In space, 25 light-years away, a star called Fomalhaut is making waves. Known as the "Eye of Sauron" due to its striking dust belt, this star has been the site of some incredible cosmic events. Over the past 20 years, astronomers have witnessed not one, but two massive collisions between rocky objec
The universe just got a lot more interesting with the discovery of a new class of super-Earths. These are rocky planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. They are not where scientists thought they would be. They are not close to their stars like most super-Earths. Instead, they are muc
Barnard’s Star, a well-known celestial body, has a special place in astronomy. It is only six light-years away from Earth. This star is famous for moving quickly across the night sky. The star's quick motion has always been fascinating to astronomers. For a long time, scientists have wondered if th
Imagine planets so hot that they make Earth seem like a cold winter day. These are the ultra-hot Jupiters, a special group of exoplanets that have scientists buzzing with excitement. Why? Because they offer a unique glimpse into the wild weather patterns that can happen in space. Over 5, 800 exopla
What if you could see worlds far away, beyond our own solar system? That's what the Kepler Space Telescope has done, finding over 2, 000 new planets, or exoplanets. Dr. Jason Steffen, a physics professor from UNLV, was on episode 137 of This Week In Space to talk about Kepler's mission. Launched in
Imagine getting two totally different views of a planet at the same time. Sounds amazing, right? Well, that's exactly what NASA did! They used the Hubble Space Telescope and the New Horizons spacecraft to look at Uranus. Why? Because they wanted to figure out how to better understand distant planets
Imagine a planet where one side is always day, and the other is always night. That's what happens on WASP-107b, but there’s something strange about it. Its atmosphere is taller on one side than the other, making it look lopsided. This might not sound like a big deal, but for astronomers, it's a surp
