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Found 6 results for dwarf planet
Artist's impression of a brown dwarf

Microbial life might drift in the atmospheres of failed stars

7 October 2019

Brown dwarfs are too large to be planets and too small to be stars, but they have gaseous atmospheres that may have all the ingredients needed for life


Astronaut pee could keep plants alive in space for decades

Astronaut pee could keep plants alive in space for decades

23 March 2018

On missions to Mars and beyond, astronauts will have to grow their own food. Urine has been shown in space simulations to keep wheat and soy alive over 20 years


Oceans on alien worlds may form when the air explodes in flames

Oceans on alien worlds may form when the air explodes in flames

14 February 2018

When hydrogen and oxygen combine in a planet’s atmosphere, they can ignite into a ball of fire and then leave behind liquid water oceans that would be good for life


Oumuamua

Interstellar: The bizarre visitor from a far-off solar system

31 January 2018

First seen in October 2017, the space rock 'Oumuamua looks like a skyscraper tumbling through space – and challenges our ideas of how planetary systems form


Exoplanet transit

Hidden exoplanets could be revealed by echoing light

11 January 2018

Reflected light from a star’s flares may help us find otherwise invisible worlds. These exoplanets could be hit by powerful blasts, but may still host life


Tidal pool under a lilac sky

Tides on exoplanets could drive alien biological clocks

24 July 2017

On watery worlds that lack days and nights because one face always points toward their star, tides may help life emerge – and algal blooms might be the giveaway


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