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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Space: The Solar System
Published Where did the hot Neptunes go? A shrinking planet holds the answer


'Where did the hot Neptunes go?' This is the question astronomers have been asking for a long time, faced with the mysterious absence of planets the size of Neptune. Researchers have just discovered that one of these planets is losing its atmosphere at a frantic pace. This observation strengthens the theory that hot Neptunes have lost much of their atmosphere and turned into smaller planets called super-Earths.
Published A new way to create Saturn's radiation belts


Scientists have discovered a new method to explain how radiation belts are formed around the planet Saturn.
Published Odd bodies, rapid spins keep cosmic rings close


Forget those shepherding moons. Gravity and the odd shapes of asteroid Chariklo and dwarf planet Haumea -- small objects deep in our solar system -- can be credited for forming and maintaining their own rings, according new research.
Published Auroras unlock the physics of energetic processes in space


A close study of auroras has revealed new ways of understanding the physics of explosive energy releases in space.
Published Studying Pluto orbiter mission


Astronomers have made several discoveries that expand the range and value of a future Pluto orbiter mission. The breakthroughs define a fuel-saving orbital tour and demonstrate that an orbiter can continue exploration in the Kuiper Belt after surveying Pluto.
Published Surprising chemical complexity of Saturn's rings changing planet's upper atmosphere


A new study based on data from the final orbits last year of NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the rings of Saturn -- some of the most visually stupendous objects in the universe -- are far more chemically complicated than previously was understood.
Published Astronomers find first compelling evidence for a moon outside our solar system


On the hunt for distant worlds, researchers have identified an exomoon candidate around the transiting exoplanet Kepler-1625b that indicates the presence of a previously unknown gas-giant moon.
Published New extremely distant solar system object found during hunt for Planet X


Astronomers have discovered a new extremely distant object far beyond Pluto with an orbit that supports the presence of an even-farther-out, Super-Earth or larger Planet X.
Published Evidence of early planetary shake-up


Scientists have studied an unusual pair of asteroids and discovered that their existence points to an early planetary rearrangement in our solar system.
Published Pluto should be reclassified as a planet, experts say


The reason Pluto lost its planet status is not valid, according to new research.
Published New exoplanet found very close to its star


Using data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, an international team has discovered a new exoplanet twice the size of Earth. It orbits its star every six days and is thus very close to it, about 10 times closer than Mercury is to the Sun.
Published Saturn's famous hexagon may tower above the clouds


The long-lived international Cassini mission has revealed a surprising feature emerging at Saturn's northern pole as it nears summertime: a warming, high-altitude vortex with a hexagonal shape, akin to the famous hexagon seen deeper down in Saturn's clouds.
Published New technique to forecast geomagnetic storms developed


Flashes of brightness known as solar flares can be followed by coronal mass ejections that send plasma from the sun into space. These charged particles can then travel to Earth, and when they arrive they wreak havoc on Earth's magnetic field. The result can be beautiful but also destructive: auroras and geomagnetic storms. Researchers now report a method for analyzing magnetic field data that might provide better short-term forecasting of geomagnetic storms.
Published New kind of aurora is not an aurora at all


Thin ribbons of purple and white light that sometimes appear in the night sky were dubbed a new type of aurora when brought to scientists' attention in 2016. But new research suggests these mysterious streams of light are not an aurora at all but an entirely new celestial phenomenon.
Published Astronomers assemble 'light-fingerprints' to unveil mysteries of the cosmos


Earthbound detectives rely on fingerprints to solve their cases; now astronomers can do the same, using 'light-fingerprints' instead of skin grooves to uncover the mysteries of exoplanets.
Published New family photos of Mars and Saturn from Hubble


In summer 2018 the planets Mars and Saturn are, one after the other, in opposition to Earth. During this event the planets are relatively close to Earth, allowing astronomers to observe them in greater detail. Hubble took advantage of this preferred configuration and imaged both planets to continue its long-standing observation of the outer planets in the solar system.
Published A dozen new moons of Jupiter discovered, including one 'oddball'


Twelve new moons orbiting Jupiter have been found -- 11 'normal' outer moons, and one that they're calling an 'oddball.' Astronomers first spotted the moons in the spring of 2017 while they were looking for very distant solar system objects as part of the hunt for a possible massive planet far beyond Pluto.
Published 'Cataclysmic' collision shaped Uranus' evolution


Uranus was hit by a massive object roughly twice the size of Earth that caused the planet to tilt and could explain its freezing temperatures, according to new research.
Published Scientists find evidence of complex organic molecules from Enceladus


Using mass spectrometry data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, scientists found that large, carbon-rich organic molecules are ejected from cracks in the icy surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Scientists think chemical reactions between the moon's rocky core and warm water from its subsurface ocean are linked to these complex molecules.
Published The true power of the solar wind


The planets and moons of our solar system are continuously being bombarded by particles from the sun. On the Moon or on Mercury, the uppermost layer of rock is gradually eroded by the impact of sun particles. New results show that previous models of this process are incomplete. The effects of solar wind bombardment are much more drastic than previously thought.