Exoplanets
Ocean Circulation Might Be the Key to Finding Habitable Exoplanets
We've found thousands and thousands of exoplanets now. And spacecraft like TESS will likely find thousands and thousands more of…
Astronomers Are Sure These Are Two Newborn Planets Orbiting a Distant Star
Planet formation is a notoriously difficult thing to observe. Nascent planets are ensconced inside dusty wombs that resist our best…
More Pictures of Planet-Forming Disks Around Young Stars
Astronomy is advancing to the point where we can see planets forming around young stars. This was an unthinkable development…
Astronomers Find a Planet With Three Times the Mass of Jupiter
Jupiter is the Boss. Well, in terms of planets in our Solar System it is. It's played a huge role…
Worlds With Hydrogen in Their Atmospheres Could Be the Perfect Place to Search for Life
We're waiting patiently for telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope to see first light, and one of the reasons…
Rocky Planets Orbiting White Dwarf Stars Could be the Perfect Places to Search for Life
Some very powerful telescopes will see first light in the near future. One of them is the long-awaited James Webb…
Astronomers Watched a Star System Die
About 570 light years from Earth lies WD 1145+017, a white dwarf star. In many respects it's a typical white…
Astronomers Define the “Really Habitable Zone”. Planets Capable of Producing Gin and Tonic
A hospitable star that doesn't kill you with deadly flares. A rocky planet with liquid water and an agreeable climate.…
Your Umbrella is Insufficient on a Planet Where it Rains Iron
Imagine a planet where it rained iron. Sounds impossible. But on one distant exoplanet, which is tidally locked to its…
Are Low Density “Cotton Candy” Exoplanets Actually Just Regular Planets With Rings?
There's a type of exoplanet that astronomers sometimes refer to as cotton candy planets, or super-puffs. They're mysterious, because their…