exoplanets
Which Habitable Zones are the Best to Actually Search for Life?
A new study conducted by an international team of scientists examines what the term "habitable zone" means and how next-generation…
It Took 10 Years to Confirm the First Planet Ever Found by Kepler
Even though astronomy people are fond of touting the number of exoplanets found by the Kepler spacecraft, those planets aren't…
Complex Life Might Require a Very Narrow Habitable Zone
A new study has placed new constraints on the emergence of complex life, which effectively narrows what what we would…
Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles
WFIRST ain't your grandma's space telescope. Despite having the same size mirror as the surprisingly reliable Hubble Space Telescope, clocking…
Two Newly-Discovered Exoplanets are Probably the Result of a Catastrophic Collision
How can two planets so similar in some respects have such different densities? According to a new study, a catastrophic…
TESS Finds its Third Planet, a sub-Neptune with a 36-Day Orbit
After only three months of operation, NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) spacecraft is delivering on its mission to find…
Astronomy Cast Ep. 512: Direct Imaging of Exoplanets
Finding planets is old news, we now know of thousands and thousands of the places. But the terrible irony is…
NASA’s Technosignatures Report is Out. Every Way to Find Evidence of an Intelligent Civilization
NASA's final report from their Technosignature Workshop is now out and addresses all the ways in which humanity is looking…
New SPECULOOS Telescope Sees First Light. Soon it’ll be Seeing Habitable Planets Around Ultra-Cool Stars
Our newest planet-hunting telescope is up and running at the ESO's Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile. SPECULOOS,…
Now that TESS is Operational, Astronomers Estimate it’ll Find 14,000 Planets. 10 Could Be Earthlike Worlds in a Sunlike Star’s Habitable Zone
How many exoplanets are there? Not that long ago, we didn't know if there were any. Then we detected a…