Short-lived radioisotopes such as aluminum-26 influenced early solar system heat, water retention and the formation of Earth-like rocky planets, according to meteorite analyses and models.

Astronomers studying a disk of material circling a still-forming star inside our Galaxy have found a tantalizing result — the inner part of the disk is orbiting the protostar in the opposite direction ...

New images from NASA 's Hubble Space Telescope have revealed an enormous, oddly shaped disk of gas and dust around a single ...

Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones further away? – Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky A cloud of collapsing gas created our Sun, the first thing to form in ...

A region of active star formation in the constellation Ophiuchus is giving astronomers new insights into the conditions in which our own solar system was born. In particular, a new study of the ...

Scientists were able to see the moment when planets began to form around a star. Astronomers have witnessed the birth of a solar system beyond our own for the first time. An international team of ...

Astrophysicists are mapping a vast, hidden structure in the gas around the Sun that behaves like a tunnel carved through ...

Aliza Chasan is a Digital Content Producer for "60 Minutes" and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza ...

Mercury has long baffled astronomers because it defies much of what we know about planet formation. A new space mission ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like ...