New simulations examine whether the seven planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system could host moons, showing that only small, close-orbiting moons could remain stable over long periods ...

Earth is on an orderly path around the sun, orbiting in nearly the same plane as our star’s equator. In 2008, however, astronomers began finding worlds in other solar systems that sail far above and ...

The newly identified cluster of Kuiper Belt objects lies about 4 billion miles from the Sun, offering fresh clues about how ...

Even most rocket scientists would rather avoid hard math when they don't have to do it. So when it comes to figuring out ...

Strange giant planets known as hot Jupiters, which orbit close to their suns, got kicked onto their peculiar paths by nearby planets and stars, a new study finds. After analyzing the orbits of dozens ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. Despite the dangers posed to planet Earth by a comet or asteroid strike ...

The planets of our solar system all orbit the Sun within a few degrees of a flat plane extending out from our star’s equator — its equatorial plane. That makes sense. Our solar system began as a ...

The first exoplanet ever discovered in 1995 was what we now call a "hot Jupiter," a planet as massive as Jupiter with an orbital period of just a few days. Today, hot Jupiters are thought to have ...

In very simple terms, low Earth orbit (LEO) is exactly what it sounds like: An orbit around the Earth with an altitude that lies towards the lower end of the range of possible orbits. This is around 1 ...

OK, first, let's get the name out of the way. Scientists have cataloged this exoplanet as PSR J2322-2650b. It's called that ...