There May Be a “Super-Earth” Orbiting the Nearest Star to the Sun
A low-mass planet candidate orbiting Proxima Centauri at a distance of 1.5 AU. An analysis of cyclical changes in the light spectrum emitted by Proxima…
Exoplanet
Observed: Giant, Ultra-Hot Planet WASP-76b Where It Rains Iron
Nature magazine is published a surprising study about the giant, ultra-hot planet WASP-76b in which researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) have…
Very Large Telescope Observes Extreme Exoplanet Where It Rains Molten Iron
Researchers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have observed an extreme planet where they suspect it rains iron. The ultra-hot giant exoplanet has a dayside…
Mysterious ‘Cotton Candy’ Super-Puff Planets May Sport Rings Like Saturn
Some of the extremely low-density, “cotton candy like” exoplanets called super-puffs may actually have rings, according to new research published in The Astronomical Journal by…
17 New Planets – Including Earth-Sized World – Discovered by Astronomy Student
University of British Columbia astronomy student Michelle Kunimoto has discovered 17 new planets, including a potentially habitable, Earth-sized world, by combing through data gathered by…
Earth 2.0? Astronomers Discover Large Exoplanet That Could Have the Right Conditions for Life
Astronomers have found an exoplanet more than twice the size of Earth to be potentially habitable, opening the search for life to planets significantly larger…
Pioneering New Way to Study Exoplanets – Astronomers Decipher Distinct Radio Signatures
Radio telescope in the Netherlands captures habitats of planets outside our solar system. A team of scientists using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope…
Habitable-Zone Planet Finder Validates Sub-Neptune Sized Planet
A signal originally detected by the Kepler spacecraft has been validated as an exoplanet using the Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HPF), an astronomical spectrograph built by…
Planet on Edge of Destruction – Gas Giant Discovered Rapidly Orbiting a Dangerously Close Star
Astronomers from the University of Warwick have observed an exoplanet orbiting a star in just over 18 hours, the shortest orbital period ever observed for…
Giant Exoplanets Form Differently Than ‘Failed Stars’ – Mass-ive Distinction
A team of astronomers led by Brendan Bowler of The University of Texas at Austin has probed the formation process of giant exoplanets and brown…
NASA’s New Space Telescope Will Seek Atmospheres Around Potentially Habitable Exoplanets
Larger, gas giant exoplanets will also fall under the James Webb Space Telescope’s gaze The TRAPPIST-1 system of exoplanets holds exciting possibilities in the search…
Two Potentially Habitable Super-Earths and ‘Cold Neptune’ Found Orbiting Nearby Stars
A “cold Neptune” and two potentially habitable worlds are part of a cache of five newly discovered exoplanets and eight exoplanet candidates found orbiting nearby…
Major Meltdown for Hottest Planet: Even Molecules Are Torn to Shreds
In the scorching atmosphere of exoplanet KELT-9b, even molecules are torn to shreds. Massive gas giants called “hot Jupiters” — planets that orbit too close…
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…
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…