exoplanets
JWST Uses “Interferometry Mode” to Reveal Two Protoplanets Around a Young Star
The JWST is flexing its muscles with its interferometry mode. Researchers used it to study a well-known extrasolar system called…
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…
Will We Know if TRAPPIST-1e has Life?
The search for extrasolar planets is currently undergoing a seismic shift. With the deployment of the Kepler Space Telescope and…
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…
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…
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…
This Hot Jupiter is Doomed to Crash Into its Star in Just Three Million Years
In 2008, astronomers with the SuperWASP survey spotted WASP-12b as it transited in front of its star. At the time,…
Science Fiction is Learning About Exoplanets From Science
As long as it has existed as a genre, there has been a notable relationship between science fiction and science…
Astronomers Can See the Impact Site Where an Asteroid Crashed Into a White Dwarf
When a star like the Sun reaches the end of its life, it becomes a red giant and blows away…
Six Planets Found Orbiting an Extremely Young Star
The field of exoplanet study continues to grow by leaps and bounds. As of the penning of this article, 5,572…