An illustration of the solar system (not to scale), including the sun, inner rocky planets, asteroid belt, the outer gassy planets, and—beyond Neptune—the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud.

If our moon were replaced by each planet in the solar system, Venus would create the most striking view in our night sky.

The star is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, and this disk is the first evidence of debris condensing into what will eventually become planets and other objects. Observing this early phase of ...

"The primordial solar nebula was much larger than previously thought, and this may have implications for studying the planet formation process in our solar system," said Yoshida.

Back to Article List Does our solar system have a new dwarf planet? The recently discovered object has a diameter about one-third that of Pluto.

Astronomers have discovered a rare solar system in the Milky Way with six planets orbiting in perfect rhythm like a cosmic orchestra.