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Hubble captures vivid aurorae in Jupiter’s atmosphere

Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study aurorae — stunning light shows in a planet’s atmosphere — on the poles of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. This observation program is supported by measurements made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, shortly to arrive at the gas giant.

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Extreme trans-Neptunian objects lead the way to Planet Nine

In the race towards the discovery of Planet Nine, scientists from around the world strive to calculate its orbit using the tracks left by the small bodies that move well beyond Neptune. Now, astronomers from Spain and Cambridge University have confirmed that the orbits of the six extreme trans-Neptunian objects that served as a reference to announce the existence of Planet Nine are not as stable as originally thought.

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Did the young Sun steal Planet 9 from another star?

Through a computer-simulated study, astronomers at Lund University in Sweden show that it is highly likely the so-called Planet 9 is an exoplanet. This would make it the first such body to be discovered inside our own solar system — when or if it is found. The theory is that our Sun, in its youth some 4.5 billion years ago, stole Planet 9 from its original star.

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‘Starspot’ images of nearby star give insights into early Sun

Astronomers have used interferometry to create a time-lapse of the nearby star zeta Andromedae over one of its 18-day rotations that show starspots — sunspots outside our solar system. The pattern of spots on the star is very different from their typical arrangement on our Sun, challenging current theories of how stars’ magnetic fields influence their evolution.