Scientists Reveal That Water-Worlds Are More Common Than Previously Thought
Scientists have shown that water is likely to be a major component of those exoplanets (planets orbiting other stars) which are between two to four…
Exoplanet
Astronomers Discover Iron and Titanium in the Atmosphere of Exoplanet KELT-9b
Exoplanets, planets in other solar systems, can orbit very close to their host star. When, in addition to this, the host star is much hotter…
Astronomers Find Earth-Like Elements in 18 Different Planetary Systems
The Earth’s building blocks seem to be built from ‘pretty normal’ ingredients, according to researchers working with the world’s most powerful telescopes. Scientists have measured…
Ultrahot Jupiters – A Place Where Water Is Destroyed, Then Reborn
Imagine a place where the weather forecast is always the same: scorching temperatures, relentlessly sunny, and with absolutely zero chance of rain. This hellish scenario…
VLA Detects Planetary Mass Object Beyond Our Solar System
Astronomers using the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have made the first radio-telescope detection of a planetary-mass object beyond our…
Scientists Identify Exoplanets With Same Chemical Conditions As Earth
Scientists have identified a group of planets outside our solar system where the same chemical conditions that may have led to life on Earth exist….
Scientists Use ‘Light-Fingerprints’ to Reveal Mysteries of the Cosmos
Earthbound detectives rely on fingerprints to solve their cases; now astronomers can do the same, using “light-fingerprints” instead of skin grooves to uncover the mysteries…
Astronomers Discover More Clues That Earth-Like Exoplanets Are Indeed Earth-Like
A new study provides new clues indicating that an exoplanet – that is, a planet outside the Solar System – that is 500 light-years away…
Scientists Report Discovery of Nearly 80 New Planetary Candidates
Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have analyzed data from K2, the follow-up mission to NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, and have discovered a trove of possible…
Astronomers Hunt Molecules in the Search for New Planets
Each exoplanet revolves around a star, like the Earth around the Sun. This is why it is generally impossible to obtain images of an exoplanet,…
KPS-1b: First Transiting Exoplanet Discovered Using Amateur Data
One of the candidates previously found by the Kourovka Planet Search (KPS) project turned out to be the so-called hot Jupiter. The exoplanet, known as…
Helium Discovered in the Eroding Atmosphere of an Exoplanet
Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen, and is a major constituent of the gas-giant planets in our Solar System….
Atmospheric Seasonal Changes Could Signal Alien Life on Exoplanets
UCR researchers are using seasonal changes in the Earth’s atmosphere to guide their search for life outside the solar system. Dozens of potentially habitable planets…
Astronomers Discover a Cloud-Free ‘Hot Saturn’ Exoplanet, WASP-96b
Scientists have detected an exoplanet atmosphere that is free of clouds, marking a pivotal breakthrough in the quest for greater understanding of the planets beyond…
Hubble Detects Helium in the Atmosphere of Exoplanet WASP-107b
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have detected helium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b. This is the first time this element has…
Astronomers Simulate Conditions Inside ‘Super-Earths’
By aiming intense X-ray beams at iron samples, scientists have studied the cores of “super-Earth” planets triple the size of Earth. The team, led by…
Chemical Models Help Astronomers Study the Atmospheres of Hot Exoplanets
Chemical models developed to help limit the emission of pollutants by car engines are being used to study the atmospheres of hot exoplanets orbiting close…
Scientists Discover Earth-Sized Planet With Dayside Temperature of Over 2000°C
A hot, metallic, Earth-sized planet with a density similar to Mercury – situated 339 light years away – has been detected and characterized by a…