//www.koonmotors.com/news/space_time/xena/ Eris News. Eris, formerly known as Xena, is the largest dwarf planet in our solar system. Eris has a moon known as Dysnomia. en-us Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:20:43 EDT Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:20:43 EDT 60 //www.koonmotors.com/images/scidaily-logo-rss.png//www.koonmotors.com/news/space_time/xena/ For more science news, visit ScienceDaily. //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/06/220615211337.htm The violent death throes of a nearby star so thoroughly disrupted its planetary system that the dead star left behind -- known as a white dwarf -- is sucking in debris from both the system's inner and outer reaches, astronomers report. Wed, 15 Jun 2022 21:13:37 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/06/220615211337.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/12/211215132646.htm Scientists have unraveled a fascinating new insight into how the landscape of the dwarf-planet Pluto has formed. Wed, 15 Dec 2021 13:26:46 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/12/211215132646.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/10/191028164353.htm Astronomers using ESO's SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that the asteroid Hygiea could be classified as a dwarf planet. The object is the fourth largest in the asteroid belt after Ceres, Vesta and Pallas. For the first time, astronomers have observed Hygiea in sufficiently high resolution to study its surface and determine its shape and size. They found that Hygiea is spherical, potentially taking the crown from Ceres as the smallest dwarf planet in the solar system. Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:43:53 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/10/191028164353.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/06/190625133507.htm A team studied the orientation of distant solar system bodies to bolster the 'streaming instability' theory of planet formation. Tue, 25 Jun 2019 13:35:07 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/06/190625133507.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/02/190228141252.htm Using New Horizons data from the Pluto-Charon flyby in 2015, scientists have indirectly discovered a distinct and surprising lack of very small objects in the Kuiper Belt. The evidence for the paucity of small Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) comes from New Horizons imaging that revealed a dearth of small craters on Pluto's largest satellite, Charon, indicating that impactors from 300 feet to 1 mile (91 meters to 1.6 km) in diameter must also be rare. Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:12:52 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/02/190228141252.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/02/190227124832.htm Researchers are offering new details about the suspected nature and location of a ninth planet in the solar system. Wed, 27 Feb 2019 12:48:32 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/02/190227124832.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190128111721.htm For the first time ever, astronomers have detected a 1.3 km radius body at the edge of the Solar System. Kilometer sized bodies like the one discovered have been predicted to exist for more than 70 years. These objects acted as an important step in the planet formation process between small initial amalgamations of dust and ice and the planets we see today. Mon, 28 Jan 2019 11:17:21 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190128111721.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190121103346.htm The strange orbits of some objects in the farthest reaches of our solar system, hypothesized by some astronomers to be shaped by an unknown ninth planet, can instead be explained by the combined gravitational force of small objects orbiting the sun beyond Neptune, say researchers. Mon, 21 Jan 2019 10:33:46 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190121103346.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181024163636.htm Astronomers have made several discoveries that expand the range and value of a future Pluto orbiter mission. The breakthroughs define a fuel-saving orbital tour and demonstrate that an orbiter can continue exploration in the Kuiper Belt after surveying Pluto. Wed, 24 Oct 2018 16:36:36 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181024163636.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/09/180907110422.htm The reason Pluto lost its planet status is not valid, according to new research. Fri, 07 Sep 2018 11:04:22 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/09/180907110422.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/10/171012093350.htm The trans-neptunian belt contains four dwarf planets, among which Haumea stands out for its extremely elongated shape and rapid rotation. A stellar occultation makes it possible to establish the main physical characteristics of this previously little known body -- among which most surprising was the presence of a ring. Thu, 12 Oct 2017 09:33:50 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/10/171012093350.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/10/171004144511.htm It might be lingering bashfully on the icy outer edges of our solar system, hiding in the dark, but subtly pulling strings behind the scenes: stretching out the orbits of distant bodies, perhaps even tilting the entire solar system to one side. It is a possible "Planet Nine" -- a world perhaps 10 times the mass of Earth and 20 times farther from the sun than Neptune. Wed, 04 Oct 2017 14:45:11 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/10/171004144511.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/07/170712110457.htm Last year, the existence of an unknown planet in our Solar system was announced. However, this hypothesis was subsequently called into question as biases in the observational data were detected. Now astronomers have used a novel technique to analyze the orbits of the so-called extreme trans-Neptunian objects and, once again, they point out that there is something perturbing them: a planet located at a distance between 300 to 400 times the Earth-Sun separation. Wed, 12 Jul 2017 11:04:57 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/07/170712110457.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/06/170622104052.htm The plane of the solar system is warped in the belt's outer reaches, signaling the presence of an unknown Mars-to-Earth-mass planetary object far beyond Pluto, according to new research. Thu, 22 Jun 2017 10:40:52 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/06/170622104052.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/05/170518140249.htm Astronomers have uncovered a moon orbiting the third largest dwarf planet, 2007 OR10, in the frigid outskirts of our solar system called the Kuiper Belt. Thu, 18 May 2017 14:02:49 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/05/170518140249.