A new study has challenged a popular explanation for the unexpected 30-second shortening of Dimorphos's orbital period. The researchers found that the proposed mechanism would actually produce the ...

Astronomers are increasingly finding planets that do not simply circle their stars in neat, clockwork ellipses but instead trace out paths that look more like intricate choreography. The latest ...

Hot Jupiters, giant planets that circle their stars in just a few days, have long defied simple explanations of how planetary systems grow and evolve. A new tidal “clock” hidden in their orbits is now ...

Aerobraking is commonly used to slow down spacecraft when they arrive at various planetary systems. It requires a spacecraft to dip into the atmosphere of a celestial body in the planetary system, ...

AMES, Iowa – Using data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a distant planetary system featuring multiple planets orbiting at a severe tilt to their ...

High-resolution study of Jurassic mudstones in China’s Sichuan Basin reveals that astronomical cycles control climate, sedimentation, and organic matter accumulation—key insights for global shale oil ...

Southwest Research Institute scientists propose a new model for the formation of compact exoplanetary systems that contain multiple rocky planets in tight orbits around their star. In this model, ...