Using data collected by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, scientists have found four free-floating, or rogue, planets near the core of the Milky Way. These planets formed in discs in other planetary systems and were thrown out by gravitational interactions with larger planets. Plus, the early solar system, including ancient Earth, Jupiter’s chemistry, and Mercury’s core.
In new research, scientists examined the populations of stars observed by the Kepler and K2 missions and found that the solar systems were different depending on the type of star involved. Plus, CHIME results, a brown dwarf’s atmosphere, a stream of stars in the Milky Way, and an interview with PSI’s Dr. Candice Hansen about the recent Ganymede flyby of NASA’s Juno spacecraft.
It’s a day ending in ‘y’, and planetary formation theories are once again being challenged. This time the challenge comes from a six-planet system with five planets in resonance. Plus a cloudless Jupiter, TRAPPIST-1, volcanoes, and some science of the weird.
Researchers using NASA’s TESS and the Keck Observatory found a rocky planet orbiting a 10-billion-year-old star in the Milky Way, up in the galaxy’s thick disk. Plus more planetary news from the AAS Winter Meeting, a magnetar, colliding galaxies, and gravitational wave news.
Join us today while we talk about the early formation of stars and galaxies in the universe. We find some joy in an astronomer using 25-year old data to prove that Proxima c exists. And we learn about the Kepler-160 system which is very reminiscent of our own Sun-Earth system.
Get your daily dose of all that’s new in space and astronomy. The sky is not the limit, as we bring you a fast-paced roundup of launches, landings, and everyday discoveries. The Daily Space is brought to you by the team behind CosmoQuest at the Planetary Science Institute, and features hosts Dr. Pamela L. Gay, Beth Johnson, and Annie Wilson.
