The solar system once had five giant gaseous planets rather than the four it has today. That’s the conclusion from a computer simulation of the solar system’s evolution, which suggests the fifth giant ...

Everyone’s familiar with the standard solar system diagram, which helps pull them in. The fact that it's not immediately clear what you're looking at, that not everything is spelled out, pushes you to ...

This space wallpaper is an orbit diagram for the outer solar system. The sun and terrestrial planets are at the center. The orbits of the four giant planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are ...

To receive the same amount of starlight as Mars receives from our sun, a planet orbiting an M-type red dwarf would have to be positioned much closer to its star than Mercury is to the sun. Disclaimer: ...

This story appears in the July 2013 issue of National Geographic magazine. The dust speck had been plucked from the tail of a comet more than 200 million miles away. Now, under an electron microscope ...

About 4.5 million years ago, a great cosmic dog kicked past our Solar System – and its effects may still be seen today.

The location of the solar system's outer boundary is a point of contention among astronomers. There are three possible candidates, which "all have merit." But which one is best? When you purchase ...

Researchers using a powerful telescope in Hawaii spotted the visiting object, called A/2017 U1, last week. “We have been waiting for this day for decades,” said Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for ...

As a former realtor, general contractor and greenhouse operator, Kristi has touched nearly all aspects of homeownership, from the foundation up. Today, Kristi is a full-time investing and real estate ...

Chauncey grew up on a farm in rural northern California. At 18 he ran away and saw the world with a backpack and a credit card, discovering that the true value of any point or mile is the experience ...