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/03/170316093038.htm A team of astrophysicists studying an enormous and bizarre young planet approximately 300 lights years from Earth has gained a rare glimpse into the final stages of planetary evolution. While astronomers think the vast majority of planets outside our solar system are inside their star system's vast dusty debris disk, this strange planet is far beyond the disk. Thu, 16 Mar 2017 09:30:38 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/03/170316093038.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170209163852.htm Many scientists believe the Earth was initially dry and that water, carbon and nitrogen -- the building blocks for life -- likely came as a result of collisions with objects that began their lives in the cold outer reaches of our solar system. Today, scientists report discovery of the existence of just such an object -- one that once orbited a neighboring star. Thu, 09 Feb 2017 16:38:52 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170209163852.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170209133329.htm For the first time, scientists have witnessed a massive object with the makeup of a comet being ripped apart and scattered in the atmosphere of a white dwarf, the burned-out remains of a compact star. Thu, 09 Feb 2017 13:33:29 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170209133329.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019174218.htm As the search for a hypothetical, unseen planet far, far beyond Neptune's orbit continues, new research provides additional support for the possible existence of such a world and narrows the range of its parameters and location. Wed, 19 Oct 2016 17:42:18 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019174218.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019173023.htm Planet Nine the undiscovered planet at the edge of the solar system appears to be responsible for the unusual tilt of the Sun, according to a new study. Wed, 19 Oct 2016 17:30:23 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019173023.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019101727.htm Stern said that Pluto's complex, layered atmosphere is hazy and appears to be mostly free of clouds, but the team has spied a handful of potential clouds in images taken with New Horizons' cameras. "If there are clouds, it would mean the weather on Pluto is even more complex than we imagined," Stern said. Wed, 19 Oct 2016 10:17:27 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019101727.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160914150515.htm Scientists using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have made the first detections of X-rays from Pluto. These observations offer new insight into the space environment surrounding the largest and best-known object in the solar system's outermost regions. Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:05:15 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160914150515.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160627214421.htm Scientists have discovered an elusive, dark moon orbiting Makemake, one of the 'big four' dwarf planets populating the Kuiper Belt region at the edge of our solar system. Mon, 27 Jun 2016 21:44:21 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160627214421.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160621132532.htm An updated thermal model for Pluto suggests that a liquid water ocean beneath the dwarf planet's ice shell is a fairly likely scenario, and that the ocean is probably still there today. Tue, 21 Jun 2016 13:25:32 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160621132532.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/04/160426144920.htm Peering to the outskirts of our solar system, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a small, dark moon orbiting Makemake, the second brightest icy dwarf planet -- after Pluto -- in the Kuiper Belt. Tue, 26 Apr 2016 14:49:20 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/04/160426144920.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/02/160225085653.htm Using observations from the Cassini spacecraft, a team of astronomers has been able to specify the possible positions of a ninth planet in the Solar System. Thu, 25 Feb 2016 08:56:53 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/02/160225085653.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/01/160120114539.htm Researchers have found evidence of a giant planet tracing a bizarre, highly elongated orbit in the outer solar system. The object, which the researchers have nicknamed Planet Nine, has a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbits about 20 times farther from the sun on average than does Neptune (which orbits the sun at an average distance of 2.8 billion miles). In fact, it would take this new planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the sun. Wed, 20 Jan 2016 11:45:39 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/01/160120114539.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/12/151216115754.htm A team of scientists has discovered a highly unusual planetary system comprised of a sun-like star, a dwarf star, and an enormous planet sandwiched in between. Wed, 16 Dec 2015 11:57:54 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/12/151216115754.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/07/150716112252.htm Back in 1930, it was an easy answer -- Pluto was a planet because we couldn't see anything else brighter at a similar distance away from us, says a cosmologist. Then, in the 1990s, astronomers began detecting more and more planet-like objects around Pluto and the questions started -- was Pluto a planet or not? Thu, 16 Jul 2015 11:22:52 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/07/150716112252.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/05/150527095353.htm Astronomers have identified a young planetary system which may aid in understanding how our own solar system formed and developed billions of years ago. Wed, 27 May 2015 09:53:53 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/05/150527095353.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/05/150501095951.htm The discovery of a strange exoplanet orbiting very close to a small cool star 500 light years away is challenging ideas about how planets form. Fri, 01 May 2015 09:59:51 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/05/150501095951.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/03/150306102859.htm NASA's Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet. The spacecraft was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000) kilometers from Ceres when it was captured by the dwarf planet's gravity at about 4:39 a.m. PST (7:39 a.m. EST) Friday. Fri, 06 Mar 2015 10:28:59 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/03/150306102859.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/01/150119113142.htm As NASA's Dawn spacecraft closes in on Ceres, new images show the dwarf planet at 27 pixels across, about three times better than the calibration images taken in early December. These are the first in a series of images that will be taken for navigation purposes during the approach to Ceres. Mon, 19 Jan 2015 11:31:42 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2015/01/150119113142.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2014/06/140602115830.htm Life in the universe might be even rarer than we thought. Recently, astronomers looking for potentially habitable worlds have targeted red dwarf stars because they are the most common type of star, composing 80 percent of the stars in the universe. But a new study shows that harsh space weather might strip the atmosphere of any rocky planet orbiting in a red dwarf's habitable zone. Mon, 02 Jun 2014 11:58:30 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2014/06/140602115830.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2014/03/140326153725.htm The Solar System has a new most-distant member, bringing its outer frontier into focus. New work reports the discovery of a distant dwarf planet, called 2012 VP113, which was found beyond the known edge of the Solar System. This is likely one of thousands of distant objects that are thought to form the so-called inner Oort cloud. The work indicates the potential presence of an enormous planet, not yet seen, but possibly influencing the orbit of inner Oort cloud objects. 结婚,2014年3月26日15:37:25美国东部时间 //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2014/03/140326153725.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2014/01/140108112704.htm An object discovered by astrophysicists nearly 500 light years away from the Sun may challenge traditional understandings about how planets and stars form. The object is located near and likely orbiting a very young star about 440 light years away from the Sun, and is leading astrophysicists to believe that there is not an easy-to-define line between what is and is not a planet. Wed, 08 Jan 2014 11:27:04 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2014/01/140108112704.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/07/130708102936.htm Planets and asteroids, red giants and brown dwarfs – there are all kinds of objects in our Universe. Debris disks are among them. These are belts consisting of countless dust particles and planetesimals, circling around one central star. Debris disks are an important piece in the puzzle to be able to better understand the variety of planetary systems. Mon, 08 Jul 2013 10:29:36 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/07/130708102936.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/04/130409091221.htm The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has provided the first images of a dust belt -- produced by colliding comets or asteroids -- orbiting a subgiant star known to host a planetary system. Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:12:21 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/04/130409091221.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/01/130108183618.htm Newly released Hubble Space Telescope images of a vast debris disk encircling the nearby star Fomalhaut and a mysterious planet circling it may provide forensic evidence of a titanic planetary disruption in the system. Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:36:18 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/01/130108183618.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/01/130108182230.htm Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a large asteroid belt around the star Vega, the second brightest star in northern night skies. The discovery of an asteroid belt-like band of debris around Vega makes the star similar to another observed star called Fomalhaut. The data are consistent with both stars having inner, warm belts and outer, cool belts separated by a gap. This architecture is similar to the asteroid and Kuiper belts in our own solar system. Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:22:30 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2013/01/130108182230.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121129143159.htm New research hints that planets orbiting white and brown dwarfs, even in the habitable zone, face a "difficult path to habitability." Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:31:59 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121129143159.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121127111245.htm Astronomers have discovered vast comet belts surrounding two nearby planetary systems known to host only Earth-to-Neptune-mass worlds. The comet reservoirs could have delivered life-giving oceans to the innermost planets. Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:12:45 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121127111245.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121121145516.htm 矮行星中的神祗大约三分之二的年代ize of Pluto, and travels around the Sun in a distant path that lies beyond that of Pluto but closer to the Sun than Eris, the most massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System. Previous observations of chilly Makemake have shown it to be similar to its fellow dwarf planets, leading some astronomers to expect its atmosphere, if present, to be similar to that of Pluto. However, the new study now shows that, like Eris, Makemake is not surrounded by a significant atmosphere. Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:55:16 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121121145516.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121108181917.htm Every six seconds, for many millions of years, comets have been colliding near a star visible to the naked eye, astronomers report. Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:19:17 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/11/121108181917.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/07/120711123038.htm 一个由天文学家组成的研究小组利用美国宇航局哈勃Telescope is reporting the discovery of another moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto. The moon is estimated to be irregular in shape and 6 to 15 miles across. It is in a 58,000-mile-diameter circular orbit around Pluto that is assumed to be co-planar with the other satellites in the system. Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:30:38 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2012/07/120711123038.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/11/111110142102.htm Just as an expert chess player sacrifices a piece to protect the queen, the solar system may have given up a giant planet and spared the Earth, according to a new article. Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:21:02 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/11/111110142102.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/11/111103190356.htm In the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, astronomers have hunted for radio signals and ultra-short laser pulses. Astronomers suggest a new technique for finding aliens: Look for their city lights. Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:03:56 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/11/111103190356.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/10/111026143805.htm Astronomers have measured the diameter of the dwarf planet Eris by catching it as it passed in front of a faint star. This was seen by telescopes in Chile, including the TRAPPIST telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory. The observations show that Eris is an almost perfect twin of Pluto in size and appears to be covered in a layer of ice. Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:38:05 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/10/111026143805.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/10/111019161940.htm NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system. The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment," which may have brought water and other life-forming ingredients to Earth. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:19:40 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/10/111019161940.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/09/110929074039.htm Searching for extra-solar planets -- which are planets outside of our solar system -- is very popular these days. About 700 planets are known at the moment, a number that is continuously rising due to refined observational techniques. Astronomers have just made a remarkable discovery: they were able to establish proof of so-called debris discs around two stars. The debris discs are remnants of the formation of the planets. Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:40:39 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/09/110929074039.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/09/110912143357.htm A University of Toronto-led team of astronomers has observed extreme brightness changes on a nearby brown dwarf that may indicate a storm grander than any seen yet on a planet. Because old brown dwarfs and giant planets have similar atmospheres, this finding could shed new light on weather phenomena of extra-solar planets. Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:33:57 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/09/110912143357.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/08/110822124955.htm Astronomers have discovered that the dwarf planet 2007 OR10 -- nicknamed Snow White -- is an icy world, with about half its surface covered in water ice that once flowed from ancient, slush-spewing volcanoes. The new findings also suggest that the red-tinged dwarf planet may be covered in a thin layer of methane, the remnants of an atmosphere that's slowly being lost into space. Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:49:55 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/08/110822124955.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/05/110512083014.htm The fifth dwarf planet of the solar system, Haumea, and at least one of its two satellites, are covered in crystalline water-ice due to the tidal forces between them and the heat of radiogenic elements, according to an international research study using observations from the VLT telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Thu, 12 May 2011 08:30:14 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/05/110512083014.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/01/110113102156.htm In the outer reaches of our solar system lies a mysterious region far more remote and difficult to explore than the Australian outback. It remains the only part of our solar system not visited by spacecraft. A new telescope has begun to virtually explore the solar system outback, and already is scoring discoveries. Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:21:56 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2011/01/110113102156.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2010/10/101006094101.htm New research is challenging popular theory about how part of our solar system formed. Contrary to popular belief, new evidence suggests the planet Neptune can't have knocked a collection of planetoids known as the Cold Classical Kuiper Belt to its current location at the edge of the solar system. Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:41:01 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2010/10/101006094101.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2010/04/100409144354.htm As our telescopes grow more powerful, astronomers are uncovering objects that defy conventional wisdom. The latest example is the discovery of a planet-like object circling a brown dwarf. It's the right size for a planet, estimated to be 5-10 times the mass of Jupiter. But the object formed in less than 1 million years -- the approximate age of the brown dwarf -- and much faster than the predicted time it takes to build planets according to some theories. Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:43:54 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2010/04/100409144354.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2009/09/090916092538.htm A dark red area discovered on the dwarf planet Haumea appears to be richer in minerals and organic compounds than the surrounding icy surface. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:25:38 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2009/09/090916092538.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2008/09/080918234427.htm The International Astronomical Union has announced that the object previously known as 2003 EL61 is to be classified as the fifth dwarf planet in the Solar System and named Haumea. This now means that the family of dwarf planets in the Solar System is up to five. Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:44:27 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2008/09/080918234427.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2008/06/080611094136.htm The International Astronomical Union has decided on the term plutoid as a name for dwarf planets like Pluto at a meeting of its Executive Committee in Oslo. Almost two years after the IAU General Assembly introduced the category of dwarf planets, the IAU, as promised, has decided on a name for transneptunian dwarf planets similar to Pluto. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:41:36 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2008/06/080611094136.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2007/06/070617130655.htm Aptly named after the Greek goddess of conflict, the icy dwarf planet, Eris, has rattled the general model of our solar system. The object was discovered by astronomer Mike Brown of Caltech in the outer reaches of the Kuiper belt in 2005. Adding insult to injury for the former ninth planet, Brown has now determined that Eris is also more massive than Pluto. Sun, 17 Jun 2007 13:06:55 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2007/06/070617130655.htm