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#planets

15 posts15 participants1 post today

Barnard’s Star is a well-studied 10-billion-year-old M dwarf with a mass of 0.16 solar mass.

Finding #exoplanets around #Barnard’s #Star has been something of a white whale for astronomers for more than half a century.

The system of four small #planets around the star are in remarkably close quarters, with periods of just 2.34, 3.15, 4.12, and 6.74 days.

The current data rule out the presence of habitable-zone planets with masses greater than 0.57 Earth mass.

astrobiology.com/2025/03/barna

Astrobiology · Barnard’s Star Hosts Four Tiny Planets - AstrobiologyJust 6 light-years away, Barnard’s Star is a well-studied 10-billion-year-old M dwarf with a mass of 0.16 solar mass.

Though this system has hoodwinked astronomers with planetary signals before, researchers say they're confident they have detected three new #planets and confirmed another around Barnard's #Star.

After peering at Barnard's Star over 112 nights, scientists found compelling evidence of four particularly small #exoplanets, each just some 20 to 30 percent the size of Earth.

The planets are considerably smaller than Mars, which is about half Earth's size.

#astronomy
mashable.com/article/planets-d

Mashable · Scientists hunted for planets around our cosmic neighbor. They found 4.By Mark Kaufman

Saturn’s largest moon, #Titan, is particularly captivating for scientists.

It is known to host an #atmosphere about 1.5 times denser than Earth’s and bodies of liquid on its surface.

But even such a large #moon lacks the mass to keep a tight hold on its atmosphere.

Now, new experimental research shows that the chemical compounds in Titan’s atmosphere could emerge from processes in its interior.

#Cryovolcanism replenishes its thick atmosphere.

#planets #astronomy
astronomy.com/science/cryovolc

Astronomy Magazine · Cryovolcanism on Titan may replenish its thick atmosphereExperiments suggest that processes in the interior of the moon could keep it swathed in an atmosphere that should otherwise have been lost.
Tune in tonight for a new episode of York Universe LIVE! This week’s theme: Lunar Eclipses, and the one happening soon! Join our host astronomers as they dive into fascinating space history, and exciting astronomy news. If weather permits, we will have Online Public Viewing where we show you live views from our 1m telescope!

Date: Monday, March 10, 2025
Time: 9:00 – 10:00 PM ET
Where: www.youtube.com/@YorkUObservatory/live

#Lunar #Eclipse #Space #Astronomer #Astronomy #Radio #Show #Podcast #YorkU #Observatory #AllanICarswellObservatory #Stargazing #YorkUniverse #Telescope #Planets #Stars #Science #Physics #Toronto #YorkuObservatory
Continued thread

Yesterday evening, there were even better conditions to see #Mercury in the evening sky. Again, from the same spot on a bridge over the #Escaut river in Northern France.

To see a short 8 second #timelapse seeing Mercury vanish behind the trees on the horizon:

silberspur.de/topics/astro/tim

#Astronomy #Astronomie #Astro #AstroPhotography #Astrofotografie #Planets #Planeten #Venus #Mercury NaturePhotography #Nature #Water #River #Fluss #Wasser #Stille #Kontemplation #Spiegelung #Zeitraffer

Small #planets have nearly circular orbits, while giant planets have orbits about four times more elliptical.

The finding points toward two different pathways by which large and small planets form.

The #eccentricity split coincides with several other iconic features in the #exoplanet population, such as the high abundance of small planets over large planets and a tendency for giant planets to form only around #stars enriched in heavy elements.

#astronomy #exoplanets
astrobiology.com/2025/03/small

Astrobiology · Small And Large Planets Have Significantly Different Upbringings - AstrobiologyThe shape of a planet’s orbit is one of its fundamental properties, along with its size and distance from its host star.

Planets are formed from protoplanetary disks, spinning clouds of dust and gas that are the perfect ingredients for #planet formation.

A fresh look at past data reveals that #exoplanets with masses similar to #Jupiter formed much sooner than previously thought.

New results provide information about the early timing of accretion—the process of accumulating a large amount of gas and dust to make large #planets.

#astronomy
phys.org/news/2025-03-astronom

Phys.org · Astronomer finds gas giant exoplanets formed earlier than previously thoughtBy Tatyana Woodall