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16 July 2008

Is the largest asteroid Pluto's wayward cousin?

16 July 2008

Ceres sits in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter – yet its composition suggests it has wandered far from its origins

Distant solar system body named 'Makemake'

14 July 2008

The large object 2005 FY9 is christened after an Easter Island deity – but naming the next 'plutoid' may be much more controversial

Pluto-like objects to be called 'plutoids'

11 June 2008

In deference to Pluto's fallen glory, dwarf planets beyond Neptune's orbit will be classed as 'plutoids' – but not everyone is happy with the term

Supernova hunt turns up odd solar system bodies

4 June 2008

Astronomers searching for distant supernovae to probe dark energy have unwittingly stumbled upon two odd objects in our own solar system

Smallest planet weighs just three Earths

2 June 2008

Even smaller planets have been found around dead stars, but this is the lightest known exoplanet around a star in the prime of its life

Huge haul of Earth-like planets found

28 May 2008

As more super-Earths not much bigger than our home planet are found, astronomers are coming up with ways to study them in detail

Early images reveal frosts on Pluto

21 May 2008

The weather on Pluto is revealed by a new analysis of images taken soon after the dwarf planet was discovered

Puny star unleashes deadly flare

19 May 2008

A small red dwarf star has erupted with the brightest flare ever seen from a normal star other than the Sun

Smallest exoplanet may have been found

10 April 2008

A planet weighing just 5 Earths may have been detected with a controversial new technique