planets

One of the ‘most extreme planets in the universe’ orbits its star every 2.7 days

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A ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet with a surface temperature hot enough to vaporise iron has been dubbed ‘one of the most extreme planets in the universe’ by astronomers. Using data from the European Space Agency CHEOPS space telescope, astronomers from the University of Bern studied the orbit, size and temperature of WASP-189b. The planet, 322 light … Read more

Prince Charles warns that we will need ‘four planets like earth to survive’

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The Prince of Wales has warned that we will need ‘four planets like earth to survive or provide enough for everybody’. Speaking today for Climate Week 2020, His Royal Highness urged companies to focus on ‘the green recovery’ following coronavirus, adding that ‘there is a better world out there’. Prince Charles said: ‘We’ve so degraded natural … Read more

Life on Venus? Traces of gas that could be coming from MICROBES detected in planet’s clouds

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Traces of phosphine gas detected in the clouds above Venus could be an indication that the planet supports microbial life, a study has concluded. On Earth, phosphine — a colourless gas that smells like garlic, or decaying fish — is naturally produced mainly by certain microorganisms in the absence of oxygen. It can also be … Read more

Newest NASA telescope will detect ‘rogue’ planets that could outnumber stars in the Milky Way

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NASA speculates there are hundreds of rogue planets hiding all across the galaxy and may actually outnumber the hundreds of billions of stars. These free-floating orbs travel around space unattached to a larger star and an orbital telescope set to launch in 2025 aims to uncover their existence.  According to researchers, the $4 billion Nancy … Read more

Citizen scientists spot 1,500 cool worlds that are more massive than planets but lighter than stars

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Citizen scientists found more than 1,500 brown dwarves — ‘cool worlds’ that are more massive than planets but lighter than stars — in our galactic neighbourhood. The discoveries were part of ‘Backyard Worlds: Planet 9’, a project which recruited more than 100,000 people to scour astronomical data for new ‘nearby’ objects. Some of the brown … Read more

Blue Planet’s creators ‘made millions from adverts for plastic bottles that clog up oceans’ 

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What Planet are they on? Blue Planet’s creators ‘made millions from adverts for plastic bottles that clog up oceans’ Alastair Fothergill made adverts for biggest bottled water manufacturer in China Nongfu Spring bottles are found polluting oceans and shores worldwide Decision came despite work on BBC’s Blue Planet and Netflix’s Our Planet By Tom Kelly … Read more

Thousands of giant planets or ‘blanets’ surround black hole, say scientists 

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Thousands of giant planets or ‘blanets’ surround black holes, made up from the void’s whirling dust, say scientists Experts believe there could be thousands of exoplanets in black hole safe zones Called ‘blanets,’ the team believes these formations live outside the snow-line Blanets could form from ice-covered dust particles circling the black hole Researchers speculate … Read more

Human immune systems could struggle to fight off ‘alien’ bacteria and viruses from other planets

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Could future pandemics originate in SPACE? Human immune systems may struggle to fight off ‘alien’ bacteria and viruses from other planets, study warns Experts think that alien microorganisms could potentially exist on other worlds Researchers from Exeter and Aberdeen set out to test how these might affect us They exposed mice immune cells to two amino … Read more

Astronomers capture first photo of two giant planets orbiting a Sun-like star

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The first ever photo of two exoplanets orbiting a young Sun-like star 309-light years from the Earth has been captured by astronomers using a ground-based telescope.  The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile was used to capture the image of the two giant exoplanets orbiting a very young star.  Astronomers say this image … Read more

Death Valley sets record for the planet’s hottest temperature in years as it reaches 128F

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Living up to its name! Death Valley records temperature of 128F – the hottest reading on the planet in three years – and 50 million Americans are placed under heat warning Weather station in Death Valley, California recorded an official high temperature of 128F on Sunday afternoon Photo posted by the Park Service showed their … Read more