We know that our Solar System is not the blueprint for all planetary systems out there. There are gas giant planets orbiting ...

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Are planets in the solar system that are closer ...

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

Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source ...

Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That’s been a source ...

All planets are made of gas, ice, rock and metal, and models of how planets form usually assume that these materials don't react chemically with each other. But what if some of them do? UCLA and ...

Astronomers have finally figured out how the most common types of planets in our galaxy are formed—by watching a set of baby planets grow up in real time. These worlds, found in a young star system ...

Studying the orbits of thousands of exoplanets shows that large planets tend to have elliptical orbits, while smaller planets tend to have more circular orbits. This split coincides with several other ...

Lucas Brefka receives funding from a NASA Exoplanet Research Program grant. Christopher Palma does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would ...