When the solar system was first organizing itself, a disk of gas and dust took shape around the sun's central mass. It eventually sorted itself into the system of planets we see today. But there are ...

Jupiter's rapid early growth dramatically reshaped our solar system, scientists now reveal. Its immense gravity acted as a ...

Earth and Mars were formed from material that largely originated in the inner Solar System; only a few percent of the building blocks of these two planets originated beyond Jupiter’s orbit. A group of ...

The early growth of the gas giant carved rings that formed primitive meteorites and shaped the architecture of the inner ...

Approximately 4.5 billion years ago, a cold cloud of gas and dust buried deep in one of the Milky Way galaxy’s spiral arms started to collapse. From there, gravity worked its magic. The cloud began to ...

New research shows how Jupiter carved out rings and gaps that changed how and when planets and meteorites formed.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Planetary scientists are split, oscillating between two main theories that explain the order in ...

When the Sun becomes a red giant, will the outer planets and moons become more temperate and conducive to Earth-like life? Terrence A. Murray Cincinnati, Ohio When the Sun runs out of hydrogen fuel ...

In the remote outer reaches of planetary systems, far beyond the orbit of known planets, enormous and mysterious worlds silently loop around their stars. Some drift as far as 10,000 times the distance ...

Tiny grains from a distant asteroid are revealing clues to the magnetic forces that shaped the far reaches of the solar system more than 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have ...

Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system. It’s an unprecedented ...