Astronomers Discover a Giant Object in the Cygnus Constellation
In the past three decades, almost 4,000 planet-like objects have been discovered orbiting isolated stars outside the Solar System (exoplanets). Beginning in 2011, it was…
Exoplanet
Scientists Simulate Alien Atmospheres on Earth
Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are cooking up an alien atmosphere right here on Earth. In a new study, JPL scientists…
K Stars May Be Perfect for Finding Habitable Worlds
Scientists looking for signs of life beyond our solar system face major challenges, one of which is that there are hundreds of billions of stars…
TRAPPIST-1 Exposed to Heavy Bombardment of Charged Particles
TRAPPIST-1 is a system of seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star about 120 light-years away. The star, and hence its system of planets,…
Explore Alien Exoplanets with New Multimedia Treats
Explore the plethora of planets outside our solar system with new multimedia experiences from NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP). In addition to a new Exoplanet Travel Bureau…
Gaia Mission Helps Improve Classification Scheme for Exoplanet Sizes
There are about 4433 exoplanets in the latest catalogs. Their radii have generally been measured by knowing the radius of their host star and then…
Astronomers Discover Wolf 503b, An Exoplanet Twice The Size Of Earth
Wolf 503b, an exoplanet twice the size of Earth, has been discovered by an international team using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. The find…
Astronomers Believe Water Worlds Could Support Life
The conditions for life surviving on planets entirely covered in water are more fluid than previously thought, opening up the possibility that water worlds could…
Gaia and Hipparcos Satellites Reveal the Mass of an Infant Exoplanet
The mass of a very young exoplanet has been revealed for the first time using data from ESA’s star mapping spacecraft Gaia and its predecessor,…
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…
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…