Numerical simulations by a group of astronomers, led by Mario Flock from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, have shown that young planetary systems are naturally “baby-proof:” Physical mechanisms combine to keep young planets in the inner regions from taking a fatal plunge into the star. Similar processes also allow planets to be born close to stars – from pebbles trapped in a region close to the star. The research, which has been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, explains findings by the Kepler space telescopes that show a large number of Super-Earths orbiting their stars very closely, at the edge of the baby-proof region. [more]

The volatile particle collected by the IceCube detector probably comes from the turbulent centre of a faraway galaxy [more]

A newly discovered exoplanet challenges current models pertaining to planet formation [more]

How magnetic fields push the formation of stars [more]

An international team of astronomers has found two Earth-like planets around one of the smallest known stars known as “Teegarden’s star.” The planets, which orbit in the star’s habitable zone where liquid water is possible, are only a quarter and a third more massive than the Earth, respectively. The discovery helps complete our picture of the statistics of exoplanet prevalence, correcting implicit biases in earlier observations. Incidentally, hypothetical observers on those planets would soon be in a uniquely favorable position to detect our Earth, using the so-called transit method. The results have just been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. [more]