exoplanets
Prying Planets Out of The Shadows: The Gemini Planet Imager’s First Year of Light
This year marks the 20th anniversary of 51 Peg b, the first exoplanet detected around a Sun-like star. And although…
Exoplanet-Hunting TESS Satellite to be Launched by SpaceX
The search for exoplanets is heating up, thanks to the deployment of space telescopes like Kepler and the development of…
Defining Life II: Metabolism and Evolution as clues to Extraterrestrial Life
In the movie "Avatar", we could tell at a glance that the alien moon Pandora was teeming with alien life.…
Exciting Exoplanet News from AAS: How Rocky Worlds are Made; Oceans on Super-Earths
Astronomers from around the world gathered in Seattle today for the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Although it’s…
Pluto-like Objects Turn to Dust Around a Nearby Young Star
A planetary system’s early days readily tell of turmoil. Giant planets are swept from distant birthplaces into sizzling orbits close…
Spectroscopy: The Key to Humanity’s Future in Space
Imagine, if you would, a potential future for humanity… Imagine massive space-elevators lifting groups of men, women, and children skyward…
New Research Suggests Better Ways To Seek Out Pale Blue Dots
The search for worlds beyond our own is one of humankind's greatest quests. Scientists have found thousands of exoplanets orbiting…
Searching for Alien Worlds and Gravitational Lenses from the Arctic
The quest for optimal sites to carry out astronomical observations has taken scientists to the frigid Arctic. Eric Steinbring, who led a team…
Chaotic Wombs May Birth Wrong-way Planets
We’ve heard it time and time again. When it comes to new exoplanet findings, our conventional wisdom never holds. So…
NASA’s Next Exoplanet Hunter Moves Into Development
NASA's ongoing hunt for exoplanets has entered a new phase as NASA officially confirmed that the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite…