The Latest Breaking News from Solar System

Probing Uranus Could Help NASA Indirectly Find Planet Nine

If there's a planet hiding in our outer Solar System, its gravitational pull on spacecraft passing through the outer Solar System could give it away.

Inverse · Jul 14, 2023

A new, thin-lensed telescope design could far surpass James Webb – goodbye mirrors, hello diffractive lenses

Astronomers have discovered more than 5,000 planets outside of the solar system to date. The grand question is whether any of these planets are home to life. To find the answer, astronomers will likely need more powerful telescopes than exist today.

The Conversation · Jul 12, 2023

The moon and Jupiter shine near Uranus tonight. Here's how to see them.

On Wednesday (July 12), the waning crescent moon will have a busy morning, first meeting up with the gas giant Jupiter before getting the cold shoulder from ice giant Uranus.

Space · Jul 11, 2023

Physicist who found spherical meteor fragments claims they may come from an alien spaceship – here's what to make of it

Avi Loeb, a physicist from Harvard University in the US, has recovered 50 tiny spherical iron fragments from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that he claims may be material from an interstellar alien spaceship.

The Conversation · Jul 7, 2023

Our infant solar system may have survived a nearby supernova explosion

A supernova that erupted when a massive star died could have destroyed our infant solar system — if it weren't protected by a cocoon of molecular gas.

Space · Jul 4, 2023

The top 10 Ariane 5 rocket launches of all time

The Ariane 5 is set to fly for the final time on Tuesday (July 4), ending a 27-year launch career. Relive some of its finest moments here.

Space · Jul 3, 2023

From the Lab: French researchers uncover why solar system planets are unlikely to collide

More than 30 years ago researchers discovered that the orbits of the four terrestrial planets in our solar system - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars - are chaotic. Despite this behaviour, French researchers believe their orbits are stable and the chances of a planetary collision are slim.

Radio France Internationale · Jul 3, 2023

Billions of Years Ago, a Supernova May Have Nearly Destroyed the Solar System

According to astronomer Doris Arzoumanian and her team, clues to that ancient explosion and aftermath exist in meteorites.

Inverse · Jul 1, 2023

A 'captured' alien planet may be hiding at the edge of our solar system — and it's not 'Planet X'

The cold and mysterious Oort cloud at the edge of our solar system may be hiding a rogue exoplanet, new research suggests.

Space · Jun 29, 2023

Astronomers puzzled by 'planet that shouldn't exist'

The search for planets outside our Solar System – exoplanets – is one of the most rapidly growing fields in astronomy. Over the past few decades, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been detected and astronomers now estimate that on average there is at least one planet per star in our…

The Conversation · Jun 28, 2023