Planet WASP-12b Is on a Death Spiral – Heading Toward Certain Destruction
A Princeton-led team of astrophysicists has shown that this exoplanet is spiraling in toward its host star, heading toward certain destruction in about 3 million…
Exoplanet
Real-Life Star Wars: Two New ‘Tatooine’ Planetary Systems Pinpointed by Astronomers [Video]
Astronomers announced Monday (January 6, 2020) the first discovery made by NASA’s TESS mission of a two-star planetary system. Led by researchers at NASA’s Goddard…
Earth-Size Habitable-Zone World Found by NASA Planet Hunter [Video]
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered its first Earth-size planet in its star’s habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be…
In Search for Alien Life, Scientists Develop New Method to Detect Oxygen on Exoplanets
New Technique Could Speed Search for Life in Outer Space Scientists have developed a new method for detecting oxygen in exoplanet atmospheres that may accelerate…
NASA Lost Contact With Spacecraft Designed to Study Planets Outside Our Solar System
Mission operators at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have lost contact with the ASTERIA satellite, a briefcase-sized spacecraft designed to study planets outside…
Smelly and Poisonous Molecule May Be a Sure-Fire Sign of Extraterrestrial Life
A sign that aliens could stink: A molecule that’s known for its smelly and poisonous nature on Earth may be a sure-fire sign of extraterrestrial…
Some Monster Planets Eat Their Own Skies – Solving the Puzzle of Sub-Neptune Exoplanets
Oceans of magma may limit the amount of Neptune-sized exoplanets, study finds. For many years, for all we knew, our solar system was alone in…
Extreme Solar Events and the Search for Habitable Exoplanets
Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars outside the Solar System Some exoplanets are thought to have liquid water on their surface and therefore the potential…
Many Exoplanets Have Water, but Usually Not Very Much
The most extensive survey of atmospheric chemical compositions of exoplanets to date has revealed trends that challenge current theories of planet formation and has implications…
First Giant Exoplanet Planet Found Around White Dwarf Star [Video]
ESO observations indicate the Neptune-like exoplanet is evaporating. Researchers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have, for the first time, found evidence of a giant planet…
New Method of Finding Atmospheres on Rocky Exoplanets With Webb Space Telescope
When NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2021, one of its most anticipated contributions to astronomy will be the study of exoplanets—planets orbiting distant…
“They’re out There” – Exoplanet Axis Study Boosts Hopes of Complex Life
“They’re out there,” goes a saying about extraterrestrials. It would seem more likely to be true in light of a new study on planetary axis…
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…
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…