Extrasolar Planets
Planet Discovered with Only 3 Times the Mass of the Earth
Most of the planets found to date have been massive and orbiting their parent stars at a fraction the orbit…
Exoplanet Count Rises With New Discoveries
With several space- and ground-based telescopes, as well as dedicated space missions searching for exoplanets, or planets orbiting other stars,…
How to Detect Watery Worlds Around Other Stars
If you want to know what a watery world might look like orbiting another star, just observe our own planet...…
Another (Better) Opportunity to Send Your Name to Space
It's a great idea, so all the missions might as well join in. Earlier today, Ian reported on how the…
How Big Do Planets Get?
Question: How Big Can Planets Get? Answer: Here in the Solar System, we have three kinds of planets: the inner…
Why Haven’t Planets Been Detected Around Alpha Centauri?
Question: Why aren't astronomers looking for planets around nearby stars like Alpha Centauri? Answer: That's a great question. Since Alpha…
Using Laser Combs to Find Exoplanets
We've run a couple of articles recently about new techniques to find Earth-like extra-solar planets. Here's one more, but this…
New Search Technique May Lead to Discovery of Extra-solar Earth-Like Planets
The Holy Grail in the search for extra-solar planets would be to find an Earth-like world orbiting another star. A…
SuperWASP are Super Planet-Finding Observatories
The United Kingdom’s Wide Area Search for Planets, known as SuperWASP consists of two 8-camera robotic observatories that cover both…
Planet Formation Revealed?
One of the biggest unresolved questions of planet formation is how a thick disc of debris and gas surrounding young…