Exoplanets

Purple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of LifePurple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of Life

Purple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of Life

Astrobiologists continue to work towards determining which biosignatures might be best to look for when searching for life on other…

9 months ago
Radiating Exoplanet Discovered in “Perfect Tidal Storm”Radiating Exoplanet Discovered in “Perfect Tidal Storm”

Radiating Exoplanet Discovered in “Perfect Tidal Storm”

Can tidal forces cause an exoplanet’s surface to radiate heat? This is what a recent study accepted to The Astronomical…

9 months ago
The Seven Most Intriguing Worlds to Search for Advanced Civilizations (So Far)The Seven Most Intriguing Worlds to Search for Advanced Civilizations (So Far)

The Seven Most Intriguing Worlds to Search for Advanced Civilizations (So Far)

Sometimes, the easy calculations are the most interesting. A recent paper from Balázs Bradák of Kobe University in Japan is…

9 months ago
The First Atmospheric Rainbow on an Exoplanet?The First Atmospheric Rainbow on an Exoplanet?

The First Atmospheric Rainbow on an Exoplanet?

Astronomers think they've detected the first-ever rainbow-like "glory effect" on an exoplanet. The observations were made with ESA's Cheops mission,…

10 months ago
Could We Directly Observe Volcanoes on an Exoplanet?Could We Directly Observe Volcanoes on an Exoplanet?

Could We Directly Observe Volcanoes on an Exoplanet?

After a few decades of simply finding exoplanets, humanity is starting to be able to do something more - peer…

10 months ago
The Search for the Perfect Coronagraph to Find Earth 2.0The Search for the Perfect Coronagraph to Find Earth 2.0

The Search for the Perfect Coronagraph to Find Earth 2.0

Studying exoplanets is made more difficult by the light from the host star. Coronagraphs are devices that block out the…

10 months ago
Life Might Be Difficult to Find on a Single Planet But Obvious Across Many WorldsLife Might Be Difficult to Find on a Single Planet But Obvious Across Many Worlds

Life Might Be Difficult to Find on a Single Planet But Obvious Across Many Worlds

If we could detect a clear, unambiguous biosignature on just one of the thousands of exoplanets we know of, it…

10 months ago
Finding Atmospheres on Red Dwarf Planets Will Take Hundreds of Hours of Webb TimeFinding Atmospheres on Red Dwarf Planets Will Take Hundreds of Hours of Webb Time

Finding Atmospheres on Red Dwarf Planets Will Take Hundreds of Hours of Webb Time

The JWST is enormously powerful. One of the reasons it was launched is to examine exoplanet atmospheres to determine their…

10 months ago
Could Earth Life Survive on a Red Dwarf Planet?Could Earth Life Survive on a Red Dwarf Planet?

Could Earth Life Survive on a Red Dwarf Planet?

Even though exoplanet science has advanced significantly in the last decade or two, we're still in an unfortunate situation. Scientists…

10 months ago
Another Hycean Planet Found? TOI-270 dAnother Hycean Planet Found? TOI-270 d

Another Hycean Planet Found? TOI-270 d

Hycean planets may be able to host life even though they're outside what scientists consider the regular habitable zone. Their…

10 months ago