Exoplanets: Weird, Wondrous Worlds [Video]
There’s a huge amount of variety among exoplanets – planets located outside our solar system. There are water worlds, lava planets, egg-shaped worlds, planets with…
Exoplanet News
Cosmic Milestone: NASA Confirms 5,000 Exoplanets – “It Is Inevitable That We’ll Find Some Kind of Life Somewhere”
The count of confirmed exoplanets just ticked past the 5,000 mark, representing a 30-year journey of discovery led by NASA space telescopes. Not so long…
How Do We Find Exoplanets? [Video]
How can we detect exoplanets (planets around other stars)? Planets are very faint and small compared to the stars they orbit. To overcome this challenge,…
Exploring Alien Worlds With NASA’s Webb Space Telescope: Searching for Biosignatures
One of the many goals of the James Webb Space Telescope is to help characterize the atmospheres of exoplanets using a technique called spectroscopy, which…
Rooting Out Planetary Imposters: Three “Exoplanets” Turn Out To Be Stars
Among thousands of known exoplanets, MIT astronomers flag three that are actually stars. The first worlds beyond our solar system were discovered three decades ago….
Astronomy & Astrophysics 101: Atmosphere
What Is an Atmosphere? An atmosphere is a layer (or several layers) of gas that surrounds a planet, or other celestial body. If a celestial…
Tatooine-Like Exoplanet With Two Suns Detected by Ground-Based Telescope
A team of astronomers, led by Professor Amaury Triaud of the University of Birmingham, has detected a rare type of exoplanet using a ground-based telescope….
What’s Happening in the Depths of Distant Worlds? Physics and Chemistry Fundamental to the Existence of Life
Discovery could have revolutionary implications for how we think about the dynamics of exoplanet interiors. The physics and chemistry that take place deep inside our…
NASA Skywatching Highlights for March 2022: Don’t Miss Easy To Find Exoplanets
What’s Up for March? Meet the morning planets, the nearest star cluster, and some do-it-yourself exoplanets. Saturn joins Venus and Mars this month in the…
Exploring Alien Worlds With NASA’s Webb Space Telescope: TRAPPIST-1 System
During its first operating cycle, the James Webb Space Telescope will set its sights on the TRAPPIST-1 system, an incredible collection of seven rocky exoplanets…
Exploring Alien Worlds With NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope [Video]
The James Webb Space Telescope is taking exoplanet studies to the next level, helping us characterize the atmospheres of Earth-sized alien worlds for the first…
Rare “Tatooine-Like” Exoplanet That Orbits Around Two Stars at Once Spotted by Ground-Based Telescope
A rare exoplanet that orbits around two stars at once has been detected using a ground-based telescope by a team led by the University of…
Astronomers Identify Real-Life Planet With Two Suns – Like “Tatooine” From Star Wars
Study proves ground-based telescopes can search for planets with two suns. Astronomers have used a new technique to confirm a real-life Tatooine, the fictional planet with…
Day of Discovery: Close-Knit Family of 7 Earth-Size Planets
Five years ago, astronomers revealed a spectacular collection of other worlds: the TRAPPIST-1 system. Newspapers around the world printed the discovery on their front pages:…
A “Hot Jupiter’s” Dark Side Is Revealed: Iron Clouds, Titanium Rain, and Extreme Winds
The planet’s night side likely hosts iron clouds, titanium rain, and winds that dwarf Earth’s jetstream. MIT astronomers have obtained the clearest view yet of…
New Planet Discovered Next Door – Orbiting Proxima Centauri
In August of 2016, astronomers with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced that they had discovered an exoplanet orbiting in neighboring Proxima Centauri. Based on…
Planetary Bodies – Where Water and Life Could Exist – Observed for First Time in Habitable Zone of Dead Star
A ring of planetary debris studded with moon-sized structures has been observed orbiting close to a white dwarf star, hinting at a nearby planet in…
New Planet Detected Nearby – Orbiting Around Star Closest to the Sun
A team of astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile have found evidence of another planet orbiting Proxima Centauri,…