In a cosmic milestone that once seemed straight out of science fiction, astronomers have captured something previously only imagined: the birth of a planet. This is not a simulation or an artist’s ...

The recent discovery of a potential gas giant circling the nearby star Alpha Centauri A has led to speculation that it may be orbited in turn by a habitable moon that could support life, just like in ...

Beyond our solar system, countless alien worlds of lava, ice, water and noxious gas swirl through the cosmos. Here are some of the strangest exoplanets that scientists have discovered so far. When you ...

R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC) Just 4.3 light years from Earth lies a star called Alpha Centauri A, which is famous for being the nearest star that resembles our own Sun. In the popular Avatar movies, this ...

NASA’s Kepler space telescope has identified more than 1,000 extrasolar planets, some of which are thought to be heftier versions of Earth. However, more numerous are the gas giants the size of ...

"We might have finally found the cause of a mystery that’s lasted over 40 years." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Using NASA's ...

"We will never witness the formation of Earth, but here, around a young star 440 light-years away, we may be watching a planet come into existence in real time." Astronomers have seen what appears to ...