A planetary system 116 light-years from Earth has a peculiar pattern. It could flip the script on how planets form, scientists say.

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Astronomers have observed a planetary system that challenges current planet ...

We know that our Solar System is not the blueprint for all planetary systems out there. There are gas giant planets orbiting closer to their stars than Mercury, and rocky worlds much larger than Earth ...

Astronomers have found a distant world that challenges planetary formation theory, with a rocky planet where gas giants should be.

Surprised astronomers said Thursday they have discovered a star with planets in a bizarre order that defies scientific expectations -- and suggests these faraway worlds formed in a manner never seen ...

A global team of astronomers, led by the University of Warwick, have used a European Space Agency (ESA) telescope to discover ...

CREDIT: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al. Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system.

Illustration comparing the planets of the Solar System and the Sun on the same scale. The planets are shown to scale relative to each other but their distances are not. From left to right the bodies ...

The giant planets weren't always where we find them today. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune formed in a more compact configuration and later underwent a violent reshuffling that scattered them to ...