giant planets
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Sorry Trekkies, Spock’s Home Planet Never Really Existed
We’re sorry to disappoint Star Trek fans, but the exoplanet often compared to Mr. Spock’s fictional world has turned out to be nothing more than star flickers masquerading as a super-Earth. The discovery of the planet was first announced in 2018, much to the delight of trekkies as it was thought to be orbiting the…
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Astronomers Spot an Exoplanet Shaped Like a Football
A team of astronomers studying distant exoplanets found one that seems to be shaped like a football — or a rugby ball, depending on your frame of reference — rather than the usual sphere. The team suspects the planet’s shape is caused by the intense tidal forces of its host star.