First detected in 2004, the dwarf planetHaumeaquickly stood out due to its rapid rotation and elongated form. But the 2017 discovery of a ring system around it added a new level of complexity to an ...

Generations of scientists have tried to explain how the solar system began. None of the explanations is wholly adequate. The trouble is that the solar system is not a haphazard collection of planets ...

A pair of theoretical physicists are reporting that the same observations inspiring the hunt for a ninth planet might instead be evidence within the solar system of a modified law of gravity ...

A planet's year length depends on its distance from the Sun. Planets closer to the Sun have shorter years. A planet's rotation speed is unrelated to its year length. Planets' orbital speeds vary ...

A planet's north pole is defined by its position relative to the solar system's invariable plane. The invariable plane is a fixed reference point perpendicular to the solar system's rotation. A planet ...

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