Extrasolar Planets
How Spitzer’s Focus Changed To Strange New Worlds
After 10 years in space -- looking at so many galaxies and stars and other astronomy features -- the Spitzer…
Planet Evaporates Due to Stellar Flare
Solar flares – huge eruptions of charged particles from the Sun – present little threat to Earth. On a few…
How Do You Find The Signs of Life On Alien Planets?
One big challenge in astronomy is everything is so darn far away. This makes it hard to see the signs…
New Exoplanet Research: Magnetic Fields Significantly Affect Hot Jupiter Atmospheres
Determining weather patterns in exoplanet atmospheres – hundreds to thousands of light years away – is extremely difficult. However, given…
Rogue Planets Could Form On Their Own in Interstellar Space
Free-floating rogue planets are intriguing objects. These planet-sized bodies adrift in interstellar space were predicted to exist in 1998, and…
How Do Astronomers Find Other Planets?
Up until 20 years ago, the only planets astronomers were aware of were within our Solar System. They assumed others…
Hobbled Kepler Space Telescope Now On The Hunt For A New Mission
It's unclear how the Kepler space telescope's science operations will continue, if at all, as NASA weighs what to do…
IAU Revises Their Stance on Public Involvement in Naming of Exoplanets and Moons
The International Astronomical Union issued a statement on August 14, 2013 that they have changed their official stance on two…
“Blue” Exoplanet Now Seen in X-rays for the First Time
In the medical field, X-rays are used for finding and diagnosing all sorts of ailments hidden inside the body; in…
Water-Trapped Worlds Possible Around Red Dwarf Stars?
Hunters of alien life may have a new and unsuspected niche to scout out. A recent paper submitted by Associate…