The Closest Encounter of a Stellar Kind
70,000 years ago, a binary star passed through the outskirts of the Oort Cloud–was it the closest known stellar encounter?
Using observations from home to improve the transit method
Most exoplanets are and have been detected by the transit method. Maybe, we can improve the method even further by drawing conclusions from the recent Venus transits in 2004 and 2012.
The Age of Solar System Exploration
The years of 2014 and 2015 may well be known as the time when our exploration of the solar system truly took off, as we explored asteroids, comets, and minor planets. Here’s a look back at what we’ve accomplished in the last year, and what we’re about to achieve in the year to come.
Origin of water in the solar system is interstellar
Water is essential for life, but where does it come from? Read on and learn that a significant amount is inherited from the interstellar medium.
Chondrule formation by shocks?
Chondrules are among the oldest components of the solar system and give insight in the solar system’s earliest phase. But how are they formed? In shocks? That seems to be at least difficult.
Most Asteroids are Not in the Asteroid Belt
Simulations show that the Oort cloud contains eight billion asteroids (in addition to hundreds of billions of comets). Do these asteroids pose a threat to Earth?