Ironing out the interiors of exoplanets
The discovery of more than 4,500 extra-solar planets has created a need for modelling their interior structure and dynamics. As it turns out, iron plays a key role......»»
Sodium"s high-pressure transformation can tell us about the interiors of stars, planets
Travel deep enough below Earth's surface or inside the center of the sun, and matter changes on an atomic level......»»
Astronomers scan hundreds of stars for "anomalous transits"
Telescopes have been collecting copious amounts of data on exoplanets in recent years. One of the most common datasets tracks what are known as transits, when an exoplanet crosses in front of its host star and dims the star's light slightly as it doe.....»»
Exoplanets" climate: It takes nothing to switch from habitable to hell, say researchers
The Earth is a wonderful blue and green dot covered with oceans and life, while Venus is a yellowish sterile sphere that is not only inhospitable but also sterile. However, the difference between the two is only a few degrees in temperature. A team o.....»»
Some icy exoplanets may have habitable oceans and geysers
A NASA study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could.....»»
Astronomers calculate which exoplanets are most likely to have water
Astronomers know of about 60 rocky exoplanets orbiting in the habitable zones of their stars. When they try to determine how habitable these planets might be, detecting water in their atmospheres plays a huge role. But what if there was another way o.....»»
Large exomoons unlikely around Kepler-1625 b and Kepler-1708 b, astronomers say
Only two of the more than 5,300 known exoplanets have so far provided evidence of moons in orbit around them. In observations of the planets Kepler-1625b and Kepler-1708b from the Kepler and Hubble space telescopes, researchers discovered traces of s.....»»
Alien haze, cooked in a lab, clears view to distant water worlds
Scientists have simulated conditions that allow hazy skies to form in water-rich exoplanets, a crucial step in determining how haziness muddles observations by ground and space telescopes......»»
Astronomers discover two "hot Jupiters" orbiting red-giant stars
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered two new "hot Jupiter" exoplanets. The newfound alien worlds, designated TOI-4377 b and TOI-4551 b, both orbit distant red-giant stars. The.....»»
James Webb investigates a super puffy exoplanet where it rains sand
One of the least dense exoplanets known was recently investigated using James Webb, and the planet's weather seems is as strange as its puffiness......»»
NASA data reveal possible reason some exoplanets are shrinking
A new study could explain the "missing" exoplanets between super-Earths and sub-Neptunes......»»
"Bouncing" comets could deliver building blocks for life to exoplanets
How did the molecular building blocks for life end up on Earth? One long-standing theory is that they could have been delivered by comets. Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have shown how comets could deposit similar building blocks t.....»»
Subglacial water could extend the classical habitable zone of exoplanets, says study
Professor Amri Wandel, from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has unveiled research that promises to redefine our comprehension of habitable exoplanets. In a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal, Professor Wandel introduces the concept of.....»»
This is a first: An exoplanet in a polar circumbinary disk surrounding two stars
We live in an age of exoplanet discovery. One thing we've learned is not to be surprised by the kinds of exoplanets we keep discovering. We've discovered planets where it might rain glass or even iron, planets that are the rocky core remnants of gas.....»»
A new trail to exoplanets: Team successfully detects ammonia isotopologues in atmosphere of cold brown dwarf
They reveal the origin of wine, the age of bones and fossils, and they serve as diagnostic tools in medicine. Isotopes and isotopologues—molecules that differ only in the composition of their isotopes—also play an increasingly important role in a.....»»
TESS finds eight more super-Earths
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered most of the confirmed exoplanets that we know of. But its successor, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), is catching up. New research announces the validation of eight more TESS candidates, and they'r.....»»
New exoplanet-informed research sets clearer bounds on the search for radio technosignatures
In a new study published in The Astronomical Journal, researchers used the known population of exoplanets and extrapolated to the much larger, unknown population of exoplanets to set better thresholds for planetary effects on signals from ETIs (extra.....»»
Do red dwarfs or sunlike stars have more Earth-sized worlds?
Earth is our only example of a habitable planet, so it makes sense to search for Earth-size worlds when we're hunting for potentially-habitable exoplanets. When astronomers found seven of them orbiting a red dwarf star in the TRAPPIST-1 system, peopl.....»»
Two Neptune-sized exoplanets discovered with TESS
An international team of astronomers reports the detection of two new exoplanets orbiting a bright star known as TOI-5126, using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The newfound alien worlds are similar in size to the solar system's.....»»
Kia uses fungus root, ocean trash in eco-friendly EV interiors
Kia's latest EV concept cars, the recently revealed EV3 crossover and EV4 sedan, showcase the South Korean automaker's push to generate an eco-friendly brand image through interiors using natural materials, plant matter and even recycled ocean trash......»»
Can JWST tell the difference between an exoEarth and an exoVenus?
As of October 2023, astronomers have discovered 5,506 exoplanets orbiting other stars. That number is growing daily, and astronomers are hoping, among other things, to find Earth-like worlds. But will we know one when we see it? How might we be able.....»»