#solar-system — Public Fediverse posts

Near-Earth asteroid not an asteroid at all

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.popsci.com/science/comet-mistaken-for-asteroid/

Near-Earth asteroid not an asteroid at all

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.popsci.com/science/comet-mistaken-for-asteroid/

In search of life beyond our solar system: Atmosphere detected on a habitable-zone rocky world https://phys.org/news/2026-07-life-solar-atmosphere-habitable-zone.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

In search of life beyond our solar system: Atmosphere detected on a habitable-zone rocky world https://phys.org/news/2026-07-life-solar-atmosphere-habitable-zone.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

2026-07-17 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-10)

URANUS
- Distance (km): 3,004,814,750.50 km (-13,078,273.44 km)
- Distance (AU): 20.09 (-0.09)
- Light travel time: 2 h 47 min 2.98 s (-43.62 s)
- Orbital speed: 6.72 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Uranus Rings in False Color
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Uranus #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-17 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-10)

URANUS
- Distance (km): 3,004,814,750.50 km (-13,078,273.44 km)
- Distance (AU): 20.09 (-0.09)
- Light travel time: 2 h 47 min 2.98 s (-43.62 s)
- Orbital speed: 6.72 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Uranus Rings in False Color
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Uranus #Space #SolarSystem

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: ☄️🧂 A #meteorite that crashed through a #NewJersey home in 2024 contained preserved salts and organic compounds from its parent #asteroid, evidence of ancient brines interacting with #carbon #chemistry.

Researchers found amino acids and other #prebiotic #molecules in the rock. The findings offer new clues about how life’s building blocks may have been delivered to early #Earth.

👉 https://www.seti.org/news/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite/

#space #science #astrobiology #seti #nasa #aminoacids #solarsystem #earthscience #meteor

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: ☄️🧂 A #meteorite that crashed through a #NewJersey home in 2024 contained preserved salts and organic compounds from its parent #asteroid, evidence of ancient brines interacting with #carbon #chemistry.

Researchers found amino acids and other #prebiotic #molecules in the rock. The findings offer new clues about how life’s building blocks may have been delivered to early #Earth.

👉 https://www.seti.org/news/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite/

#space #science #astrobiology #seti #nasa #aminoacids #solarsystem #earthscience #meteor

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: 🌍🔭 Researchers from the University of #Cambridge studied the four #planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, the closest single #star system to our own.

They found the planets are rich in #magnesium and #periclase, lack atmospheres, and orbit so close to their star that they are tidally locked with one side in constant daylight.

👉 https://phys.org/news/2026-07-astronomers-nearby-planets-small-strange.html

#astronomy #exoplanets #barnardsstar #space #science #PLATO #esa #astrophysics #solarsystem

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: 🌍🔭 Researchers from the University of #Cambridge studied the four #planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, the closest single #star system to our own.

They found the planets are rich in #magnesium and #periclase, lack atmospheres, and orbit so close to their star that they are tidally locked with one side in constant daylight.

👉 https://phys.org/news/2026-07-astronomers-nearby-planets-small-strange.html

#astronomy #exoplanets #barnardsstar #space #science #PLATO #esa #astrophysics #solarsystem

Astronomers find nearby planets to be small, strange, and utterly uninhabitable https://phys.org/news/2026-07-astronomers-nearby-planets-small-strange.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Astronomers find nearby planets to be small, strange, and utterly uninhabitable https://phys.org/news/2026-07-astronomers-nearby-planets-small-strange.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Alien world chemistry found inside meteorite that struck New Jersey home https://phys.org/news/2026-07-alien-world-chemistry-meteorite-struck.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Alien world chemistry found inside meteorite that struck New Jersey home https://phys.org/news/2026-07-alien-world-chemistry-meteorite-struck.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

2026-07-16 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-09)

SATURN
- Distance (km): 1,382,290,184.40 km (-17,288,466.76 km)
- Distance (AU): 9.24 (-0.12)
- Light travel time: 1 h 16 min 50.82 s (-57.67 s)
- Orbital speed: 9.73 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Stately Saturn
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

#Saturn #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-16 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-09)

SATURN
- Distance (km): 1,382,290,184.40 km (-17,288,466.76 km)
- Distance (AU): 9.24 (-0.12)
- Light travel time: 1 h 16 min 50.82 s (-57.67 s)
- Orbital speed: 9.73 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Stately Saturn
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

#Saturn #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-15 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-08)

JUPITER
- Distance (km): 939,188,964.71 km (+3,936,992.38 km)
- Distance (AU): 6.28 (+0.03)
- Light travel time: 52 min 12.80 s (+13.13 s)
- Orbital speed: 12.87 km/s (-0.01 km/s)

Image: Juno Mission to Jupiter 2010 Artist Concept
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Jupiter #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-15 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-08)

JUPITER
- Distance (km): 939,188,964.71 km (+3,936,992.38 km)
- Distance (AU): 6.28 (+0.03)
- Light travel time: 52 min 12.80 s (+13.13 s)
- Orbital speed: 12.87 km/s (-0.01 km/s)

Image: Juno Mission to Jupiter 2010 Artist Concept
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Jupiter #Space #SolarSystem

Amazing teaching tool for astronomy.

