Mercury may have a thick layer of diamonds hundreds of miles below its surface, a new study shows. The findings, published June 14 in the journal Nature Communications, may help solve mysteries about the planet’s composition and peculiar magnetic field. Mercury is filled with mysteries. For one, it has a magnetic field. Although it’s much … Read more
Black holes are massive, mostly invisible and so powerful not even light can escape them. So what would happen if one entered our solar system? It depends on a lot of factors, including the size and distance of the black hole, experts told Live Science. But in many scenarios, not much would happen.”They’re not, per … Read more
The remarkable aurora in early May this year demonstrated the power that solar storms can emit as radiation, but occasionally the sun does something far more destructive. Known as “solar particle events”, these blasts of protons directly from the surface of the sun can shoot out like a searchlight into space. Records show that around … Read more
If you look up on a clear night, the brightest and largest object in the sky will probably be the moon. And unless you have a decent telescope, it is the only natural satellite you can see with your own eyes. As a result, most people have a warped perception of what a moon is … Read more
It would appear that the so-called “great instability” event that wreaked chaos among the planets, sending the gas giants careening through space until they settled into the orbits we know today, occurred between 60 and 100 million years after the birth of the solar system. This is the conclusion of some careful scientific detective work … Read more
Astronomers have long believed that the ice giants Uranus and Neptune are rich in frozen water. However, a new study suggests they may also have tons of methane ice. The findings could help solve a puzzle about how these icy worlds formed. Much about Uranus and Neptune remains unknown. These ice giant worlds have had … Read more
The solar system is an enormous place. Our cosmic neighborhood includes eight planets, around half a dozen dwarf planets, several hundred moons and millions of asteroids and comets, all spinning around the sun — and in many cases each other —at speeds of thousands of miles per hour, like a giant top. But where does … Read more
Many maps of the solar system make it look as though everything in space moves in perfect, concentric circles. Planets orbit the sun, and moons orbit the planets. So that must be the case for everything in space, right? Not quite. Orbits form all sorts of shapes. “Planets and other bodies rarely go around in … Read more
Scientists have narrowed down the likely hiding place of the elusive “Planet Nine,” after ruling out more than three-quarters of the hypothetical world’s suspected orbital pathway. In a new study, the researchers — who have been looking for the planet for almost a decade — said they believe they could find the elusive world in … Read more
The moon’s orbit around Earth appears so regular that civilizations have based the month on lunar motion for thousands of years. However, the moon is actually creeping slowly away from Earth. So will Earth lose its moon at some point? Scientists determined the rate at which the moon is drifting away from Earth with help … Read more
