General relativity helps explain the lack of planets around tight binary stars by driving orbital resonances that eject or destroy close-in worlds. This process naturally creates a “desert” of ...

With this new survey, astronomers have gained a peek inside a stage of exoplanet system formation they have yet to fully ...

New research suggests Einstein's general relativity explains the rarity of planets orbiting two suns. In tight binary systems ...

Gas giants are large planets mostly composed of helium and/or hydrogen. Although these planets have dense cores, they don't ...

Typically, from what astronomers have gathered thus far, star systems follow a tidy logic: small, rocky worlds huddle close to the warmth of their star, while massive gas giants bloat up in the colder ...

This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. Illustration of the Earth-like exoplanet Proxima Centauri b orbiting the star Proxima ...

Astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets around single stars, but few around binary stars—even though both types of stars are equally common. Physicists can now explain the dearth.

Skywatchers are in for a rare treat this August as six planets align in a stunning arc across the night sky. This planetary parade will be visible through the end of the month. While four of the ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. This planet parade — following on from one in the evening ...

Artistic illustration of the internal structure of a lava planet in a cold state, showing a day‑side magma ocean overlain by a mineral atmosphere. The arrows indicate the direction of heat transport ...