WFIRST Coronagraph ‘Starglasses’ May Be the Most Complicated Astronomical Instrument Ever Flown
When a new NASA space telescope opens its eyes in the mid-2020s, it will peer at the universe through some of the most sophisticated sunglasses…
Exoplanet
Astrophysicist Discovers Numerous Multiple Star Systems With Exoplanets
Is Earth the only habitable planet in the universe or are there more worlds somewhere out there that are capable of supporting life? And if…
Alternative Earths – Secrets of Sustaining Life
Three billion years ago, Earth was a very different place. The sun that shone on its oceans and continents was not as bright as it…
Unimaginable View of Milky Way From Year of Observations by NASA TESS – 29 Exoplanets Discovered
The glow of the Milky Way — our galaxy seen edgewise — arcs across a sea of stars in a new mosaic of the southern…
In Search for Habitable Worlds, Even ‘Goldilocks’ Exoplanets Need a Well-Behaved Star
Rice University team models stellar activity on Milky Way neighbors to judge impact on planets. An exoplanet may seem like the perfect spot to set…
Mysterious Observations of Giant Exoplanets Explained by Astronomical Simulations
A giant-impacts phase in the evolution of planetary systems can explain the observations of close-in giant planets with eccentric orbits. As planetary systems evolve, gravitational…
Nearby ‘Lensing’ Exoplanet Discovered – Confirmed by Telescopic Observations Worldwide
Researchers using telescopes around the world confirmed and characterized an exoplanet orbiting a nearby star through a rare phenomenon known as gravitational microlensing. The exoplanet…
NASA’s Galaxy of Horrors [Video]
NASA’s Latest Exoplanet Posters Are a Halloween Treat Just in time for Halloween, NASA has released two new posters celebrating some truly terrifying exoplanets, or…
Understanding of How Planets Form Challenged by Giant Exoplanet Around Tiny Star
An international team of researchers with participation from the University of Göttingen has discovered the first large gas giant orbiting a small star. The planet…
Earth Is Not Unique: New Technique Using Ancient Stars Studies Geochemistry of Planets Outside Our Solar System
New method used to study planets’ geochemistry implies that Earth is not unique. Earth-like planets may be common in the universe, a new UCLA study…
Liquifying a Rocky Exoplanet to Aid in the Search for Earth-Like Worlds Beyond Our Solar System
A hot, molten Earth would be around 5% larger than its solid counterpart. This is the result of a study led by researchers at the…
Planet Formation Theory Challenged by Massive Exoplanet Orbiting Tiny Star
Astronomers have discovered a giant Jupiter-like exoplanet in an unlikely location — orbiting a small red dwarf star. The newly identified gas giant, designated GJ…
New Models Show There Are Many Gas Giant Exoplanets Waiting to Be Discovered
There is an as-yet-unseen population of Jupiter-like planets orbiting nearby Sun-like stars, awaiting discovery by future missions. Washington, DC — There is an as-yet-unseen population…
New Study Reveals Evidence That Venus Was Once Habitable
Venus may have been a temperate planet hosting liquid water for 2-3 billion years, until a dramatic transformation starting over 700 million years ago resurfaced…
For 1st Time NASA Finds Water Vapor on a Super-Earth [Video]
Its size and surface gravity are much larger than Earth’s, and its radiation environment may be hostile, but a distant planet called K2-18b has captured…
Hidden Secrets of Elusive Exoplanet Revealed by Innovative New Instrument
In an unprecedented feat, an American research team discovered hidden secrets of an elusive exoplanet using a powerful new instrument at the 8-meter Gemini North…
Newly Discovered Massive Exoplanet’s Bizarre Orbit [Video]
Three times the mass of Jupiter, a first-of-its-kind planet swings around its star on a bizarre path. Astronomers have discovered a planet three times the…
In Search of Habitable Worlds Beyond Our Solar System, Astronomers Determine Earth’s Fingerprint
Two McGill University astronomers have assembled a “fingerprint” for Earth, which could be used to identify a planet beyond our Solar System capable of supporting…