With a mesmerising galaxy map and a Rocket Academy to build your own rocket to fly to the moon.

https://luna.watermelonson.com
#Astronomy #Galaxy #Education #Planets #SolarSystem

Amazing teaching tool for astronomy.

With a mesmerising galaxy map and a Rocket Academy to build your own rocket to fly to the moon.

https://luna.watermelonson.com
#Astronomy #Galaxy #Education #Planets #SolarSystem

Distant exoplanets may be hiding water beyond Webb Telescope's reach, study finds https://phys.org/news/2026-07-distant-exoplanets-webb-telescope.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Distant exoplanets may be hiding water beyond Webb Telescope's reach, study finds https://phys.org/news/2026-07-distant-exoplanets-webb-telescope.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

2026-07-14 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-07)

VENUS
- Distance (km): 140,498,852.91 km (-8,129,738.57 km)
- Distance (AU): 0.94 (-0.05)
- Light travel time: 7 min 48.65 s (-27.12 s)
- Orbital speed: 34.99 km/s (-0.05 km/s)

Image: Venus - Stereoscopic Images of Volcanic Domes
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Venus #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-14 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-07)

VENUS
- Distance (km): 140,498,852.91 km (-8,129,738.57 km)
- Distance (AU): 0.94 (-0.05)
- Light travel time: 7 min 48.65 s (-27.12 s)
- Orbital speed: 34.99 km/s (-0.05 km/s)

Image: Venus - Stereoscopic Images of Volcanic Domes
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Venus #Space #SolarSystem

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #516: Uranus sunsets.
.
.
#uranus #planets #space #solarsystem #astronomy #strangebuttrue #wtf #facts #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #516: Uranus sunsets.
.
.
#uranus #planets #space #solarsystem #astronomy #strangebuttrue #wtf #facts #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

An ancient moonpocalypse may explain #Neptune’s odd #moon #Nereid
The strange satellite was born in a steady, circular orbit around Neptune, then tossed into its elongated orbit during a chaotic encounter with a #Pluto-sized body that ejected or pulverized all its sibling #moons. This idea counters assumption that Nereid formed in #KuiperBelt, the cold reservoir of #space rocks in outer #solarsystem, and was pitched into its present orbit later.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/neptunes-odd-moon-nereid-orbit-remnant
https://archive.ph/3RUYD

An ancient moonpocalypse may explain #Neptune’s odd #moon #Nereid
The strange satellite was born in a steady, circular orbit around Neptune, then tossed into its elongated orbit during a chaotic encounter with a #Pluto-sized body that ejected or pulverized all its sibling #moons. This idea counters assumption that Nereid formed in #KuiperBelt, the cold reservoir of #space rocks in outer #solarsystem, and was pitched into its present orbit later.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/neptunes-odd-moon-nereid-orbit-remnant
https://archive.ph/3RUYD

2026-07-13 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-06)

MERCURY
- Distance (km): 85,990,367.85 km (-286,325.11 km)
- Distance (AU): 0.57 (-0.00)
- Light travel time: 4 min 46.83 s (-0.96 s)
- Orbital speed: 41.01 km/s (+1.77 km/s)

Image: Peak Rings on Mercury
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

#Mercury #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-13 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-06)

MERCURY
- Distance (km): 85,990,367.85 km (-286,325.11 km)
- Distance (AU): 0.57 (-0.00)
- Light travel time: 4 min 46.83 s (-0.96 s)
- Orbital speed: 41.01 km/s (+1.77 km/s)

Image: Peak Rings on Mercury
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

#Mercury #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-12 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-05)

PLUTO [ *1930 +2006 ]
- Distance (km): 5,171,837,171.35 km (-4,653,176.16 km)
- Distance (AU): 34.57 (-0.03)
- Light travel time: 4 h 47 min 31.39 s (-15.52 s)
- Orbital speed: 5.25 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Ice Volcanoes on Pluto?
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

#Pluto #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-12 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-05)

PLUTO [ *1930 +2006 ]
- Distance (km): 5,171,837,171.35 km (-4,653,176.16 km)
- Distance (AU): 34.57 (-0.03)
- Light travel time: 4 h 47 min 31.39 s (-15.52 s)
- Orbital speed: 5.25 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Ice Volcanoes on Pluto?
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

#Pluto #Space #SolarSystem

⭐ 4.5 billion years ago, a star wandered close enough to reshape our entire outer Solar System.

A 2024 study in Nature Astronomy ran 3,000+ simulations and found that a star roughly 0.8x the Sun's mass passed within 110 AU (about 0.2% of the distance to the next nearest star today) at a steep 70-degree angle.

The gravitational handshake flung icy objects onto wild eccentric orbits, created Sedna-like bodies that swing out hundreds of AU, and even produced worlds orbiting backward, opposite to every planet.

The best part: this wasn't even the main prediction. Retrograde objects appeared as a natural bonus that the modelers weren't looking for.

At least 140 million Sun-like stars in the Milky Way have likely experienced a similar encounter. The Vera Rubin Observatory, which started its survey in 2025, should discover roughly 40,000 new trans-Neptunian objects and put this to the test.

