For life to develop on a planet, certain chemical elements are needed in sufficient quantities. Phosphorus and nitrogen are essential. Phosphorus is vital for the formation of DNA and RNA, which store ...

A newly studied solar system breaks the usual planet pattern, raising fresh questions about how rocky and gas planets form.

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

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

Since the 1990s, astronomers have found a handful of other dwarf planets in the belt, such as Eris and Sedna, along with ...

Planetary systems in the Milky Way galaxy tend to follow a particular pattern: rocky planets toward the center, closest to ...

For millions of years, a frozen wanderer drifted between the stars before slipping into our solar system as 3I/ATLAS—only the ...

For decades, scientists have believed that planetary systems typically form with rocky planets close to their star and gas-rich planets farther away. This discovery questions their knowledge.

Updated measurements from NASA’s Juno spacecraft could help researchers better understand the planet's mysterious interior, ...

NASA scientists are suddenly turning their attention to Uranus, a planet long neglected and still largely unexplored. According to a new planetary science report, a flagship mission to Uranus is now ...

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 ...