Astronomers have observed a planetary system that challenges current planet formation theories, with a rocky planet that formed beyond the orbits of its gaseous neighbors, possibly after much of the ...

Explore the story of our solar system’s formation, tracing how a vast cloud of gas and dust collapsed under gravity, collisions, and angular momentum to create a thin, spinning protolanetary disc.

A planetary system 116 light-years from Earth has a peculiar pattern. It could flip the script on how planets form, scientists say.

Their observations of a faint, cool M-dwarf star called LHS 1903 revealed a system with a rocky world at its outer edge. LHS ...

The planets around a nearby star seem to be in the wrong order, hinting that they formed through a different mechanism than the familiar one by which most systems grow ...

A rocky exoplanet in the LHS 1903 system defies planet formation models, hinting that gravitational upheaval reshaped the red dwarf’s four worlds.

Earth may owe some of its properties to a nearby star that blew up just as the solar system was forming. This pattern, which saw a supernova bubble envelop the sun and shower it with cosmic rays, may ...

How fast and in which direction is our solar system moving through the universe? This seemingly simple question is one of the key tests of our cosmological understanding. A research team led by ...

If you've ever wondered why we are here, then you can thank Jupiter for part of the answer. A new study from Rice University suggests that if it weren't for the gas giant, the Earth would have ...

Voyager 1, launched in 1977, has traveled farther than any spacecraft in human history. After more than four decades of silent endurance through space, it now sails beyond the orbit of the outer ...

Our solar system’s latest and only third known interstellar visitor is becoming more fascinating by the week. Spotted in early July, the object, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, is widely believed to be a comet. It’s ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dianne Plummer is an Energy Consultant and Certified Energy Manager. Rooftop solar has become one of the fastest-growing clean ...