With sapphire waterfalls, lava rain and orbits around dead stars, these distant worlds push the limits of what’s possible.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. There are currently more than 5,800 known planets beyond the solar system. Artist Martin Vargic ...

Huge, red "super-Jupiter" exoplanet orbits its star. Since astronomers first looked beyond the solar system three decades ago to discover extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, we've known that planets in ...

All About Space issue 131 answers your questions on the universe, describes how auroras form on other planets and investigates the mystery of a 2,000-year-old calculator. When you purchase through ...

A star about 600 light-years away is giving astronomers a front-row view to the environments in which rocky planets like Earth form around the most abundant stars in the universe. Called ISO-ChaI 147, ...

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) defines a planet as a celestial body orbiting the Sun, possessing sufficient mass for a nearly spherical shape, and having cleared its orbital neighborhood ...

A stellar nursery in the Small Magellanic Cloud — a tiny galaxy that orbits our Milky Way — is surprisingly dusty. All rocky planets start as dust grains floating in space. That means the amount of ...

Planets are about as scarce as they can be in our summer evening sky. Earth is the only one that’s visible as darkness falls. Just look down instead of up. All of the major planets that are visible to ...

The universe is full of wonders, but some worlds are downright deadly. From searing heat to violent storms, these planets make Earth look like a paradise. Many of them challenge everything we know ...