Earth may be partly made of rocks from elsewhere in the galaxy
14 March 2019
We’ve only seen one interstellar object, a rock called ‘Oumuamua that passed by in 2017, but they may be crucial to speeding up the planet-building process
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Found 28 results for dwarf planet
NASA probe will hurtle past the most distant object we’ve ever visited
22 December 2018
In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft whizzed past Pluto. Now it is about to arrive at Ultima Thule, a tiny space rock 6.6 billion kilometres away from Earth
A new dwarf planet called Farout is the most distant we’ve ever seen
17 December 2018
Astronomers have spotted a tiny world 18 billion kilometres away, the most distant dwarf planet we’ve ever seen, and it may help us find the elusive Planet X
Distant dwarf planet called 'The Goblin' could point to Planet X
2 October 2018
There is a 300-kilometre-wide ice world in the far reaches of the Solar System - and its orbit is consistent with the presence of the hypothetical Planet X
Forgotten giants: Why the time is ripe to revisit Uranus and Neptune
25 July 2018
A fleeting glimpse of the ice giants 30 years ago hinted at very weird science that could tell us a lot about exoplanets. Now we have a rare chance to go back
Why weird star systems are where we'll find alien life
18 July 2018
In the hunt for life beyond Earth, we've been looking for planets and stars like our own. But that is flawed – and a new plan promises answers in our lifetimes
Passing star may have disturbed the solar system billions of years ago
18 July 2018
The outer solar system hosts a number of small bodies in mixed up orbits – and they may have been scattered there by a passing star
Weird backwards asteroid may be an interstellar interloper
21 May 2018
An asteroid that has been orbiting backwards near Jupiter for billions of years may actually be an interstellar rock captured by our solar system
Dwarf planet Ceres has a water cycle but it’s not like Earth’s
14 March 2018
Ceres, a distant dwarf planet, hosts sheets of ice just under its surface. In the summer, some of this ice may sublimate and coat shadowy crater walls in frost
Planet X: We are closing in on the solar system's new occupant
13 December 2017
Evidence for a new body perhaps the size of Neptune way out in the shadows is building – but if there is a ninth planet, it’s unlike any we have seen
