23 March 2023
Astronomy Now
  • Home
  • The Magazine
    • About
    • Current Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Renew Subscription
      • March last issue
      • April last issue
      • May last issue
  • AstroFest 2023
  • News
  • Observing
    • UK Sky Chart
    • Almanac
    • Scope Calc
    • DSLR Calc
  • Reviews
    • Equipment
    • Book Reviews
  • Spaceflight Now
  • Shop
  • Contact Us
    • Subscriptions
    • Your Views
    • Ask Astronomy Now
    • Editorial
    • Advertising
Latest News
  • [ 22 March 2023 ] Japanese Hakuto-R moon lander slips into lunar orbit News
  • [ 21 March 2023 ] Analysis of Magellan data shows apparent volcanic activity on Venus News
  • [ 23 February 2023 ] Webb images M92, one of the Milky Way’s oldest globular clusters News
  • [ 20 February 2023 ] The Eskimo: observe one of winter’s best planetary nebulae News
  • [ 16 January 2023 ] See all the planets in January News
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

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.

Astronomy Now NewsAlert

Get the latest astronomical news and stargazing tips delivered to your inbox.

News Headlines

  • Japanese Hakuto-R moon lander slips into lunar orbit
    22 March 2023
  • Analysis of Magellan data shows apparent volcanic activity on Venus
    21 March 2023
  • Webb images M92, one of the Milky Way’s oldest globular clusters
    23 February 2023
  • The Eskimo: observe one of winter’s best planetary nebulae
    20 February 2023
  • See all the planets in January
    16 January 2023
  • Home
  • The Magazine
    • About
    • Current Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Renew Subscription
      • March last issue
      • April last issue
      • May last issue
  • AstroFest 2023
  • News
  • Observing
    • UK Sky Chart
    • Almanac
    • Scope Calc
    • DSLR Calc
  • Reviews
    • Equipment
    • Book Reviews
  • Spaceflight Now
  • Shop
  • Contact Us
    • Subscriptions
    • Your Views
    • Ask Astronomy Now
    • Editorial
    • Advertising

© 2019 Pole Star Publications Limited

Astronomy Now