Exoplanets

Kepler’s Universe: More Planets in Our Galaxy Than StarsKepler’s Universe: More Planets in Our Galaxy Than Stars

Kepler’s Universe: More Planets in Our Galaxy Than Stars

Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way contains up to 400 billion stars and thanks to the Kepler mission, we can…

11 years ago
Zooniverse Reaches One Million VolunteersZooniverse Reaches One Million Volunteers

Zooniverse Reaches One Million Volunteers

Zooniverse — the renowned home of citizen science projects — is now one million strong. That’s one million registered volunteers…

11 years ago
New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the ScaleNew Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale

New Technique Puts Exoplanets on the Scale

Astronomers constantly probe the skies for the unexpected. They search for unforeseen bumps in their data — signaling an unknown…

11 years ago
High Potential for Life Circling Alpha Centauri B, our Nearest NeighborHigh Potential for Life Circling Alpha Centauri B, our Nearest Neighbor

High Potential for Life Circling Alpha Centauri B, our Nearest Neighbor

While exoplanets make the news on an almost daily basis, one of the biggest announcements occurred in 2012 when astronomers…

11 years ago
‘Wobbly’ Alien Planet Has Weird Seasons And Orbits Two Stars‘Wobbly’ Alien Planet Has Weird Seasons And Orbits Two Stars

‘Wobbly’ Alien Planet Has Weird Seasons And Orbits Two Stars

We're lucky to live on a planet where it's predictably warmer in the summer and colder in the winter in…

11 years ago
Super-Earths Could Be More ‘Superhabitable’ Than Planets Like OursSuper-Earths Could Be More ‘Superhabitable’ Than Planets Like Ours

Super-Earths Could Be More ‘Superhabitable’ Than Planets Like Ours

Alien planets that are slightly bigger than Earth could be more life-friendly than exoplanets closer to our own size, a new study…

11 years ago
Young Planets Migrated In Double-Star Systems, Model ShowsYoung Planets Migrated In Double-Star Systems, Model Shows

Young Planets Migrated In Double-Star Systems, Model Shows

Binary star systems are downright dangerous due to their complex gravitational interactions that can easily grind a planet to pieces.…

11 years ago
Behind the Scenes: The “Making Of” the First Brown Dwarf Surface MapBehind the Scenes: The “Making Of” the First Brown Dwarf Surface Map

Behind the Scenes: The “Making Of” the First Brown Dwarf Surface Map

By now, you will probably have heard that astronomers have produced the first global weather map for a brown dwarf.…

11 years ago
Nearby Brown Dwarf Captured in a Direct ImageNearby Brown Dwarf Captured in a Direct Image

Nearby Brown Dwarf Captured in a Direct Image

A recent find announced by astronomers may go a long ways towards understanding a crucial “missing link” between planets and…

11 years ago
Surprise! Fomalhaut’s Kid Sister Has a Debris Disk TooSurprise! Fomalhaut’s Kid Sister Has a Debris Disk Too

Surprise! Fomalhaut’s Kid Sister Has a Debris Disk Too

The bright star Fomalhaut hosts a spectacular debris disk: a dusty circling plane of small objects where planets form. At…

11 years ago