Topic: Royal Astronomical Society

Runaway planets ejected from galaxy at insane speeds

New evidence suggests that planets are being tossed out of the Milky Way at speeds comparable to the speed of light.

Planets hurtling near the speed of light? It's possible, study says.

Scientists want to know if planets can form near the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy. If so, the black hole could fling them out into space at enormous speeds that, from our vantage point, could appear to approach the speed of light. 

Scientists explain pileups of gigantic alien worlds

Researchers say they have apparently discovered the secret behind the mysterious clumping of massive alien worlds: high-energy radiation from their stars.

Could free-floating 'nomad' planets carry seeds of life in the universe?

A 'nomad' planet of the right mass, with the right atmosphere, and some source of heat – perhaps radioactive decay or tectonic activity – could allow for life either on the surface or underground.

NASA telescope detects massive cloud of 'buckyballs' hurtling through space (+video)

Space carbon spheres, known as buckyballs have recently been discovered by NASA astronomers. Scientists compare these tiny particle clouds to soccer balls, or oranges in a crate.

Milky Way's enormous black hole gorges on asteroids (+video)

British astrophysicists think that asteroids are being devoured by the supernassive black hole at our galaxy's center, as evidenced by the daily X-ray flares detected by NASA's Chandra space telescope. Historical records indicate tha black hole may have even swallowed a planet.

NASA discovers 26 new alien planets in 11 solar systems

The findings nearly double the number of bona fide planets found outside our solar system by the Kepler space observatory.

Pitch black: The mystery of a darkest planet ever seen

Darkest planet ever discovered is a gas giant but reflects only 1 percent of the light falling on it. Scientists speculate an unknown chemical or gas is absorbing light.

End of the world May 21st? About a billion years too soon, astronomers say.

Beginning of the end of the world: May 21st is what a California minister (with a considerable following) predicts. Scientists, for their part, consider the sun's 'habitable zone' in calculating when Earth will become toast.

Color me black? Alien planets with two suns sprout dark trees.

If Tatooine had trees, would they be black? Scientists say that a planet with two suns might have black or gray plants, not green. Why is that?

Dark Sky movement: British Isle Named Skywatching Paradise

The International Dark-Sky Association recognized Sark Island, which is about 80 miles off the south coast of England, for the quality of its night sky. Sark thus becomes the latest in a select group of dark sky places around the world, and the first island.

Nemesis hypothesis: Is there a small hidden star orbiting the sun?

Every 27 million years, there is a much higher likelihood of a mass extinction. Some astronomers have proposed that these extinctions are caused by a small comet-disturbing star orbiting our sun, the so-called Nemesis hypothesis.

Ingredients for life detected in deep space

Astronomers using the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas have detected anthracene, a complex organic molecule that can produce the building blocks of life.

Scientists allege that dark matter and dark energy might not exist

A new look at the data from one of the telescopes used to establish the existence of dark matter and dark energy raises questions about whether they really exist at all.

Humongous black hole spotted careening through space

Astronomers spotted a 'supermassive' black hole – heavier than a billion suns – being ejected from a distant galaxy.

Dark matter update: scientists say dark matter looks like cigars

Scientists say dark matter around many galaxy clusters is a flattened, cigar-like shape, rather than a rounded sphere.

Black holes can devour entire galaxies, scientists say

Supermassive black holes are thought to reside at the center of almost every galaxy. Sometimes they end up destroying their home.

Life on Saturn's moon Titan: Who needs water anyway?

The search for life on Saturn's moon Titan shows that organisms appear to thrive on far less water than conventional wisdom holds is needed to keep microbes active and alive.

New class of galaxies: small, green, and bursting with new stars