What exactly makes an exoplanet ‘habitable’?
Astronomers have been on the hunt for habitable planets outside of our own solar system for decades -- but what exactly counts as habitable?.....»»
Potential indicators of life on other planets can be created in a lab
One way to understand the potential for life on far-off planets—those in other solar systems that orbit different stars—is to study a planet's atmosphere. Telescopic images often capture traces of gases that may indicate life and habitable planet.....»»
Could stars hotter than the sun still support life?
Although most potentially habitable worlds orbit red dwarf stars, we know larger and brighter stars can harbor life. One yellow dwarf star, for example, is known to have a planet teaming with life, perhaps even intelligent life. But how large and bri.....»»
Citizen science collaboration yields precise data on exoplanet WASP-77 A b
A planet swings in front of its star, dimming the starlight we see. Events like these, called transits, provide us with bounties of information about exoplanets—planets around stars other than the sun. But predicting when these special events occur.....»»
Astronomers discover new feature in exoplanet distribution that"s between the Neptunian Desert and Savanna
Astronomers have uncovered the "Neptunian Ridge," a newly identified feature in the distribution of exoplanets. This discovery, led by an international team including members of the University of Geneva, The NCCR PlanetS and the Centro de Astrobiolog.....»»
Europa Clipper: 8 things to know about NASA"s mission to an ocean moon of Jupiter
The first NASA spacecraft dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth, Europa Clipper aims to find out whether the ice-encased moon Europa could be habitable......»»
New dense sub-Saturn exoplanet discovered
Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, India and elsewhere, have detected a new sub-Saturn exoplanet with a relatively high density. The finding was reported in a.....»»
AI shines a new light on exoplanets
Researchers from LMU, the ORIGINS Excellence Cluster, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), and the ORIGINS Data Science Lab (ODSL) have made an important breakthrough in the analysis of exoplanet atmospheres......»»
More water worlds than we thought might support life
Too much water on exoplanet surfaces would mean high pressure ices, not life. Enlarge / High pressure ices near the crust are a feature of water-rich worlds.` (credit: Benoit Gougeon (University of Montreal)) The possibi.....»»
Astronomers discover iron winds on an ultra-hot exoplanet
An international team of astronomers, including scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the PlanetS National Center of Competence in Research, has identified the presence of iron winds in the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76 b.....»»
A space oddity—small exoplanet challenges existing theories on planet formation
A research team led by Lund University in Sweden has discovered a small planet that displays peculiar orbital motion. The shimmying planet, located 455 light-years from Earth, shows that planetary systems can be considerably more complex than researc.....»»
How vegetation could impact the climate of exoplanets
The term "habitable zone" is a broad definition that serves a purpose in our age of exoplanet discovery. But the more we learn about exoplanets, the more we need a more nuanced definition of habitable......»»
Researchers propose inexpensive 2.2-kilometer telescope that could make exoplanet movies
Can a kilometer-scale telescope help conduct more efficient science, and specifically for the field of optical interferometry? This is what a study recently posted to the preprint server arXiv hopes to address......»»
NASA"s EXCITE mission prepared for scientific balloon flight
Scientists and engineers are ready to fly an infrared mission called EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) to the edge of space......»»
Earth-like exoplanets might be in short supply for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
How common are Earth-like exoplanets—also called exo-Earths—and which exoplanetary systems should we target to find them?.....»»
Astronomers discover two new super-Earths orbiting nearby stars
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has detected two new super-Earth exoplanets orbiting nearby M-dwarf stars. The newfound exoplanets, designated TOI-6002 b and TOI-5713 b, are two times la.....»»
TIC 441725813 is a hybrid pulsating subdwarf star, study finds
Astronomers have employed NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to observe a subdwarf star designated TIC 441725813. In result, they found that TIC 441725813 is a hybrid hot B subdwarf pulsator. The discovery was detailed in a research.....»»
The discovery of a new Earth-like planet could shed further light on what makes a planet habitable
In an exciting breakthrough for astronomy and the search for extraterrestrial life, a team of international scientists has announced the discovery of Gliese 12 b, a temperate, Earth-sized exoplanet just 40 light-years away—a relatively neighborly 3.....»»
Webb directly images giant exoplanet that isn’t where it should be
Six times bigger than Jupiter, the planet is the oldest and coldest yet imaged. Enlarge / Image of Epsilon Indi A at two wavelengths, with the position of its host star indicated by an asterisk. (credit: T. Müller (MPIA/HdA), E......»»
Webb images nearest super-Jupiter, opening a new window to exoplanet research
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an MPIA-led team of astronomers imaged a new exoplanet that orbits a star in the nearby triple system Epsilon Indi. The planet is a cold super-Jupiter exhibiting a temperature of around 0 degrees Celsius a.....»»
Effects of stellar magnetism could expand criteria for exoplanet habitability
Interest in Earth-like planets orbiting within the habitable zone of their host stars has surged, driven by the quest to discover life beyond our solar system. But the habitability of such planets, known as exoplanets, is influenced by more than just.....»»