![Artist’s impression of the simulations conducted in this research. Jupiter (lower left) has a strong magnetic field which creates a cavity in its circumplanetary disk. Saturn (upper right) lacks a strong magnetic field so its circumplanetary disk evolves without a cavity. Credit: Yuri I. Fujii/L-INSIGHT [Kyoto University], Illustrator: Shinichiro Kinoshita](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/How-Jupiter-Cultivated.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
The two largest planets in our Solar System, Jupiter and Saturn, also have the largest satellite systems, or the most moons. At present, Jupiter’s reported moon count stands at more […]
Gas Giants
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Status Report
POSEIDON II: The Anti-Aligned Orbit of the Warm Neptune TOI-1710 A b
We present an observation of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for the warm-Neptune system TOI-1710 obtained with the NEID spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Giant Planet TOI-5205 b Orbits A Small Red Star
Massive exoplanet reveals new insights into the formation of planets and their relationship to a host star.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gas Giants, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release
Lightning Bolts On Jupiter Pack More Than 100 Times The Power Of Earth’s Flashes
Jupiter, the most massive planet in our solar system, has correspondingly humongous storms, some of which last for centuries. Some of these storms also generate terrific bolts of lightning, according […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report
Deep Radiative Zones Affect The Planetary Cooling And Internal Structure: Implications For Exoplanet Characterisation
The thermal evolution and interior structure of giant exoplanets are sensitive to the treatment of radiative opacity. At temperatures of ~2000 K, depletion of alkali metals can create a window […]
Posted inBrown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The Coldest Known Y Dwarfs: Estimates of their Effective Temperatures
For a decade there has been a factor of 2.5 gap in luminosity between the 275K WISE J085510.83-071442.5 (Luhman 2014) and all other Y dwarfs, with Teff >= 350K. Recently […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Status Report, Titan, Uranus
HiDef Neighbors: Solar System Objects As Exoplanet Analogs I. Gaseous Objects, Planets, Planetary Systems, And Small Bodies
Context. Intermediate-resolution spectral observations are vital tools for characterizing the composition and physical properties of Solar System bodies in detail. At present, the planets and moons of our Solar System […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Stellar Cartography, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A New Spin On Planet Formation
Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have confirmed a long-predicted relationship between planetary mass and rotation.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Second Visit To Eps Ind Ab With JWST: New Photometry Confirms Ammonia And Suggests Thick Clouds In The Exoplanet Atmosphere Of The Closest Super-Jupiter
With JWST, we are directly imaging cold (~200-300K), solar-age giant exoplanets for the first time.
Posted inBrown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
A Universal Brown Dwarf Desert Formed Between Planets And Star
Giant planets and brown dwarfs play a crucial role in star and planet formation, as they are situated at the boundary between planets and stars with uncertain formation mechanisms.