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Artists impression of what WASP-17b could look like, based on. data gathered by Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and other ground- and space-based telescopes, including the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

Clouds of quartz detected high in a distant planet’s atmosphere – here’s what this tells us about other worlds

The atmosphere is a reflection of extreme conditions on the super-heated planet.
The Earth is round. Alistair Berg/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Why are planets round?

Gravity, mass and centrifugal force all contribute to the final shape of a planet.
A natural color image of Pluto taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015. (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker)

Curious Kids: Is Pluto a planet or not?

A young reader asks: Is Pluto a planet?
In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Planetary confusion – why astronomers keep changing what it means to be a planet

Many people are still upset that Pluto was demoted from being a planet. But definitions of various celestial objects are fairly fluid. So whether it is an asteroid or moon or planet is up for debate.

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