Pluto is a bit of a loner. The dwarf planet is no longer considered a regular planet; it does not orbit on the same plane as the solar system's eight planets; and its orbit is both highly elliptical ...

Earth has a newly-discovered neighbor in the solar system. But the heavenly body – possibly a dwarf planet à la Pluto – isn't a frequent visitor. Located beyond Neptune, its extreme orbit ...

The New Horizons Pluto flyby revealed unexpectedly complex geological features on dwarf planets, prompting further investigation into the diversity within the Kuiper Belt. Several dwarf planets, ...

Scientists with the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Natural Sciences say they have found a possible dwarf planet that they have dubbed an "extreme cousin" of Pluto. They say that the possible ...

Planets that orbit white dwarf stars should be too hot to host alien life, theories suggest. But a new study accounting for ...

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet. The spacecraft was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000) kilometers from Ceres when it was captured by the ...

WASHINGTON >> Scientists have identified an object about 435 miles wide inhabiting the frigid outer reaches of our solar system that might qualify as a dwarf planet, spotting it as it travels on a ...

Just a few weeks ago, we crossed the significant milestone of 6,000 known exoplanets. The counter keeps getting higher, and there are 8,000 more candidates waiting for confirmation. In the decades ...

In the hunt for extraterrestrial life, we usually look for planets orbiting sun-like stars and icy moons. But there is ...

Things have been a mess since Pluto's demotion. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union ...