New discovery pushes star Kepler-90’s menagerie to eight planets

Enlarge / That’s a lot of mouths to feed. (credit: NASA/Wendy Stenzel) If you have an emotional attachment to our Solar System’s distinctions, you may want to look away. We’ve found another star system with eight planets, tying our own mark. Oh, and a Google machine-learning algorithm is responsible for the discovery. This is one […]

Star Wars: Battlefront II — Galactic Assault introduces massive battles on multiple planets

In Electronic Arts’ first edition of Star Wars: Battlefront, players got to enjoy a massive Battle of Hoth where the Rebels had to stop the Imperial Walkers from destroying their base. The developers of Star Wars: Battlefront II — which debuts on November 17 — took that idea and ran with it in a multiplayer […]

Star’s magnetic field could turn habitable-zone planets into magma soup

Enlarge (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) In the search for new planets, a lot of the focus has been on finding some that reside in what’s called the habitable zone. This is an area between where a planet’s orbit receives enough starlight to keep water liquid, but not so much light that it all boils off as steam. […]

NASA study will help identify potentially habitable planets

NASA has already found tons of exoplanets around nearby stars, and will spot countless more once the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launches. The problem is that scientists aren’t exactly sure which planet-star combinations are most likely to support life. A new NASA study has found that planets orbiting small stars like Trappist-1 could retain […]

Star Wars Bits: The Planets of ‘Han Solo,’ Some Love For Aunt Beru, and Some Pressing Canon Questions

In this edition of Star Wars Bits: A possible look at the planets featured in the Han Solo movie. An interview with the editor of From a Certain Point of View. Author Meg Cabot shares her love for Aunt Beru. Ron Howard shares more Han Solo set pics. Pablo Hidalgo answers some pressing (and nerdy) […]

Epic Martian solar storm sparks global aurora, doubles planet’s radiation levels (IMAGES)

Published time: 3 Oct, 2017 15:25 Mars was hit by an unexpected blast from the sun in September, doubling radiation levels on the surface and causing an incredibly bright aurora over the planet. The “solar event” took place on September 11, and was observed by Nasa’s missions in orbit and on Mars’ surface. “Nasa’s distributed […]

Star Wars Bits: New Toys, ‘Han Solo’ Movie Planets, ‘Rebels’ Season 4 Schedule, and More

In this edition of Star Wars Bits: Tons more toys from The Last Jedi to fill your entire house Han Solo looks to be going to two MAJOR Star Wars locations A Certain Point of View gets even better New Star Wars comics on the way And much more! A young hero takes a deep dive into the Empire's history. […]

A nearby Sun-like star hosts four Earth-sized planets

Exoplanet discoveries are getting pretty common, so it takes something special to catch our attention. A star called Tau Ceti fits the bill, as it’s just 12 light years away and unlike the Trappist-1 red dwarf, is very similar to our own yellow dwarf (G-type) sun. Researchers have determined that it probably hosts planets like […]

From ice to fire: Study dismantles theory that other planets has ingredients for life

Published time: 1 Aug, 2017 02:25 Hopes that other planets could harbor life were dealt a blow Monday when new research punched holes in a theory of how other worlds could hold water. The theory held that planets, or moons, go through phases where the conditions are right to hold liquid water when they are […]