exoplanets
Will Gaia Be Our Next Big Exoplanet Hunter?
Early on the morning of Dec. 19, 2013, the pre-dawn sky above the coastal town of Kourou in French Guiana was briefly sliced by the…
VLTI Detects Exozodiacal Light Around Exoplanets
If you've ever stood outside after twilight has passed, or a few hours before the sun rises at dawn, then…
Moons of Confusion: Why Finding Extraterrestrial Life may be Harder than we Thought
Astronomers and planetary scientists thought they knew how to find evidence of life on planets beyond our Solar System. But,…
Have Astronomers Seen a Forming Planet in Action?
Huge disks of dust and gas encircle many young stars. Some contain circular gaps — likely the result of forming planets…
Astronomers Spot Pebble-Size Dust Grains in the Orion Nebula
Stars and planets form out of vast clouds of dust and gas. Small pockets in these clouds collapse under the…
Can Radio Waves Lead to Exomoons?
I firmly believe that our next greatest discovery will be detecting an exomoon in orbit around a distant exoplanet. Although…
Help a Universe Today Writer Share Stories About Our Search For Earth-like Planets
Since 1995, astronomers have detected thousands of worlds orbiting nearby stars, sparking a race to find the one that most…
First Exoplanet Discovered Beyond the “Snow Line”
Data from NASA’s crippled Kepler space telescope has unleashed a windfall of hot Jupiters — sizzling gas giants that circle…
Distant Stellar Atmospheres Shed Light on How Jupiter-like Planets Form
It’s likely that Jupiter-like planets’ origins root back to either the rapid collapse of a dense cloud or small rocky…
Is Our Solar System Weird?
Is our Solar System normal? Or is it weird? How does the Solar System fit within the strange star systems…