We finally know how the most common types of planets are created

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026

Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That’s been a source of frustration for planetary scientists, who can’t study them in as much detail as they’d like, leaving one big question: How did these planets form?

h3>Now we know the answer /h3>
An interna