All Stories by Ron Cowen
- Planetary Science
Oversize Orb: Puffy planet poses puzzle
Astronomers have discovered what may be the largest planet ever found, an orb 36 percent wider than Jupiter that circles a nearby star.
- Planetary Science
Rare Uranian eclipse
The Hubble Space Telescope has for the first time recorded an eclipse on Uranus.
- Astronomy
Too Much Deuterium?
A new study appears to solve a 35-year-old puzzle about the distribution of deuterium in the Milky Way, but poses new questions about how stars and galaxies are formed.
- Planetary Science
Doggone! Pluto gets a planetary demotion
The solar system has only eight planets, and Pluto isn't one of them, according to the first-ever definition of a planet, approved last week by the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.
- Astronomy
Spiral galaxy in the young universe
Astronomers have identified a galaxy that had already begun to resemble the modern Milky Way when the universe was only 3 billion years old, one-fifth of its current age.
- Astronomy
Cosmic bigness
Astronomers have found the largest structures ever discovered in the universe.
- Astronomy
New Solar System? Twelve planets and counting (Updated)
According to a new proposal, the solar system has 12 planets instead of the familiar 9, with several dozen more to come.
- Astronomy
The Sun’s Halo in 3-D
A new computer map of the sun's outer atmosphere and spacecraft ready for launch are expected to shed new light on the origin of solar eruptions and provide more accurate warning of their impact on Earth.
- Astronomy
Solar System Small Fry: Stellar blinks reveal tiny bodies near Pluto
By measuring tiny dips in the intensity of X rays from a distant star, astronomers say they have detected more than 50 of the tiniest chunks of ice ever found in the outer solar system.
- Astronomy
Braking news: Disks slow down stars
Astronomers have the first clear-cut evidence that rotating young stars are slowed by the planet-forming disks of gas and dust that surround many of them.
- Planetary Science
Titan’s Lakes: Evidence of liquid on Saturn’s largest moon
New radar images strongly suggest that Saturn's giant moon Titan contains lakes of liquid hydrocarbons, marking the first time that researchers have found compelling evidence for bodies of liquid on the surface of any object beyond Earth.
- Planetary Science
Close look confirms two eyes on Venus
A spacecraft that recently arrived at Venus has confirmed that the atmosphere above the planet's south pole harbors an unusual storm feature; a giant, double vortex.
