Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: planets

  • Study makes case for geophysical planet definition

    Laurel KornfeldJanuary 16th, 2022

    In an in-depth study of planet classification from the time of Galileo to the present, a group of planetary scientists criticize the 2006 International Astronomical Union planet definition as being rooted in folklore and astrology and argue for a geophysical definition that includes spherical moons as secondary or satellite planets.

  • Chandra Observatory may have discovered extra-galactic planet

    Laurel KornfeldNovember 6th, 2021

    Scientists using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory may have found evidence for the first-ever known extra-galactic planet, located 28 million light years away in the Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51 (M51).

  • New study rejects IAU rationale for demoting Pluto

    Laurel KornfeldSeptember 13th, 2018

    Is Pluto a planet? A new study questions the controversial decision that was handed down by the International Astronomical Union.