13 August 2026
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  • [ 7 August 2026 ] How to observe the 12 August 2026 solar eclipse Eclipse
  • [ 5 August 2026 ] Falcon 9 lunar impact: More than a new crater News
  • [ 25 July 2026 ] Euclid opens a new window on the first billion years of cosmic history News
  • [ 10 June 2026 ] Caught in the act: the wind that could kill a galaxy News
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Katherine Kretke

News

Scientists predict that rocky planets formed from ‘pebbles’

27 October 2015 Astronomy Now

Using a new process in planetary formation modelling, where planets grow from tiny bodies called “pebbles,” Southwest Research Institute scientists can explain why Mars is so much smaller than Earth. This same process also explains the rapid formation of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, as reported earlier this year.

News

Largest planets likely formed first from icy “planetary pebbles”

20 August 2015 Astronomy Now

Researchers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Queen’s University in Canada have unravelled the mystery of how Jupiter and Saturn likely formed using computer simulations. The discovery, which changes our view of how all planets might have formed, also suggests that the gas giants in the solar system probably formed before the terrestrial planets.

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News Headlines

  • How to observe the 12 August 2026 solar eclipse
    7 August 2026
  • Falcon 9 lunar impact: More than a new crater
    5 August 2026
  • Euclid opens a new window on the first billion years of cosmic history
    25 July 2026
  • Caught in the act: the wind that could kill a galaxy
    10 June 2026
  • Europe’s Mars rover may land in the remains of a vast ancient water system
    4 June 2026

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