rocky

What if There’s an Earth-Like Planet at One of Our Closest Stars?

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Just over four light-years away, our Solar System’s closest neighboring stars can be found. There’s red dwarf Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.2 light-years; and, just a little farther, at 4.37 light-years, a binary system of Sun-like stars – Alpha Centauri AB.   We don’t yet know if there are any Earth-like worlds orbiting … Read more

NASA hopes James Webb Space Telescope will unlock secrets of ‘super-Earths’ and hot rocky worlds

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Some of the first James Webb Space Telescope investigations will focus on a variety of planet very different from what’s found in our cosmic neighborhood. Once Webb finishes its six-month commissioning period around June, it is scheduled to start a series of studies in exoplanets. One such project will study 11 “super-Earths,” which are worlds … Read more

Moons: Rocky planets much larger than Earth might not have natural satellites

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Astronomers have found lots of exoplanets but not much evidence of exomoons, and a new model might explain why Space 1 February 2022 By Alex Wilkins An artist’s impression of an exoplanet Shutterstock / Artsiom P Rocky planets much bigger than Earth might not be able to form large moons like our own, which is … Read more

The Red Sky Paradox Will Make You Question Our Very Place in The Universe

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On the grand cosmic scale, our little corner of the Universe isn’t all that special – this idea lies at the heart of the Copernican principle. Yet there’s one major aspect about our planet that’s peculiar indeed: Our Sun is a yellow dwarf.    Because our home star is what we know most intimately, it … Read more