Astronomers Discover 5,400 mph Winds on Exoplanet HD 189733b
New research from the University of Warwick reveals that exoplanet HD 189733b has winds of over 5,400 mph blowing from its day side to its…
Exoplanet News
Simple Test Classifies 99 Percent of all Known Exoplanets
A new approach classifies 99 percent of all known exoplanets, requiring only estimates of the star’s mass and the planet’s mass and orbital period to…
Images of Astronomers’ Top 20 Intriguing Exoplanets
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the first confirmed planet around a sun-like star, more than 60 leaders in the field of exoplanet observations…
Astronomers Discover a Hot Jupiter System with Two Additional Planets
Using data collected by the K2 mission, astronomers from the University of Michigan reveal that a hot Jupiter system has two close-in planetary companions, leading…
A ‘Habitability Index’ to Help Guide the Search for Life Beyond Earth
A team of astronomers from the University of Washington has created a “habitability index for transiting planets” to help guide the ongoing search for life…
Protective Magnetic Fields Increase the Chance for Life on Earth-Like Planets
A new study from the the University of Washington details how Earth-like planets orbiting close to small stars may have magnetic fields that protect them…
Titania May Provide False Signs of Life on Habitable Exoplanets
New research from the National Institutes of Natural Sciences shows that a previously unconsidered photochemical mechanism by titanium (IV) oxide (titania) can produce abiotic oxygen…
Hot Jupiters Orbit 20 Times Closer to Their Host Stars Than Earth Does to the Sun
New research reveals that Jupiter-like planets quickly move to orbits close around their baby stars, helping astronomers better understand how planetary systems like our own…
Astronomers Discover Jupiter-Like Planet 51 Eridani b
Using the Gemini Planet Imager, astronomers have discovered a young Jupiter-like planet that is 100 light-years away. One of the best ways to learn how…
Newly Discovered Planet Kepler-453b Orbits Two Stars
Using Kepler data astronomers have discovered Kepler-453b – a circumbinary planet located within the “habitable zone.” A team of astronomers including a San Francisco State…
The Nearest Potentially Habitable Planet is Roughly Nine Light-Years Away
A new study from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has examined Kepler observations for exoplanet transits around lower mass M-dwarf stars, revealing that the nearest…
Spitzer Confirms Rocky Exoplanet HD 219134b, about 1.6 Times the Size of Earth
Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, researchers have confirmed the discovery of the nearest rocky planet outside our solar system – exoplanet HD 219134b. Dubbed HD…
Kepler Discovers Bigger, Older Cousin to Earth
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has discovered a planet and star that closely resemble the Earth and our Sun. NASA’s Kepler mission has confirmed the first…
Astronomers Believe There May Be a New Population of Circumbinary Planets
Newly published research from astronomers at Cornell University suggests that there may be a new population of circumbinary planets, which orbit around more-compact binaries (with…
Astronomers Discover a “Jupiter Twin” Around a Sun-Like Star
Using the ESO 3.6-meter telescope, an international team of astronomers has identified a planet just like Jupiter orbiting at the same distance from the Sun-like…
Venus Transit Reveals Clues about the Venusian Atmosphere
Astronomers used the Venus transit to make measurements of how the Venusian atmosphere absorbs different kinds of light, revealing clues to what elements are layered…
Study Predicts Building Blocks for Earth-Like Planets in Every Exoplanet System in the Milky Way
A new study being presented at National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno shows that Earth-like planets orbiting other stars in the Milky Way are three times…
11 Billion Year Old Stars Have Earth-like Planets
A newly published study has shown with high precision that even stars older than 11 billion years have Earth-like planets. A new study of 33…
