Planets may be present in a quadruple star system 150 light years from Earth, according to Spitzer Space Telescope observations. The system, called HD 98800, consists of two pairs of stars in which the partners in each pair orbit one another closely. The pairs themselves travel around each other on a very elongated path. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

It would indeed be quite a spectacle to wake up to more than one Sun every day for us who have only one. This sight may entirely be possible to view around the young binary star system V4046 Sagittarii, as new images from the Smithsonian’s Submillimeter Array (SMA) have confirmed the existence of a molecular cloud - which could harbor, or later produce planets - orbiting the twin stars. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

Enter your age and discover your age on other planets in our solar system. (Good link on here for building a scaled solar system too). Not completely updated: Pluto still a planet on this site. picked by ogri2003 2 years ago

Astronomers have announced the discovery of a fifth planet circling 55 Cancri, a star beyond our solar system. The star now holds the record for number of confirmed extrasolar planets orbiting in a planetary system. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Planet-seekers who have spotted 28 new planets orbiting other stars in the past year say Earth's solar system is far from unique and there could be billions of habitable planets. picked by AutumnLotus 3 years ago

The hottest planet ever discovered is charcoal black and makes even some stars seem cool. Scientists think the exoplanet absorbs nearly all the starlight that reaches its surface and then reradiates it back out into space as heat. picked by AutumnLotus 3 years ago

Astronomers have discovered a planet, WASP-17, that is twice the size of Jupiter. That makes it the largest planet ever discovered. Unlike other planets, it orbits opposite to its star’s direction.
But why is WASP-17 so big? The discovery suggests that have been subjected to intense tides as it traveled in its strange orbit, causing it to become stretched and bloated. picked by Bingo 4 months ago

An image released today of a distant star and its potential planetary companion could go down in history as the first picture of a planet outside our solar system orbiting a sunlike star. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Create your own system of planets. Change the direction and velocity of celestial bodies and keep them within your stars gravitational pull. Be sure to "select preset" at the top right & "set number of bodies" at bottom left. picked by ogri2003 2 years ago

Millions of clustered stars glisten like an iridescent opal in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called Omega Centauri, this sparkling orb of stars is like a miniature galaxy. It is the biggest and brightest of the more than 150 similar objects, called globular clusters, that orbit around the outside of our Milky Way galaxy. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Hundreds of millions — or even billions — of years after planets would have initially formed around two unusual stars, a second wave of planetesimal and planet formation appears to be taking place. "This is a new class of stars, ones that display conditions now ripe for formation of a second generation of planets, long, long after the stars themselves formed." picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers have discovered the first known planet to survive its "red-giant" phase, a period when an aging star expands and engulfs bodies orbiting it. The discovery of the gas-giant planet three times the size of Jupiter offers a look at the future of our own solar system and what will happen to the Earth when the sun grows old and collapses. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A planet outside our solar system with a year roughly equal to Earth's has been discovered around a dying, red giant star. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The new definition, proposed this week by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), basically says every round object orbiting the sun is a planet, unless it orbits another planet. Asteroid Ceres will become a planet. Pluto's moon Charon will become a planet, things could get really strange. picked by Jaxomlotus 3 years ago

A team of astronomers says it may have spotted the youngest planet ever found, boasting an age of less than 100,000 years old, and perhaps as young as 1600 years old. They say it bolsters a controversial theory that planets form very quickly, like stars – but other astronomers say the massive object may not be a planet at all but a 'failed' star, which explains its speedy birth. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

"Astronomers on Wednesday announced they had spotted the first planet beyond the Solar System that has water, the precious ingredient for life." picked by deepchill 2 years ago

A team of astronomers from Penn State and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland has discovered a new planet that is closely orbiting a red-giant star, HD 102272, which is much older than our own Sun. The planet has a mass that is nearly six times that of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight. picked by jaxomlotus 3 years ago

It is the rare gas giant planet that inhabits the outskirts of its solar system. Most are like our own Jupiter and prefer to stick close to their stars, a new study suggests. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Earth may have a twin orbiting one of our nearest stellar neighbors, a new study suggests. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago