New Space Telescope Observations Upset Theories of Planet ...
168010
The leading theory of how planets form is being revised because of new observations from the US Spitzer Space Telescope. The process is not as smooth and quiet as once thought, but rather the result of violent collisions between massive space rocks.
155214
The Cassini spacecraft has detected two and possibly three new additions to the already full environment of Saturn, and scientists are puzzled over what they&#39;ve seen.
313677
In this artist&#39;s concept released by NASA, a ring of dusty debris is seen around a star. NASA&#39;s Spitzer Space Telescope found rings of dust around planet-bearing stars, an important confirmation of theories
7097
Astronomers have discovered four new planets in a week's time, an exciting end-of-summer flurry that signals a sharper era in the hunt for new worlds.    While none of these new bodies would be mistaken as Earth's twin, some appear to be noticeably smaller and more solid - more like Earth and Mars - than the gargantuan, gaseous giants identified before...
4108
PASADENA -- An orbiting NASA telescope that scans the heavens has found evidence of massive &quot;baby&quot; galaxies that runs counter to a belief that only small new galaxies are being formed by the aging universe.
383092
By JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA     -- Astronomers have discovered four new planets in a week's time, an exciting end-of-summer flurry that signals a sharper era in the hunt for new worlds...
94115
By Sandi Doughton, Seattle Times  Dec. 15--University of Washington astronomer Don Brownlee expected surprises from the pinch of comet dust collected by the Stardust spacecraft.   But he didn't foresee such a shake-up.
5207
Planet-building is dusty work, and now two space telescopes have captured images of cosmic construction materials: disks of dust circling stars about the same size as our sun.
703171
The IAU's recent decision to retain Pluto as a planet was a political attempt to catch up with two trends: the recent discoveries by Mike Brown and his colleagues of new planetary objects, and a growing unease about Pluto's place in the classical notion of what a planet is. Whether or not they made the right decision about Pluto is rather pointless, as there are certainly more important things astronomers have to worry about. Although it is controversial amongst astronomers. And think of those poor astrologers and their horoscopes: "Your Libra is in the House of Quaoar. So, um, that makes you very cold and distant?"  If Pluto gets called a Planet or a Pluton or a Salami Sandwich in children's textbooks just isn't that important in the larger scheme of things. So certainly, the IAU got it right, for now: just let popular and historical notions hold sway. However, the IAU did not address a third trend on the horizon: we are beginning to discover planets outside of our solar system. This means our traditional notion of what a planet is and isn't is about to be challenged in a whole new bunch of ways that Pluto and Mike Brown could never muster. We are going to be exposed to a whole new cornucopia of exotic objects orbiting other stars in the next few decades. In this regard, the IAU's recent Solar Sytem-centric and politically rendered decisions just don't cut it.
124848
Earth-like planets orbiting other stars may be far more common than had once been thought, a study suggests.
38646
Astronomers find a strange new world that has them pondering again the essential properties of a planet.
381786
Planet-seekers who have spotted 28 new planets orbiting other stars in the past year say Earth's solar system is far from unique and there could be billions of habitable planets.
716773
A group of European-led    astronomers has made a photograph of what appears to be a planet orbiting another    star. If so, it would be the first confirmed picture of a world beyond our solar    system.
360558
Astronomers poring over the deepest image ever taken of the universe are coming to different conclusions about what made space transparent to light billions of years ago.
68470
The collisions that spawn planets are bigger and take place over longer periods of time than previously thought, say astronomers who studied nearly 300 stars with NASA&#39;s Spitzer Space Telescope.
146272
A bizarre scenario takes theories of modern cosmology to the limit.
489644
Astronomers have found the latest planet in another solar system â-r &quot;exoplanet&quot; â -ng telescopes no bigger than those you might find at a garage sale.