This is the first-ever image of an alien multi-planet system
Researchers at the European Southern Observatory have captured the first-ever images of a planetary system with multiple exoplanets. The system revolves around a star that …
exoplanets
Alien life may thrive on dusty planets, researchers say
Researchers suggest exoplanets with dusty atmospheres may have a better shot at supporting life on their surfaces. Planets with dusty atmospheres may have more stable …
This formula will ‘decode’ the habitability of exoplanets
Scientists from Cornell University have developed a model to “decode” the habitability of distant exoplanets. By taking into account the color of the planet as …
Astronomers detected a colossal new exoplanet that dwarfs Jupiter
Astronomers discovered a massive distant planet orbiting star Kepler-88. The planet is roughly three times the size of our own Jupiter, and around 300 times …
Astronomers just found an exoplanet shockingly similar to Earth
Astronomers have discovered a planet so similar to Earth in size that it could be our planet’s twin. The planet, Kepler-1649c, is in the habitable …
This new exoplanet is so hot it rains liquid metal
Astronomers detected a distant exoplanet with iron rain. Iron is vaporized due to high daytime temperatures and then condenses into rain as it moves to …
Student astronomer finds 17 new planets, and one is about the size of Earth
Finding new planets lurking in space isn’t as hard as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a challenge. High-tech instruments like …
‘Hot Jupiter’ exoplanets are super weird
In the hunt for planets outside of our own solar system, scientists have spotted a number of interesting planet types that we simply don’t have …
There may be a hidden planet orbiting a nearby star
Besides the Sun, the nearest star to Earth is a big flaming orb known as Proxima Centauri. As far as we know, there’s at least …
One of NASA’s exoplanet hunters has gone quiet
NASA has a lot of high-tech hardware cruising around in space right now, but one of the space agency’s pint-sized exoplanet hunters appears to have …
A new planet-hunting space telescope just began its tour of duty
Technology capable of observing worlds outside of our solar system is advancing at a breakneck pace. In fact, researchers are currently grappling with what amounts …
Astronomers are spotting so many exoplanets that there’s no time to study them all
Today, astronomers have more tools at their disposal than ever before. Technology has reached a point that scientists can finally spot planets outside of our …
There’s water all over the place in space, but not much of it
In the ongoing search for potentially habitable worlds outside of our own solar system, there are a number of things that astronomers are looking for. …
Nobody really knows if there are other ‘Earths’ out there
Are there other Earth-like planets out there in the cosmos? We simply don’t know. Scientists have been peering into space for centuries and, thanks to …
Astronomers spotted a planet that shouldn’t exist
When we imagine what other solar systems are like it’s easy to fall into a trap of assuming that our own system is a model …
Hubble just detected water vapor around a distant exoplanet
In the ongoing search for life beyond Earth, astronomers studying distant exoplanets are looking for a few key ingredients. For starters, a planet has to …
NASA’s Spitzer reveals surface conditions of distant exoplanet
The hunt for exoplanets has ramped up in recent years as advancing telescope technology is allowing scientists to spot the telltale signs of planets orbiting …
We might soon find out if the Earth-like worlds orbiting TRAPPIST-1 can support life
The James Webb Space Telescope is going to be an incredible tool for scientists to peer deep into space, returning information that could teach us …
Scientists just spotted a pair of planets that may be surprisingly similar to Earth
New exoplanet discoveries have been happening at a breakneck pace over the past several years thanks to scientists who now have more powerful observational tools …
NASA’s Kepler just spotted 18 new Earth-sized planets, but only one is worth dreaming about
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope may be dead, but that doesn’t mean that the wealth of data it gathered doesn’t still hold some untold surprises. A …
Nearby exoplanet may have the potential to support life
Finding planets outside of our solar system is a challenge, and determining the size, composition, and surface conditions of such planets is more difficult still. …
Student astronomer spots two new planets with the help of AI
Discovering planets that nobody has ever seen before is even harder than it sounds. Space telescopes from NASA and other scientific bodies have gathered an …
NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter just spotted a brand new ‘hot Saturn’
NASA TESS spacecraft has been in space for almost a year now, and it powerful imaging tools are definitely being put to work. As we …
One of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets might have an ocean, researchers now say
Ever since astronomers announced the discovery of seven exoplanets around the star called TRAPPIST-1, researchers have been diving into the data in an attempt to …
The exoplanet-hunting Kepler space telescope is now dead
If you’ve read anything about newly discovered exoplanets over the past decade there’s a really good chance the discovery was made by the Kepler space …
Massive planets spotted near young star leave astronomers scratching their heads
Astronomers have a pretty good handle on how stars and the planets around them form, and it’s believed to be a process that takes many …
The first science image from NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter is mind-boggling
NASA’s TESS spacecraft — that stands for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, in case you had somehow forgotten — is an incredibly powerful tool for spotting …
Scientists say the likelihood of ‘water world’ exoplanets is high, which is good news for aliens
If you hope to one day wake up to the news that scientists have discovered a planet with alien life, the scientists working with the …
Astronomers spot an exoplanet so hot it has iron and titanium in its atmosphere
When it comes to heat in our Solar System, Mercury takes the top crown, at least as far as planets are concerned. You wouldn’t last …
Astronomers now have a formula for finding planets that are perfect for life
One of the biggest challenges for astronomers searching for habitable exoplanets is trying to match up newly-discovered worlds with the increasingly long list of criteria …
