How do we know the mass of a planet originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. Answer by Geoffrey Widdison on ...

As the New Horizons spacecraft is approaching Pluto, it's getting some great shots. The animation below shows Pluto and Charon as they orbit each other. When a planet (or dwarf planet) has a satellite ...

Researchers in the Netherlands and in the US are the first to measure directly the mass of a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun. In developing their new technique, they also discovered that ...

Astronomers cannot directly weigh celestial objects like galaxies; indirect methods are necessary. Mass determination leverages the relationship between gravity and mass, utilizing orbital periods and ...

We present Exo-Transmit, a software package to calculate exoplanet transmission spectra for planets of varied composition. The code is designed to generate spectra of planets with a wide range of ...

The terms weight and mass are often used incorrectly. Phrases like ‘a bag of sugar weighs 1 kg’ are not scientifically correct. This means that a 1 kg mass would be attracted to Earth by a force of 10 ...

A new method for "weighing" the planets in our solar system one that relies on the radio signals delivered from highly magnetized spinning stars has been developed by an international research team.

NASA’s Kepler mission has discovered thousands of candidate transiting exoplanets, with a wide range of planetary sizes 4,5,6. A small fraction of these planets have had their masses characterized, ...

The mass of a planet orbiting a distant star has been measured using a new and precise method. Astronomers say it will shed fresh light on how planets are formed. George Benedict and colleagues at the ...

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 129, No. 974 (2017 April), pp. 1-9 (9 pages) We present Exo-Transmit, a software package to calculate exoplanet transmission spectra for ...