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Planet V, a planet thought by John Chambers and Jack Lissauer to have once existed between Mars and the asteroid belt, based on computer simulations. Various planets beyond Neptune: Planet Nine, a planet proposed to explain apparent alignments in the orbits of a number of distant trans-Neptunian objects. Planet X, a hypothetical planet beyond ...
Moons are classed into two separate categories according to their orbits: regular moons, which have prograde orbits (they orbit in the direction of their planets' rotation) and lie close to the plane of their equators, and irregular moons, whose orbits can be pro- or retrograde (against the direction of their planets' rotation) and often lie at ...
J1407) in 2007, may have a few moons based on gaps observed in its circumstellar disk or ring system. [1] Later studies have since found that J1407b is most likely a free-floating sub-brown dwarf or rogue planet, possibly less than 6 Jupiter masses. [2] 2012 — The confirmed hot Jupiter planet WASP-12b may also possess a moon. [3]
Proper names of planetary systems often follow common themes – for example, the planets of the star Copernicus are named after European astronomers. Proper names for planets outside of the Solar System – known as exoplanets – are chosen by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) through public naming contests known as NameExoWorlds.
The goal of current searches is to find Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of their planetary systems (also called the Goldilocks zone). [4] Planets with oceans could include Earth-sized moons of giant planets, though it remains speculative whether such 'moons' really exist. The Kepler telescope might be sensitive enough to detect them. [5]
The outer moons orbiting all the giant planets across our solar system — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — share similar configurations. “Even Uranus, which is tipped on its side, has a ...
There are 293 confirmed moons in our cosmic neighborhood. By studying these worlds, astronomers hope to learn about ancient asteroid collisions, space volcanoes, and the origins of life itself.
Candidate planets around Luyten 726-8 (8.77 ly) [116] and GJ 3378 (25.2 ly) were reported in 2024. [76] The Working Group on Extrasolar Planets of the International Astronomical Union adopted in 2003 a working definition on the upper limit for what constitutes a planet: not being massive enough to sustain thermonuclear fusion of deuterium.