Stellar flares may hamper search for life in promising star system
23 June 2025
Astronomers have been trying to detect atmospheres on planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, but bursts of radiation from the star make this challenging
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Found 275 results for dwarf planet
Risk of a star destroying the solar system is higher than expected
16 May 2025
Stars that pass close to the solar system could pull planets out of alignment, sending them hurtling into the sun or out into space
Claims of alien life are overhyped – and miss the real accomplishment
18 April 2025
Whenever there’s even a slight chance that an exoplanet shows signs of biological activity, people understandably get excited – but it’s never been aliens, and we shouldn’t jump to conclusions, not this time or the next, says Chris Lintott
How to spot Haumea, one of the solar system's strangest objects
9 April 2025
Pluto isn’t the only dwarf planet in our solar system's outer reaches. Now is an ideal time to look for the egg-shaped Haumea, says Abigail Beall
How meteorites are rewriting the history of the solar system
10 February 2025
There are many theories about how dynamics in the early solar system led to the cosmic neighbourhood we now inhabit, but beyond computer simulations, direct evidence to support them is hard to come by – that's where meteorites come in
Has a volcanic eruption ever wiped out a species of hominins?
13 January 2025
Volcanoes have been proposed as the reason for the extinction of the Neanderthals and the hobbits of Indonesia, but the end of those species may not have come from a single, dramatic event
Exoplanet plate tectonics: A new frontier in the hunt for alien life
2 December 2024
Plate tectonics seems to be crucial for life on Earth, but we’ve never confirmed that it happens on other worlds - that may be about to change
Distant dwarf planet Makemake might have a surprising ice volcano
5 November 2024
A small world in the outer solar system appears to have volcanic activity possibly spurred by liquid water
Search for alien transmissions in promising star system draws a blank
26 September 2024
Astronomers listened for radio signals emanating from planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, but found no evidence of any interplanetary communications
Planet in the 'forbidden zone' of dead star could reveal Earth's fate
26 September 2024
A distant planet should have been consumed when its star expanded to become a red giant, perhaps offering insights into planetary migration
