New simulations published in The Astrophysical Journal reveal that gas giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn can build solid 10-Earth-mass cores in roughly 200,000 years. According to researchers Hiroshi Kobayashi of Nagoya University and Hidekazu Tanaka of Tohoku University, icy pebbles drifting inward from the outer protoplanetary disk collide and convert into planetesimals. This creates … Read more
Mercury’s surface contains roughly 37 percent silicon dioxide by mass, according to a study published in Planetary Research, placing the compound up to 25 percent below earlier scientific estimates. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research alongside the Universities of Münster and Göttingen used an indirect calibration method involving laboratory glass beads … Read more
According to research published in Science Advances on July 23, 2026, rocks collected from the Moon’s far side by China’s Chang’e-6 mission show that the early Solar System’s asteroid bombardment faded slowly over billions of years rather than ending in a single catastrophic spike. Scientists analyzed tiny impact-melt rock fragments to reconstruct more than three … Read more
According to a recent study in The Planetary Science Journal by Vincent Savignac and Eve Lee, geologists analyzing rocks pulled from mid-ocean ridges have discovered tiny amounts of noble gases like neon trapped deep within Earth’s mantle. This geochemical evidence indicates that volatile elements dissolved into a primordial magma ocean directly from the surrounding protosolar … Read more
Solar storm risks to Earth’s infrastructure may be significantly underestimated because there is no known upper limit to how the planet responds to solar wind, according to a study published in Nature. Research led by Nithin Sivadas of NASA and Maria Walach from Lancaster University suggests that previous beliefs in a “leveling off” of atmospheric … Read more
Data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) indicates that 55 Cancri e, a super-Earth located 41 light-years away, is likely a hydrogen-rich lava world. According to a study published in Nature Astronomy, the planet’s atmosphere is linked to its molten interior, suggesting that volcanic outgassing plays a primary role in shaping its chemical composition. … Read more
Scientists have identified a massive, dense anomaly buried hundreds of miles beneath the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken basin, a discovery that suggests a violent origin for the lunar surface’s largest scar. According to research published in Geophysical Research Letters, the mass—weighing at least 2.18 × 10¹⁸ kilograms—likely consists of metallic debris from an ancient asteroid impact … Read more
The New Space Race: Moving From Moon-Hops to Interplanetary Infrastructure For decades, space exploration was a game of “flags and footprints”—landing a craft, taking a photo, and coming home. But as we enter a new era of Martian ambition, the focus is shifting. The real battle isn’t just about who lands on Mars, but who … Read more
The Cosmic Rulebook is Being Rewritten: What ‘Odd Couple’ Planets Tell Us About the Universe For decades, astronomers believed they had a handle on how planetary systems were organized. The general rule of thumb? Giant gas planets like Jupiter stay in the outer reaches, and smaller, rocky worlds huddle close to the star. But the … Read more
The Eternal Debate: Will Pluto Ever Be a Planet Again? For decades, the status of Pluto has been one of the most polarizing topics in astronomy. Once the ninth planet in our solar system, Pluto was reclassified as a “dwarf planet” following a controversial decision by the scientific community. Now, the conversation has been reignited, … Read more