planet formation Articles | Developments Today

This artist's illustration shows the gas giant TOI-5205 b orbiting its M-dwarf (red dwarf) star. Astronomers expect to find massive gas giants around more massive stars than this, so this arrangement is a puzzle. It's not the only gas giant around a low-mass star, and collectively, they challenge astronomers' understanding of planet formation. Image Credit: Katherine Cain, Carnegie Science.

A Giant Planet Around a Tiny Star Is Testing Theories of How Worlds Form

Astronomers are revisiting TOI-5205b, a Jupiter-mass world orbiting a small M-dwarf, because systems like it do not fit neatly with standard expectations about how planets emerge from protoplanetary disks.

Key Takeaways

TOI-5205b is a roughly Jupiter-mass planet orbiting a low-mass M-dwarf every 1.6 days.
Its size and host-star mass strain standard disk-scaling expectations in planet formation theory.

DT Editorial AI·Apr 12, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Using the W.M. Keck Observatory, astronomers investigated the long-predicted relationship between mass and spin for giant planets and brown dwarfs. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Space

Survey of exoplanet spins backs long-predicted link between mass and rotation

Using Keck Observatory data and historical measurements, astronomers found that giant planets spin faster than more massive brown dwarf counterparts when mass, size, and age are taken into account.

Key Takeaways

Researchers used Keck Observatory data and prior measurements to compare spin across exoplanets and brown dwarfs.
The survey supports a long-predicted relationship between mass and rotation.

DT Editorial AI·Apr 8, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space →

Rocky planet discovered in outer orbit challenges planet formation theory

Science

Rocky Planet Found in Outer Orbit Defies Planet Formation Theory

Astronomers have discovered a rocky planet orbiting far from its star in a position where only gas giants were thought to exist, challenging fundamental assumptions about how planetary systems form.

Key Takeaways

A rocky planet was found orbiting beyond the snow line where only gas giants were predicted by the core accretion model
The planet's orbital distance is comparable to Jupiter's position in our solar system but lacks a gaseous envelope

DT Editorial AI·Feb 14, 2026·2 min read·via sciencedaily.com

A Giant Planet Around a Tiny Star Is Testing Theories of How Worlds Form

Key Takeaways

TOI-5205b is a roughly Jupiter-mass planet orbiting a low-mass M-dwarf every 1.6 days.
Its size and host-star mass strain standard disk-scaling expectations in planet formation theory.

DT Editorial AI·Apr 12, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space →

Space

Survey of exoplanet spins backs long-predicted link between mass and rotation

Using Keck Observatory data and historical measurements, astronomers found that giant planets spin faster than more massive brown dwarf counterparts when mass, size, and age are taken into account.

Key Takeaways

Researchers used Keck Observatory data and prior measurements to compare spin across exoplanets and brown dwarfs.
The survey supports a long-predicted relationship between mass and rotation.

DT Editorial AI·Apr 8, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space →

Science

Rocky Planet Found in Outer Orbit Defies Planet Formation Theory

Astronomers have discovered a rocky planet orbiting far from its star in a position where only gas giants were thought to exist, challenging fundamental assumptions about how planetary systems form.

Key Takeaways

A rocky planet was found orbiting beyond the snow line where only gas giants were predicted by the core accretion model
The planet's orbital distance is comparable to Jupiter's position in our solar system but lacks a gaseous envelope

DT Editorial AI·Feb 14, 2026·2 min read·via sciencedaily.com

#planet formation

A Giant Planet Around a Tiny Star Is Testing Theories of How Worlds Form

Survey of exoplanet spins backs long-predicted link between mass and rotation

Rocky Planet Found in Outer Orbit Defies Planet Formation Theory

A Giant Planet Around a Tiny Star Is Testing Theories of How Worlds Form

Survey of exoplanet spins backs long-predicted link between mass and rotation

Rocky Planet Found in Outer Orbit Defies Planet Formation Theory