Astronomers have found likely evidence of an Earth-like planet in the Solar System that may be circling the Sun in an orbit beyond Neptune. Physicists, including those from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, said the planet could be much closer than the hypothetical Planet Nine thought to exist in the far outer edges of the Solar System. Several studies in the past have suggested there... 

Astronomers have discovered a “celestial highway” to travel through the Solar System much faster than was previously possible. The development raises the prospect of rapidly sending crafts across vast swathes of space. The extraordinary superhighway network was discovered by an international team of researchers from Serbia and the United States. The routes can transport comets and asteroids nearly... 

If you had a car sitting in a garage for nearly forty years you’d forgive it for not starting with the first turn of the key. Now imagine it’s 21 billion kilometers from home and you just heard that engine purring from interstellar space. For car read Voyager 1, and for engine read a set of four trajectory thrusters, and that’s exactly what NASA boffins have done. The handlers of Voyager –... 

A planet-size object may be orbiting the sun in the icy reaches of the solar system beyond Pluto. Scientists at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) have determined that an unseen object with a mass somewhere between that of Earth and Mars could be lurking in the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune filled with thousands of icy asteroids, comets and dwarf planets. In... 

Astronomers have provided new evidence to prove the existence of the mysterious, yet still undiscovered Planet X on the outskirts of the solar system. According to the new data, the planet could be formed in another stellar system. James Vesper of the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces (USA) believes that the planet is a fugitive heavenly body that was captured by gravity of the Sun. In early... 

An asteroid believed to be carrying up to 90 million tons of platinum in its core, as well as other rare and precious materials, is about to swoosh past our planet. The news has left developers of asteroid-mining technologies intrigued. The platinum-rich asteroid officially named 2011 UW158, is 452 meters by 1,011 meters in size and will pass Earth at a distance of an estimated 2.4 million kilometers,... 

As NASA’s Pluto probe nears the planet, it managed to grab some spectacular photos of its small moons for the first time. The New Horizons spacecraft is now in position to view the entire Pluto family. “Detecting these tiny moons from a distance of more than 55 million miles is amazing, and a credit to the team that built our LORRI long-range camera and John Spencer’s team of moon and ring hunters,”... 

A high-ranking scientist with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has predicted that human beings will find signs of alien life by 2025. “I think we’re going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we’re going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years,” The Independent quoted NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan... 

Jupiter’s large orbital journey across the early solar system may have cleared the way for the oddball arrangement of our planetary system, scientists say, even to the point of destroying burgeoning young planets. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology created a model for the formation of Jupiter and Saturn, dubbed ‘Grand Tack,’ which shows Jupiter’s migration towards... 

NASA gives go ahead for Europa mission as it announces funding for sending a probe to Jupiter’s icy moon, which has a high probability of harboring life in our solar system. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) budget request for 2016 includes $30 million to send a spacecraft to examine Europa, NewScientist reported on Tuesday. “For the first time, the budget supports... 

This artist’s concept obtained December 1, 2014 courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute (JHUAPL/SwRI), shows the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its three moons in summer 2015. The New Horizons spacecraft has come out of hibernation mode in anticipation of rendezvous with Pluto and its moons. The spacecraft will be exploring... 

Scientists follow the flight of the Rosetta spacecraft from the control centre of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Darmstadt, western Germany, on August 6, 2014. European Space Agency (ESA)’s Rosetta spacecraft is set to ensconce itself in the orbit of a comet, it has been chasing for more than a decade. On Wednesday, the craft started the final engine burn that will take it into the orbit around... 

The nation that put the first man on the Moon is failing to make the grade today when it comes to basic knowledge of the solar system and other fundamental scientific insight. That’s according to a new survey which concludes that while most Americans have a world of information at their fingertips, and show tremendous enthusiasm for new technology, they also lack fundamental knowledge of basic science. Out... 

Asteroid Cruithne with serial number 3753 has attracted a lot of attention of scientists recently. The asteroid moves around the sun in orbit similar to that of the Earth, and is located at a more or less same distance from the Earth throughout the year, which makes it a so-called quasi-satellite of our planet. What does it mean for us? Cruithne’s diameter is five kilometers, and its weight... 

Entering the unknown: This artist’s impression shows how plasma flows around NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft as it gets close to entering interstellar space Nasa’s Voyager 1 is on the verge of becoming the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, scientists say. First launched in 1977, the unmanned spacecraft has been in uncharted territory since last year. Scientists had...