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

Astronomers have found a compact solar system whose planets line up in a way that, according to current models, should not be possible. Around the small star LHS 1903, a dense rocky world orbits on ...

Astronomers have found a distant world that challenges planetary formation theory, with a rocky planet where gas giants should be.

With this new survey, astronomers have gained a peek inside a stage of exoplanet system formation they have yet to fully ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones further away? – Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky ...

Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system. It’s an unprecedented ...

Stargazers can see six planets all in one evening during the second month of the year, especially Mercury, which is usually ...

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

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Planetary scientists are split, oscillating between two main theories that explain the order in ...

General relativity helps explain the lack of planets around tight binary stars by driving orbital resonances that eject or destroy close-in worlds. This process naturally creates a “desert” of ...

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 ...