A key method of forming planets finally has observational evidence, thanks to a network of radio telescopes in the U.K. that have resolved the existence of a huge abundance of centimeter-sized pebbles ...

Using a new process in planetary formation modeling, where planets grow from tiny bodies called “pebbles,” Southwest Research Institute scientists can explain why Mars is so much smaller than Earth.

Two months ago, Dr. Hal Levison from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, co-authored a paper that described a theory of “pebble formation” for gas giants. He has now expanded ...

Even in a backyard telescope, the four largest moons of Jupiter are big enough to be seen as little specks of light. And while humans have known about these “Galilean satellites” for centuries, there ...

The solar system was supposed to have more gas giants — at least that’s what previous attempts to model the solar system’s emergence said. So how’d we end up with only Jupiter and Saturn? A new paper ...

Using a new process in planetary formation modeling, where planets grow from tiny bodies called “pebbles,” Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists can explain why Mars is so much smaller than ...