Exoplanets
Astronomers Find a “Marshmallow World”: the Lowest Density Gas Giant Ever Discovered
Exoplanet discovery space hosts all kinds of interesting "super" worlds. There are super-Earths, super-Neptunes, and, of course, Super-Jupiters. Recently, the…
Nitrous Oxide, aka “Laughing gas”, Could be an Indication of Life in an Exoplanet
A team of astronomers have proposed to hunt for signs of life by looking for the signature of nitrous oxide…
The Heaviest Element Ever Seen in an Exoplanet’s Atmosphere: Barium
Astronomers have spotted barium in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet. With its 56 protons, you have to run your…
Scientists Discover a New Way Exoplanets Could Make Oxygen; Unfortunately, it Doesn’t Require Life
Finding oxygen in an exoplanet's atmosphere is a clue that life may be at work. On Earth, photosynthetic organisms absorb…
If we Detect This gas on Other Planets, it’s a Good Sign There’s Life There
Here is an idea that likely never crossed the mind of most space enthusiasts - a gas emitted from broccoli…
If Earth Were an Exoplanet, it Would Still be Tricky to Figure Out if There’s Life Here
How would Earth appear to alien astronomers? What would their observations tell them about Earth if they searched the heavens…
A Solar Gravitational Lens Will be Humanity's Most Powerful Telescope. What are its Best Targets?
In the future, astronomers could use the Sun's gravity as a telescopic lens, and map the surfaces of nearby exoplanets.
Earthlike Worlds With Oceans and Continents Could be Orbiting red Dwarfs, Detectable by James Webb
"Go then, there are other worlds than these." Or so Stephen King said in his famous Dark Tower series. As…
Two “Super Mercury” Exoplanets Found in a Single System
There's a star system out there with three super-Earth planets and two super-Mercuries. Super-Earths are fairly familiar types of exoplanets,…
Habitable Planets Will Most Likely be Cold, Dry “Pale Yellow Dots”
Remember all the habitable planets we've seen in science fiction movies? There's wintry Hoth, for example, and overwhelmingly hot Dune.…