Category Archives: Planets

New Video: Exoplanets Review January 2022

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

So, I decided to attempt a new video series where I talk about the latest research in the field of exoplanets. I was inspired by the Raptor Chatter channel’s “Paleontology in Review” videos, and I thought there was a niche … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, Planets, Video | 1 Comment

TESS Lifts Off

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) lifted off on a SpaceX rocket last night. TESS is a follow-up to the wildly successful Kepler mission that will hunt for transiting planets—that is, planets that pass in front of their stars, blocking … Continue reading →

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Kepler-1625b I: The First Exomoon…Maybe

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Alex R. Howe

So, the big science news of the day is the potential discovery of the first known “exomoon”—that is, a moon orbiting an extrasolar planet. (Scientific paper here.) Scientists have been looking for such moons for years, only to turn up … Continue reading →

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Planet 9: A New Planet in Our Solar System?

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Alex R. Howe

“In my day, Pluto was a Planet!” said everyone over the age of…15 or so. Pluto was demoted from planet status ten years ago (a decision I do agree with–see here), and now we only have eight planets–or do we? … Continue reading →

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Planet or Not? How About “Planetoid”?

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

I’ve argued that Pluto shouldn’t be a planet, and I’ve also argued that we don’t know enough to rigorously define the word “planet”. Now, I want to take a closer look at how and why we divide our own Solar … Continue reading →

Posted in Planets, Science, Space | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

How to “Define” the Word “Planet”

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

So the IAU has declared that Pluto is not a planet. I agree with this assessment, but I also think that the IAU’s definition is poorly written. So how should that word “planet” actually be defined? It’s not simple.

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Why Pluto Really Shouldn’t be a Planet

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

(But the IAU is Wrong, Too.) In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted that Pluto was not a planet, just months after the New Horizons spacecraft was launched with a mission to…visit the last planet that had never been … Continue reading →

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NASA Discovers the First “Earth-Like” Planet for the Third Time

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Alex R. Howe

There’s been buzz in the news about the latest planet discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, Kepler-452b. It’s being hailed as a major discovery. It’s the first ever Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone of a…boy, this sounds familiar, … Continue reading →

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NASA finds an ice-cold planet right next door

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

You may have heard about the recent discovery of an ice cold “brown dwarf” or “star” right next door in our Solar Neighborhood. The object, which goes by the telephone number* WISE J085510.83-071442.5, is only 7.2 light-years from our Solar … Continue reading →

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Success for Kepler: an Earth-sized planet in the habitable (?) zone

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Alex R. Howe

The Kepler Spacecraft’s primary planet hunting mission has ended, but the data it generated will keep astronomers busy for years to come.  Today, NASA announced that it has found in that mountain of data, Kepler’s first truly Earth-sized planet in … Continue reading →

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