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NEWS ABOUT: Jupiter

Is Jupiter's Core Dissolving?

Theory holds that midsection is slowly shrinking

(Newser) - Jupiter may be the largest planet in our solar system, but what if its massive core is actually dissolving? Jupiter's core of iron, rock, and ice is suspended in a sea of hydrogen and helium, under pressure 40 million times greater than that which we experience on Earth, and... More »

Jupiter Moon Lakes Might Support Life

Vast lakes lie just beneath Europa's icy surface: Scientists

(Newser) - The chances of life existing on Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa—and of Earthlings being able to find it—are looking a lot stronger, NASA scientists say. A vast ocean is believed to lie beneath as much as 20 miles of ice on Europa, but new research suggests that huge... More »

Jumping Jupiter! 5th Giant Planet Evicted Eons Ago

Theory says it got knocked out of our early solar system

(Newser) - Our young solar system may have had another huge planet that got knocked into deep space by Jupiter, reports Wired . Astronomers at the Southwest Research Institute in Texas arrived at this "Jumping Jupiter" theory because computer simulations can't figure out how our modern solar system emerged as is... More »

Solar System Kicked Out Extra Planet

Early ejection may have helped Earth survive

(Newser) - Thank your lucky stars that our solar system was only big enough for eight planets. Apparently a ninth one—and a gas giant, no less—was nudged out billions of years ago and made room for Earth to survive. In computer simulations of our solar system's evolution, Colorado scientist... More »

NASA Probe to Blast Off, Destination: Jupiter

Juno to explore origins of the solar system; liftoff scheduled for 11:34am ET

(Newser) - Today NASA will launch a spacecraft that they're hoping will pry the secrets of the solar system from Jupiter. Dubbed "Juno" (Jupiter’s wife in Roman mythology, get it?), the probe will take five years to travel to Jupiter, arriving on July 4, 2016, the New York Times... More »

Four Planets Align This Month

Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter in rare convergences

(Newser) - This month, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will take part in a series of what Space.com calls "celestial summit meetings." The four planets will converge twice to form a "trio," defined as an instance when three planets fit in a circle with a minimum 5-degree... More »

New Planet Expected to Crash and Burn

It defies laws of physics

(Newser) - Scientists in the UK have discovered a planet that defies the laws of physics, the Independent reports. WASP-18b, which is orbiting a star 1,000 light years from Earth, is so big and close to the sun that it should be pulled toward it. "The spin of the star... More »

Hubble Snaps Photos of Jupiter Impact

(Newser) - NASA pulled the recently upgraded Hubble space telescope out of testing yesterday to take a photo of the Earth-sized impact scar on Jupiter, CNN reports. “Because we believe this magnitude of impact is rare, we are very fortunate to see it with Hubble,” a NASA scientist says. “... More »

Jupiter Slammed by Mystery Object

(Newser) - A massive mysterious object scientists believe may be a comet slammed into Jupiter yesterday, AP reports. The Earth-size impact "scar" left by the object was caught on NASA's powerful infrared telescope in Hawaii. The agency was alerted to the new mark on the planet by an amateur astronomer in... More »

NASA Plans Jupiter Mission

(Newser) - NASA plans to send an orbiter to study the mysteries of one of Jupiter's moons, the Washington Post reports. Scientists suspect Europa has a massive ocean—possibly bigger than all of the Earth's oceans combined—beneath its ice-covered surface, the Post notes. Don't look up just yet: The $3 billion... More »

Jupiter, Venus, Moon Converge in Rare Reunion

Spectacular planetary 'huddle' to start tonight

(Newser) - Americans looking at the night sky this weekend will be able to see the three brightest celestial bodies come together for a Thanksgiving reunion, the AP reports. Jupiter and Venus will move closer and appear to be just a finger's width apart by Sunday. By Monday, the crescent moon will... More »

Methane Found on Far-off Planet

Compound, crucial ingredient in early-life chemistry, detected 63 light years away

(Newser) - Methane, one of the simplest compounds known to play a role in the chemical genesis of life, was discovered for the first time to exist on a planet outside Earth’s solar system, the BBC reports. The planet, designated HD 189733b, is 63 light years away and also contains water,... More »

Spectacular Show Awaits Sky Gazers

Venus and Jupiter to converge, and the moon drops in, too

(Newser) - Sky gazers have an exceptional show awaiting them over the next couple of weeks, Space.com reports, and the most striking celestial sights will be in the early morning. Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets, will converge, forming a spectacular "double planet" low in the dawn light, and... More »

NASA Probe Gets Lucky with Jupiter Flyby

Spacecraft New Horizons sees storms and supervolcanoes

(Newser) - New Horizons, the robotic probe destined to reach Pluto in 2015, took some exciting photos when it flew within 1.4 million miles of Jupiter last February. Data from the fruitful detour for NASA’s fastest spacecraft will be published in Science this month. Highlights include photos of Jupiter’s... More »

Meet Frank, Saturn's 60th Moon

Planet's latest addition sparks search for more

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered Saturn’s 60th moon, and are hinting that more could exist. In May, cameras aboard the Cassini spacecraft captured the “extremely faint object,” which scientists have officially designated a moon and tentatively named Frank. Composed mostly of ice and rock, Frank is about a mile... More »

Planet with Water Discovered

HD 189733b holds superheated water vapor but is too hot for aliens

(Newser) - Astronomers located the first planet beyond our solar system that hosts water—a giant gas ball bigger than Jupiter and named HD 189733b. Its sizzling climate, which can reach upwards of 3,600 degrees, renders it uninhabitable to any extraterrestrials, but the discovery shows that water is more common in... More »

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