The majority of stars in our galaxy are home to planets. The most abundant are the sub-Neptunes, planets between the size of Earth and Neptune. Calculating their density poses a problem for scientists ...

A model of Neptune showing depths where the newly discovered, body-centered-cubic superionic Ice XIX could exist. It may explain Neptune’s multi-polar magnetic field (purple) due to increased ...

If you look at our Solar System, there’s a sharp divide between the four rocky planets and the large “ice giants” of the outer Solar System, Uranus, and Neptune. The divide isn’t only a matter of ...

More than three-quarters of the planet candidates discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft have sizes ranging from that of Earth to that of Neptune, which is nearly four times as big as Earth. Such ...

What happens when a planet contains immense quantities of water but is far too hot for that water to remain liquid?

Astronomers weren’t around when the solar system formed, but ever-more-sophisticated computer simulations give them an opportunity to explore young planetary environments. In “How do you make a giant ...