is now a slim crescent and will disappear from the evening sky this weekend
By Jamie Carter published
The second planet from the sun is approaching 'inferior conjunction' as it swaps from being the 'Evening Star' to the 'Morning Star,' passing between Earth and the sun in the meantime.
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NASA reestablishes full contact with Voyager 2 probe after nail-biting 2-week blackout
By Brandon Specktor last updated
After accidentally shifting Voyager 2's antenna by two degrees, NASA fell out of contact with the interstellar probe on July 21. On Aug. 4, the agency succesfully reset the probe's antenna, restoring communications.
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