Sources:
Pfalzner et al. (2024), Nature Astronomy: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02349-x
Sky & Telescope: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/a-visiting-star-might-have-reshaped-the-outer-solar-system/

#astronomy #solarsystem #space

⭐ 4.5 billion years ago, a star wandered close enough to reshape our entire outer Solar System.

A 2024 study in Nature Astronomy ran 3,000+ simulations and found that a star roughly 0.8x the Sun's mass passed within 110 AU (about 0.2% of the distance to the next nearest star today) at a steep 70-degree angle.

The gravitational handshake flung icy objects onto wild eccentric orbits, created Sedna-like bodies that swing out hundreds of AU, and even produced worlds orbiting backward, opposite to every planet.

The best part: this wasn't even the main prediction. Retrograde objects appeared as a natural bonus that the modelers weren't looking for.

At least 140 million Sun-like stars in the Milky Way have likely experienced a similar encounter. The Vera Rubin Observatory, which started its survey in 2025, should discover roughly 40,000 new trans-Neptunian objects and put this to the test.

Sources:
Pfalzner et al. (2024), Nature Astronomy: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02349-x
Sky & Telescope: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/a-visiting-star-might-have-reshaped-the-outer-solar-system/

#astronomy #solarsystem #space

2026-07-11 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-04)

NEPTUNE
- Distance (km): 4,428,712,696.03 km (-17,262,876.14 km)
- Distance (AU): 29.60 (-0.12)
- Light travel time: 4 h 6 min 12.60 s (-57.58 s)
- Orbital speed: 5.47 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: ARC-1989-AC89-7036
Credit: JPL

#Neptune #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-11 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-04)

NEPTUNE
- Distance (km): 4,428,712,696.03 km (-17,262,876.14 km)
- Distance (AU): 29.60 (-0.12)
- Light travel time: 4 h 6 min 12.60 s (-57.58 s)
- Orbital speed: 5.47 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: ARC-1989-AC89-7036
Credit: JPL

#Neptune #Space #SolarSystem

THE WEEKLY SPIN
28/2026

#SolarSystem #OrbitalMechanics #Earth #Moon #Mars

THE WEEKLY SPIN
28/2026

#SolarSystem #OrbitalMechanics #Earth #Moon #Mars

Could exoplanets locked in eternal day and endless night support life? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-exoplanets-eternal-day-endless-night.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Could exoplanets locked in eternal day and endless night support life? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-exoplanets-eternal-day-endless-night.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

2026-07-10 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-03)

URANUS
- Distance (km): 3,017,893,023.94 km (-11,649,970.14 km)
- Distance (AU): 20.17 (-0.08)
- Light travel time: 2 h 47 min 46.61 s (-38.86 s)
- Orbital speed: 6.72 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Uranus - Final Image
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Uranus #Space #SolarSystem

2026-07-10 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-07-03)

URANUS
- Distance (km): 3,017,893,023.94 km (-11,649,970.14 km)
- Distance (AU): 20.17 (-0.08)
- Light travel time: 2 h 47 min 46.61 s (-38.86 s)
- Orbital speed: 6.72 km/s (+0.00 km/s)

Image: Uranus - Final Image
Credit: NASA/JPL

#Uranus #Space #SolarSystem

#Uranus and #Neptune should be more than 60% rock. For decades, elementary students learned the same tale of the #SolarSystem: first come rocky terrestrial planets such as #Earth, followed by gas giants such as #Jupiter and #ice giants such as Neptune. “We really don’t know what these #planets 🪐 are made of.” https://www.science.org/content/article/uranus-and-neptune-may-not-be-ice-giants-after-all

#Astronomy

#Uranus and #Neptune should be more than 60% rock. For decades, elementary students learned the same tale of the #SolarSystem: first come rocky terrestrial planets such as #Earth, followed by gas giants such as #Jupiter and #ice giants such as Neptune. “We really don’t know what these #planets 🪐 are made of.” https://www.science.org/content/article/uranus-and-neptune-may-not-be-ice-giants-after-all

#Astronomy

Scientists discover rare 'super-Jupiter' planet with 180-day long orbit https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-rare-super-jupiter-planet.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Scientists discover rare 'super-Jupiter' planet with 180-day long orbit https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-rare-super-jupiter-planet.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrials #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Astrobiology

Europlanet is an organisation for all kinds of planetary science people in Europe, including academia, industry, government and amateurs. You can follow their video account at:

➡️ @europlanet_media

(Don't worry if it looks blank, that just means no one from your server follows it yet. If you follow the account, the videos will start gradually showing up on your server too.)

#FeaturedPeerTube #PlanetaryScience #Science #Space #Astrophysics #SolarSystem #PeerTube

Europlanet is an organisation for all kinds of planetary science people in Europe, including academia, industry, government and amateurs. You can follow their video account at:

➡️ @europlanet_media

(Don't worry if it looks blank, that just means no one from your server follows it yet. If you follow the account, the videos will start gradually showing up on your server too.)

#FeaturedPeerTube #PlanetaryScience #Science #Space #Astrophysics #SolarSystem #PeerTube