How giant planets affect accretion of water by rocky planets
How do giant planets affect the water content of rocky planets in habitable zones? Astronomers have run new planet formation simulations to try to answer this question.
Water ice in the solar nebula
The formation of water ice is an important first step in the formation of our Solar System. We review the process of early water ice formation and the difference between crystalline and amorphous water ice.
Disk Detective: The Newest Astronomy Citizen Science Project
Finding circumstellar disks in the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer data is a tough job, but fortunately our brains are even better suited to the task than computers! You can help by lending your pattern-recognition skills to Disk Detective, the Zooniverse’s newest citizen science project.
Flipping Orbits
How do so many hot jupiters come to orbit backwards?
Planet radius as a proxy for composition
Planetary radius is found to depend strongly on planet composition. The observed planet radius distribution can be recast as a composition distribution, with implications for the way planets form.
Water found in remains of planetary system around a white dwarf
Astronomers have found evidence of water in the remains of a planetary system around a white dwarf. This indicates water-rich asteroids can bring water to terrestrial planets, important for the habitability of planets.